Jacket length

[Camerashy]

[/QUOTE]The coat's proper length is about the distance from the collar to the floor,
[/QUOTE]

Unsure what is meant here could you explain please
Thanks

 

[Stylewords]

Yes, check the measurement of the buttoning point as well in comparison, but I still believe 3/4 inch should be ok. If somebody is between short/regular, regular/long it can often be difficult to find jackets with the right length. Add in the problem of finding a make that fits in shoulder, chest etc, it's often not so simple as to just say "find a brand that fits better". Do some measurements with those and other jackets, but if you like the tan one then shortening by a couple of cm should be fine.

 

[Guest7889]

It's possible to shorten a jacket, but the more you shorten, the more you risk certain things

1. Along with the placement of the pockets, there's the buttoning point. The buttoning point is the top button a two-button coat and the center button on a three-button coat. On a well-balanced coat, it should stand a certain distance from the hem. And when you shorten a coat, you shorten this distance, making the bottom half of the coat look truncated.

This is independent of pocket placement. Even if you were to have a patch pocket sport coat where the pockets can be moved, the fixed position is the buttoning point.

2. You also change the silhouette. Look at these two photos when they're side by side


View attachment 1710565



A jacket's silhouette is its shape when you take away all the details. Next to fit, it's the most important dimension of a coat, as it determines your figure. When you shorten a coat, you make the coat look wider, even if you are, in fact, only changing the length. On the beige coat above, you can see how the silhouette is balanced and well proportioned. On the blue coat, when you shorten the coat, the silhouette looks boxier and wider. I assume the only difference here is the length, but the OP can confirm.

The more you shorten a coat, the more you have to change other things about the coat to keep the same silhouette. To keep that same beige coat silhouette on the blue coat, you would both need to shorten the length *and* narrow the shoulders/ chest. But of course, this is very expensive to do.

To my eye, the beige coat may not have the ideal length, but at least the silhouette is proportioned. It's elongating and balanced. The buttoning point is the right distance from the hem. The blue coat just looks like it was obviously chopped at the bottom, and the resulting silhouette makes you look wider.

The best solution is to just find coats that fit well off the rack and do minimal adjustments. If you provide better photos, we can see if the beige coat is indeed too long. It helps if you position the camera straight at chest level, wear trousers, and put on dress shoes. The coat's proper length is about the distance from the collar to the floor, and how it works with other lines in your outfit.

I think you might be able to get away with an inch or maybe 3/4 inch. I agree that on the blue jacket, the hip pockets seem a little too close to the hem and in general the proportions are a little off. Perhaps measure the distance from the hip pocket to the hem on the blue and ensure you leave more distance on the tan (of course, the proportions will be a little different anyway between the jackets, but it will give you an idea).

Indeed agreed with both, however I have decided to with half an inch of alteration on the beige coat, this would also prevent any change in shape furthermore that would still look better, the distance from pocket to hem on beige is about 10 inches or slightly longer, I believe with that alteration it should fall around 9.5 or 9 depending, which would also not compromise the buttoning position and shape of the jacket. I’ll update when it’s altered to give a better picture with regards to the blue one, it’s pockets were at 9.5 inches which are now sound 8 or 8.5 the length was also slightly more however in regards to a box look id say it’s due to the shoulders as the blue one is 40 in chest whereas the beige is 38. Both were regulars.

 

[Despos]

your last sentence/comment in the above post is the issue. You are wearing a “regular” instead of buying a short.

distance of the pocket to the hem is an irrelevant measure to decide balance and proportion. The pocket should be as close to the half way point when you measure from the bottom of the armhole to the hem. Sometimes it’s the distance from hem to the lower pocket, to breast pocket, to the shoulder is three equal parts. Depends on the total length of a jacket.
These proportions are what make the look appear balanced.

The person who shortened the blue blue jacket did not do it well. They just shortened straight across the hem and didn’t reshape the curve of the lower front. Compare the round shape of the beige to to blue. The blue looks chopped off. Ask them to match the original shape of the beige to keep the same round shape. Ask them To fix the blue. Something in the lining or facing is tight and making the hem pull up and roll under in a weird way on the hem just before the curve up to the front edge.
The blue jacket looks so chopped off, would think twice about shortening the beige.
Try to find jackets in a short and everything will be much easier. typical difference of short and regular is 1”.
The blue jacket loooks boxy because it fits loose around the waist. Could use some shape. There is a roll under the collar too. All visible from the side view. Jacket drape looks like an A instead of II From the side.

 

[Stylewords]

Indeed agreed with both, however I have decided to with half an inch of alteration on the beige coat, this would also prevent any change in shape furthermore that would still look better, the distance from pocket to hem on beige is about 10 inches or slightly longer, I believe with that alteration it should fall around 9.5 or 9 depending, which would also not compromise the buttoning position and shape of the jacket. I’ll update when it’s altered to give a better picture with regards to the blue one, it’s pockets were at 9.5 inches which are now sound 8 or 8.5 the length was also slightly more however in regards to a box look id say it’s due to the shoulders as the blue one is 40 in chest whereas the beige is 38. Both were regulars.

