OK, so this is how I came to the earth-shattering style insight alluded to in the title:
- most of my ready-to-wear jackets have sleeves that are slightly too long;
- most of those jackets are casual as my suit jackets are mostly bespoke;
- because they are casual they tend to be of rougher material (cotton, linen);
- they are also cheaper jackets for that reason;
- so I’ve never paid to have the sleeves shortened (because they are casual and because they are cheaper);
- so I end up turning back the ends of the sleeves by an inch or so.
Do you like the quasi-logical approach to this style analysis? Essentially, I realised that I like turning over the end of my sleeves on casual jackets. I like it as a small style quirk, as a little casual but personal touch. But I think it only works with casual jackets because the roughness of the material matches the casual nature of the gesture. The jacket in the picture is borderline, being wool but thick with a rougher finish.
A business suit is usually made of smooth worsted wool because smoother, sleeker clothes are smarter. Smooth cloth goes with crisp creases, high-shine shoes and sharply angled handkerchiefs. Can you feel the aesthetic?
By contrast, linen is rough and ready, goes with crumpled lines and soft woollen ties, faded madder dyes and heavy, seamed shoes (Derbys, brogues, double soles). So turning back your cuffs can work.
If you wanted turned back cuffs on a smoother cloth, they would have to be precisely turned and stitched down – like the cuffs you get on velvet jackets and some overcoats. That is the only turned back cuff that will work because it is exacting, fine and firm.
Of course, you need to be able to physically turn back the cuffs for this theory of mine to apply. So a tweed or heavy wool jacket will not work. This is the exception to the rule, though the rule remains – casual touches will work best with these heavy, rougher jackets. So if you need to do some more manual labour (and the cuffs unfasten) roll back those sleeves and get down to it. It’s what working cuffs were designed for, after all. Makes it easier to clean your hands afterwards as well.
(Interesting how times have changed though. John Hitchcock, managing director at Anderson & Sheppard, confirmed to me recently that the firm used to refuse to make working cuffs. They were the sign of a labouring man. And today they are a sign of quality that even A&S is happy to provide. As John put it, “we’ve always liked to be a little bit different.”)
5 Guest Comments »
1.
I don’t know if I agree with turning up the cuffs on a casual jacket. When I have seen it done it is because the wearer’s sleeves are too long, much like your example, and it doesn’t hide the fact that the sleeves are too long. It just looks like the cheap way out. If you really roll or push them up higher in order to make a statement (”I meant to do this”), it looks like you just stepped out of 1985.
Comment by Michael P. — September 2, 2009 #
2.
It sounds like it may give the look that you stole your father’s coat. And, he’s seven inches taller then you are.
Comment by Turling — September 2, 2009 #
3.
@Michael and Turling,
I think you missed the point. Though may be I did. But my understanding is that author’s casual jackets sleeves are what 95% people considers normal length. Many even consider that shirt cuffs should be seen only when wearing suit jackets. But author’s style quirk and aesthetic is to wear them the same length as suit jackets, only rolled.
Comment by Stavros — September 2, 2009 #
4.
I have long arms, & I’ve always had to push or roll up shirt sleeves that are just too small.Of course my suit jackets fit better but…..
Comment by Abraxas — September 2, 2009 #
5.
Thank you all for your comments. To clarify, I am recommending turning back the cuffs – one, small fold of half an inch to an inch. Not rolling them up 80s-style.
Simon
Comment by Simon Crompton — September 3, 2009 #
I understand what you’re saying about rolling up the cuff, but I have a correction to make about the origin of working cuffs. The original reason for button cuffs on jackets was that the sleeves were fitted so tightly in the late 18th early 19th century that one could not fit their hand through the cuff of the sleeve without unbuttoning it first. It did later evolve to become a symbol of the working class, but it’s important to note that the trend has come full circle in its representation of quality.
Working buttons on jacket cuffs are also known as surgeon’s cuffs. This is because once upon a time, surgeons (like everyone else) always left their jackets on, but wanted to be able to do their work without getting gore on their sleeves.