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high vs. low armholes

christian

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I read some posts where people talked about why they liked a suitt because it had a high vs. low armholes. What difference does it make?

And, why would better shirts have higher armholes?
 

Manton

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High armholes are more comfortable, because they allow for greater freedom of movement by the arms, especially if the sleevehead is large and there is some drape in the chest and over the blades.  They also help a jacket fit better and stay in place when you move.  On a jacket with large armholes, when you move your arms, the whole jacket shifts position somewhat dramatically.  When the armhole is high, you can move your arms, the body and collar of the jacket tend to stay in place.

With shirts, the principle is pretty much the same.
 

christian

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Manton,

Is this something you can differentiate only by wearing the suit or shirt? Or, can you see it with the naked eye? Thanks.
 

Manton

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Hard to tell with shirts. With suits, it is more visible to the eye, but wearing is the only real test.
 

Brian SD

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Doesn't a high armhole also give a slimmer arm cut?
 

Manton

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Doesn't a high armhole also give a slimmer arm cut?
Not necessarily.  Tailors can cut a fairly wide arm, and then pleat the top of the sleeve into the shoulder (or sleevehead).  This is the great "trick" of Neapolitan tailoring.  Of course, on a Neapolitan coat, only the sleevehead is large; the arm tapers significantly down to the wrist.

The point is that there is no necessary correlation between armhole and sleeve width.  However, it throws off the proportion if the coat if the sleeve is too wide for the body, so good tailors don't do that.  But they could.
 

Brian SD

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(Brian SD @ 26 Oct. 2004, 4:17) Doesn't a high armhole also give a slimmer arm cut?
Not necessarily. Tailors can cut a fairly wide arm, and then pleat the top of the sleeve into the shoulder (or sleevehead). This is the great "trick" of Neapolitan tailoring. Of course, on a Neapolitan coat, only the sleevehead is large; the arm tapers significantly down to the wrist. The point is that there is no necessary correlation between armhole and sleeve width. However, it throws off the proportion if the coat if the sleeve is too wide for the body, so good tailors don't do that. But they could.
So, if I'm getting this right, a slim cut requires a high armhole, but a high armhole doesn't necessarily create a slim cut. Makes sense.
 

Alias

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In this one tailoring book I own (I think I found it on Manton's Amazon wish list, so I went and ordered a copy for myself) it says that the cutting edge of the armhole should be about 1" below the center of the armpit. Sounds about right to me.

Low armholes really suck.
 

Manton

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So, if I'm getting this right, a slim cut requires a high armhole, but a high armhole doesn't necessarily create a slim cut. Makes sense.
Well, I think there's really two different things under discussion here: the cut of the actual sleeves of the jacket, and the cut of the body of the jacket.

As a matter of sihouette, these ought to be in proportion or else the jacket will look cartoonish.

Yet, in principle, tailors can make the sleeves as wide as they want, and the body as baggy as they want. For example, in New York in the 1950s and 60s, during the sack suit's heyday, some custom tailors offered bespoke sack suits that had very small armholes, but fairly baggy bodies.  The RTW sack suits had large armholes.

Conversely, I suppose it would be possible to cut a jacket with very big armholes, but tight shoulders and a fitted skirt.  It would be hard to make a slim chest, however, but I suppose it could be done.

Of course, low armholes give a coat a kind of "droopy" look which is not slimming, no matter how trim the coat may be in other respects.
 

rilian

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Pardon my ignorance, does higher armholes inherently mean smaller armholes? Or are we talking only about position in relation to the body of the suit?
 

undarted

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Generally yes, but armholes can be cut at various curves. Think of the letter "J" - a small armhole refers to the length of the entire arc.

A high armhole refers more specifically to the vertical part of the J, the stem. Higher armholes generally are cut so that there is more curve to the "J" - a shorter stem.

However, I have seen, both in rtw, and mtm, long stems and short tails. That would work if men's arms worked in primarily a flapping manner.

But since our arms generally move back and forward in a pendulum manner, the more logical approach to armholes would be shorter stems, longer tails in the "j"

In short, two armholes can have the exact same size (diameter), but they can be cut in a way so that one is higher (shorter stem, longer tail) than the other (longer stem, shorter tail).

A good thing to look out for (personally) is a curve that cuts deeper into the chest. This provides more mobility and gives you a higher armhole.

I'm no expert though, just my personal observations and experiences.
 

Sprezzatura2010

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Another virtue to high armholes in shirts is that the sleeve seems to ride up less when you're wearing a jacket.
 

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