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In our tailor's blog post about oversized shoulders in your jacket, we talked about which points are important for a good fit in your jacket.

As discussed in the previous article, the width of side seams does not have much to do with whether a jacket appears too large, this is purely a matter of taste.

One of the things that makes a suit look too big is a sleeve length that is too long. You often encounter this as a tailor and in this blog we will go into more depth.

How do you recognize sleeves that are too long?

As tailors, we often see that the sleeve length falls on the hand and sometimes even extends over the hand with ready-made jackets.
This ensures that the hand on the eye disappears.
The fit of the rest of the jacket does not match the sleeve length and this automatically makes the suit appear too large.

If you look at the example below you will see that the hand disappears on the left sleeve (see red arrow), which has not yet been pinned off. This gives the impression that the jacket does not seem to fit the rest in terms of fit.

The jacket itself seems too short in length and the sleeve width is much too large. This is because ready-to-wear clothing is based on standard average ratios that in fact do not exist at all. Everyone has unique personal sizes and proportions.

When the right sleeve (see green arrow) sits higher, you will immediately see that the sleeve length ratio matches the rest of the jacket.

The hand is more visible, so that the “too big jacket” effect on the jacket also disappears immediately.

The jacket length itself no longer seems too short and the sleeve width no longer too wide. All this is achieved by just shortening the sleeve length.

When the sleeve length becomes shorter, the sleeve length of the shirt also appears. Which is correct according to classical laws, which means that everything is more correct compared to the person wearing this jacket.

If the sleeve length of the jacket is correct, you also want the sleeve length of the shirt to be correct.

How do you determine the correct sleeve length for a shirt?

A shirt sleeve should extend 1 to 2 cm below the sleeve of the jacket according to the general rule.

In the example above you can see that the sleeve length is much too long.

Because the cuff is not wider than the hand, you can see that it hangs on it. This creates a lot of extra fabric spread all over the sleeve, and the disappearing hand, like the jacket, gives the impression that the shirt is too big.

This looks messy, especially in relation to how the rest of the shirt fits around the body.

When you pin the sleeve length up, you will immediately see the excess space disappear.

The shirt now also falls neatly on the hand, making it visible again. This ensures that it no longer appears as if the arms are too short for the shirt, the proportion between body and shirt is correct again.

When these points are correct, you will also see the right balance between the shirt and the jacket.

The jacket falls neatly on the wrist bone and the shirt on the hand, leaving exactly a 1.5 cm strip of the cuff visible.

This is according to current etiquette and gives a calmer effect to the eye and makes the whole look more neat.

By adjusting the sleeve lengths of the jacket and shirt, the entire outfit immediately has a better fit.

If you would also like to know how we can adjust your jacket so that it better suits your needs and fit, please contact us.

For an even better fit, we recommend making your jacket and shirts bespoke. Then you can really tailor everything to your own body and wishes, so that the fit will be the best in relation to each other and your measurements.