Getting extremely nit-picky on sleeve length

[Tobus]

I'll just go ahead and preface this post by warning Alan H not to read this! The following discussion will be chock-full of the kind of stuff you dislike, and I'd sure hate to see you get yer dander up over it. So, Alan, if you've made it this far into my post, please, hit the 'back' button before it's too late!

OK, here's my issue. I'm well aware of how sleeve lengths should interact between shirt and jacket. Which is to say, ideally the shirt sleeve would come somewhere around the base of one's thumb, and the jacket sleeve would end at about the wrist, leaving a narrow bit of sleeve showing. I've seen various suggestions on how much should show, usually between 1/4" and 1". I prefer about 1/2" of sleeve showing.

However, as I'm sure everyone knows, this is not a static thing. When you raise your arms, bend your elbows, or basically do anything besides stand there with your arms drooping limply like a caveman, things will change.

What I often find happening is that my shirt sleeve will stay down where it belongs, but the jacket sleeve rides up. And then it stays there unless I shake it back down or tug it into place. So I'm often left with the entire cuff of my shirt sleeve exposed. It doesn't bother me as long as my arm is bent - I rather expect that this is how things should be. But I start to feel like a goober after a while, having to shake my arms or pull at my sleeves to make them go back to where they should properly sit.

I'm guessing it's just the friction between the shirt sleeve and jacket lining that holds it up. Or maybe friction at the button area of my shirt sleeve.

Does anyone else have this issue? Short of pinning my shirt sleeve to the inside of my jacket sleeve to keep them always 1/2" mis-aligned from each other (which would be awfully silly), I'm not quite sure how to make my sleeves return to their initial alignment when I put my arms down.

And yes, I know I'm over-thinking it.

[denmcdough]

Oh yes......ditto!!!! My jacket does the exact same thing. It has to be the friction between jacket and shirt. So, I guess we shouldn't over think.

[SlackerDrummer]

I can't say I've ever had that problem. Is this true of all your jackets? If not, is there some chance the sleeve lining of your jacket has become worn in a manner that is causing too much friction? Maybe you're working out to much and the sleeves are tight. In that case, stop all manual labor at once.

[Tobus]

I can't say I've ever had that problem. Is this true of all your jackets? If not, is there some chance the sleeve lining of your jacket has become worn in a manner that is causing too much friction? Maybe you're working out to much and the sleeves are tight. In that case, stop all manual labor at once.

Every jacket does it. Well, actually, I should amend that. The only jackets that do it are the jackets with plain sleeves, like my suit jacket and Saxon-style tweed "sport" jacket, or kilt jackets with Braemer style cuff. Kilt jackets with gauntlet cuffs tend not to do it, probably because the weight of the cuff settles it back down.

Even my mess jacket does it, but that's likely because I wear French cuffs on the shirt I put on when I'm wearing it.

So to answer the question, it seems to have nothing to do with the age of the jacket, or its construction (except for the gauntlet cuffs which solve the problem).

And no, it ain't my muscles making the sleeves snug! Oh how I wish that were the case!

[Downunder Kilt]

Tobus, short of going out and standing like a tailors dummy fulltime, I think everyone experiences what you are talking about. I don't think anyone expects to look like one has stepped out of fashion pages at all times. As you so correctly put it, a person bends, turns, etc and obviously clothes (of any kind) will not ride with that movement in perfect harmony. A quick look a most people will see them tugging of fingering at some part of their clothing after some kind of physical activity.

[The Wizard of BC]

When I was growing up I was given a book on dressing for a gentleman, I still remember the advice and one of the things that was talked about was jacket sleeve length.
In those days it was suggested that the bottom of the sleeve should reach to between the first and second knuckle of the thumb. It was also noted that no shirt sleeve should show when the arm is straight down.
When the arm is bent 90 degrees and held in front of you you should see 1" of cuff or expose the cuff links.

Now, there is a story in the fashion world about how men's sleeves changed to what we have today.
The story goes that Johnny Carson liked bright white shirts. But the TV cameras of the 60's could not handle the white balance well. All that white at the top. So Johnny had all his jackets made to show 2" of cuff when straight down and 4" when bent. This put more shirt on camera and prevented the 'blooming' of the white balance.
This worked well for his purpose on camera but caused his jacket sleeves to ride up. So if you look at old Johnny Carson shows you will see him "shoot his cuffs" all the time. This is a small shrug to get the jacket sleeve and shirt sleeve back into position.

I still to this day wear my jacket sleeves so that they are the same length as my shirt sleeves. I have never had a problem with my jacket sleeves riding up.

[ForresterModern]

Tobus

I actually tend to have the opposite problem, namely my jacket cuffs riding over the shirt sleeve cuffs and pulling them up thereby making them invisible. I know my jacket cuffs are fine, and if anyting maybe a tad short on some of my jackets. I also know that my gorilla arms (length not girth) requiring 18.5x 38-39 shirt sleeves should leave plenty of shirt cuff to show, but I guess because I tend to button my cuffs relatively loosely they on the jacket lining and ride up under the jacket sleeve and tend to stay there. Wearing a wristwatch of some size on my left wrist does not help the problem either.

Different strokes, different folks. Back in my college and med school days, before I could actually afford to buy properly fitted jackets (or shirts for that matter), I owned one (yes just one) Harris tweed jacket I picked up at a used clothing store and only two buttondown oxford cloth shirts (white and blue), one tie for each shirt, and I guess I got by because they were a close enough fit and I was ignorant and didn't really care that much about how I looked on the rare occasion I needed to dress up---usually a job or school interview. Amazing how time flies, times and circumstances change, and now these things make a difference in our thoughts and concerns.

[Panache]

And yes, I know I'm over-thinking it.

Tobus,

Yes indeed you are overthinking it. Save for a painful session with a hot glue gun or a myriad of safety pins, a gentleman's clothes are going to require minor adjustments as they are worn throughout the day.

That is just the way it is. But there can be a certain pan..err .. flair in the way a gentleman adjusts his cuffs back to place if done right.

No biggie

This does bring to mind that I recall reading that for the role of the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera musical the costume designer made the actor's shirt longer than usual with a button and button holes at the bottom hem of the shirt. These could be afixed togther (like a baby's onsie). The upside to this unusal arrangment was that the Phantom's shirt remained perfectly tucked in and neat no matter how vigourous his activities on stage were.

However failing an adult onsie or the aforementioned pins and hot glue (and if you seriously considering them then you are indeed a kinky kiltie !) you are stuck with minor adjustments

Cheers

Jamie

Cheers

Jamie

[artificer]

I have more of an issue with my shirt sleeves traveling up into the jacket. Over the years I've developed an habitual arm movement that drops the shirt cuff back into place. It probably looks like I'm having a minor muscle spasm, but it works for me

I'm personally a fan of ~3/8" of a cuff showing. I know it's crazy specific, but there it is.

ith:

[Piipriker]

are you talking about cuffs with buttons or with cuff-links?

With cuff-links it's like you described it, but with buttons the sleeves ride up the arm, at least by me.