That should be fine. Enjoy your jacket.

 

[Guest7889]

your last sentence/comment in the above post is the issue. You are wearing a “regular” instead of buying a short.

distance of the pocket to the hem is an irrelevant measure to decide balance and proportion. The pocket should be as close to the half way point when you measure from the bottom of the armhole to the hem. Sometimes it’s the distance from hem to the lower pocket, to breast pocket, to the shoulder is three equal parts. Depends on the total length of a jacket.
These proportions are what make the look appear balanced.

The person who shortened the blue blue jacket did not do it well. They just shortened straight across the hem and didn’t reshape the curve of the lower front. Compare the round shape of the beige to to blue. The blue looks chopped off. Ask them to match the original shape of the beige to keep the same round shape. Ask them To fix the blue. Something in the lining or facing is tight and making the hem pull up and roll under in a weird way on the hem just before the curve up to the front edge.
The blue jacket looks so chopped off, would think twice about shortening the beige.
Try to find jackets in a short and everything will be much easier. typical difference of short and regular is 1”.
The blue jacket loooks boxy because it fits loose around the waist. Could use some shape. There is a roll under the collar too. All visible from the side view. Jacket drape looks like an A instead of II From the side.

The problem is I got these as a gift hence I couldn’t get a short, the blue one was shortened by 1.5 I believe that’s why, and yes perhaps it’s the curve that hasn’t been shaped properly that’s causing a boxy look, but maybe I can get away with it perhaps.

 

[Despos]

The coat's proper length is about the distance from the collar to the floor,
[/QUOTE]

Unsure what is meant here could you explain please
Thanks
[/QUOTE]
Missing word is “half”. Half the distance from the undercollar the floor. It’s one method of approximating the jacket length.

 

[Guest7889]

The coat's proper length is about the distance from the collar to the floor,

Unsure what is meant here could you explain please
Thanks
[/QUOTE]
Missing word is “half”. Half the distance from the undercollar the floor. It’s one method of approximating the jacket length.
[/QUOTE]
Could you elaborate further?

 

[breakaway01]

what @Despos meant to write is “the coat’s proper length is about HALF the distance from the collar to the floor.” That is, the bottom of the coat should visually bisect your body.

 

[Guest7889]

what @Despos meant to write is “the coat’s proper length is about HALF the distance from the collar to the floor.” That is, the bottom of the coat should visually bisect your body.

Thank you for explaining! ?

 

[breakaway01]

For whatever it's worth, before you shorten the jacket, i'd first shorten the sleeves to the proper length and take in the body a bit. Then decide how much you really need to shorten the jacket body. I am not 100% convinced you need to shorten the body just based on these photos (as @dieworkwear said, the camera angle introduces some perspective distortion that makes the jacket look longer than it really is).

 

[Guest7889]

For whatever it's worth, before you shorten the jacket, i'd first shorten the sleeves to the proper length and take in the body a bit. Then decide how much you really need to shorten the jacket body. I am not 100% convinced you need to shorten the body just based on these photos (as @dieworkwear said, the camera angle introduces some perspective distortion that makes the jacket look longer than it really is).

Indeed, I’ve now given it to be shortened by only 1 inch, the sleeves are already altered fingers crossed let’s hope it turn out best, I’ve instructed my tailor to keep the shape of the silhouette same after shortening plus an inch won’t compromise jackets pockets as they were 10 inches from the hem with an inch altered they will be 9 inches from the hem hence not causing problems for the jackets appearance.

 

[breakaway01]

An inch is a lot when it comes to jacket length. It's more than pocket-hem distance as others have pointed out. Good luck with the jacket.

 

[Guest7889]

An inch is a lot when it comes to jacket length. It's more than pocket-hem distance as others have pointed out. Good luck with the jacket.

Yes, but as I quoted the pocket distance from the hem at 10 inches, also I do have a jacket in almost the same silhouette which has a distance of 9 inches I hardly doubt it will compromise the integrity of the jacket since the jacket was only slightly longer.

 

[Despos]

Could have asked the tailor to baste or pin the jacket 1” shorter before doing anything permanent. Would give you a visual of the change before committing to an amount To shorten the jacket. Easy to do, takes less than 10 minutes to do this.
Big difference of the two jackets is where the bottom button aligns with the lower pockets. The lower button on the beige jacket is on a horizontal line with the top of the pocket flap. Th e button on the blue jacket is about 3/4” lower than the pocket flap. This is a benefit to the beige jacket and is a problem with the blue one. The beige will look better balanced.
Will repeat what I said earlier. The distance from the pocket to the hem doesn’t make a difference. How the pocket placement on the body of the jacket is determined matters. Try to keep it placed half way between the bottom of the armhole and the hem to look balanced or within a 1/2” of that mid point.