Summary of Comprehensive Guide to Jacket and Shirt Sleeve Lengths - Q&A

The video provides a detailed guide on proper jacket and shirt sleeve lengths, including practical tips for fit, comfort, and alterations.

Shirt Sleeve Length Tips:

Shirt sleeves should account for shoulder drop and arm length for a perfect fit.
The cuff should be relatively tight to anchor at the wrist without sliding down.
Sleeve diameter should allow comfort, especially around the elbow.
Lengthwise, a bit of excess fabric is good to prevent the sleeve from riding up during movement.
Features like a conical cuff (tapering towards the hand) and low-set buttons help with watch visibility and ease of cuff adjustment.
Ready-to-wear shirts often have adjustable cuff buttons to accommodate watches and personal fit preferences.

jacket sleeve Length Tips:

Ideal jacket sleeve length shows about 1-2 cm of shirt cuff.
Instead of relying solely on absolute measurements, measure the distance from the tip of the thumb to the end of the jacket sleeve for accuracy.
Slight asymmetry in sleeve length may be needed due to shoulder drops.
Jacket sleeves that are too short can cause the sleeve to ride up, especially in cotton or linen jackets that wrinkle easily; better to err slightly long.
Sleeves that are too long are a common style issue and easily fixed by a tailor; shortening sleeves dramatically improves the jacket’s overall appearance.
Sleeve shortening is ideally done from the bottom for cost and risk reasons; shortening from the top is expensive and risky.
If buttonholes are near the edge, sleeves can be shortened at an angle to preserve buttonhole integrity and maintain appearance.

Additional Notes:

Some bespoke jackets have a fake top buttonhole that can be altered to lengthen sleeves, a useful feature for passing down garments.
The speaker encourages viewers to ask questions and engage for further clarification.

Notable Mentions:

Shirt made by Ascot Chang.
Armory shirts with specific cuff designs.
Tailoring advice from alteration specialists.

This guide is useful for anyone looking to understand or improve the fit of their shirts and jackets, with practical, actionable tailoring advice.

Notable Quotes

— 05:07 — « Jacket sleeves are too long are a huge pet peeve of mine. You go out you see people walking around they have good looking suits but the jacket sleeves is too long and it really kind of ruins the look. »

— 05:35 — « It just feels like you're wearing your dad's jacket. »

— 06:58 — « You might notice some old school tailors, bespoke tailors will make a fake buttonhole for the topmost button. The idea is that you can actually unstitch all that buttonhole stitching, remove the button, and then cut a new buttonhole and add it to the end. »

— 07:19 — « If my dad had jackets like that then I could lengthen the sleeves and I would still be wearing his jackets. »