Sartorial temptations never taken

[Film Noir Buff]

If you've seen the film Wall Street, you might remember Michael Douglas in a grey flannel suit with turn back cuffs on the sleeves telling Charlie Sheen that he controlled the price of a paperclip. I never forgot the image, it seemed so unusual, so powerful, and something Id never considered. I finally had it done on a navy cashmere chalk stripe suit but it was a while in the making and I harbored it on my list of sartorial items to get. Now my dream is to get initial cloth that which has stripes composed of the words "Yankee Pinstripes" or "Blondes Brunettes Redheads" for social occasions. What has been your sartorial temptation that you've never indulged in or which took you a long time to treat yourself to?

 

[Manton]

Bash me all you want about rules and pedantry, etc., but that is NOT the way a turnback cuff is supposed to look. None of the buttons are supposed to be cut through it. And the edges are supposed to be curved. See this pic, from Flusser, first sleeve on the left:

Maybe a little more attention to tradition would have saved you from this.

 

[Fuuma]

I sometimes wear a cords tuxedo with satin lapels and turnback cuffs. Not sure what the rules have to say about that aside from "NO!!". For what it's worth they're shaped the traditional way.

 

[pabloj]

Originally Posted by Manton

Bash me all you want about rules and pedantry, etc., but that is NOT the way a turnback cuff is supposed to look. ...
+1

 

[medwards]

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

If you've seen the film Wall Street, you might remember Michael Douglas in a grey flannel suit with turn back cuffs on the sleeves telling Charlie Sheen that he controlled the price of a paperclip. I never forgot the image, it seemed so unusual, so powerful, and something Id never considered. I finally had it done on a navy cashmere chalk stripe suit but it was a while in the making and I harbored it on my list of sartorial items to get.

It was a temptation that you should have resisted.

 

[cuffthis]

Originally Posted by pabloj

+1

+2

 

[greekonomist]

oh snap!

 

[Tarmac]

Yeah that looks kind of stupid. It looks like you are wearing trousers on your arms.

 

[quartzguy]

Let me guess, you don't work on Wall St.. And if you do I suspect it won't be for long once you wear that suit into the office.

 

[passingtime]

Originally Posted by Manton

Bash me all you want about rules and pedantry, etc., but that is NOT the way a turnback cuff is supposed to look. None of the buttons are supposed to be cut through it. And the edges are supposed to be curved.
Here are some examples of cuff styles from a 1900 cutters guide. The Flusser example is in there but so are a lot of others including examples with cut through buttons.

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

I never forgot the image, it seemed so unusual, so powerful, and something Id never considered.

I finally had it done on a navy cashmere chalk stripe suit but it was a while in the making and I harbored it on my list of sartorial items to get.


Somehow, NC seems to have combined the eccentricity of the turnback cuff with none of its merits. But if you like it, c'est la vie.

The biggest sartorial temptation that I have never taken is a full fur coat.

So far, I have compromised with an Invertère bearcat, which is fuzzy like iammatt.


- B

 

[yachtie]

I'm thinking about a Bias-stripe DB like the one RSS posted a while back.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by Manton

Bash me all you want about rules and pedantry, etc., but that is NOT the way a turnback cuff is supposed to look. None of the buttons are supposed to be cut through it. And the edges are supposed to be curved. See this pic, from Flusser, first sleeve on the left:

Maybe a little more attention to tradition would have saved you from this.

I never liked curves on turnbacks and wouldn't order them that way. Ces't la vie.

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by passingtime

Here are some examples of cuff styles from a 1900 cutters guide. The Flusser example is in there but so are a lot of others including examples with cut through buttons.

I've only seen two shops do it, Flusser and A&S; both did the the curved way, no cut through. As, I should add, was the one that inspired FNB from the movie -- made by Flusser.

Whatever the historical accuracy of FNB's cuff, it looks bloody awful.

And, anyway, historical pedant that I am, I would not take my cues for a 2008 suit from a 1900 cutter's guide. I will leave that to Sator. And, now, to FNB as well.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

Yeah that looks kind of stupid. It looks like you are wearing trousers on your arms.
Very astute. I didn't want the one Flusser makes. I wanted one that was subtle and unique. But for those of you interested in facts and traditions: Historically this sort of cuff on my suit sleeve goes back a long way but it was perfected by two of the best dressed gentlemen in NYC during the 1950s, co-proprietors of a high end clothing company and by another company out of California who also sold in the very best stores in NYC during the 1960s-70s. It was adopted by Brooks Brothers exactly how you see it pictured above as the best version of the turnback cuff for the suit sleeve. Basically the Flusser version is an imitation cuff done with a seam and is considered "junk" in the industry. The cut through cuff on my suit is a "pure" cuff, a separate piece of fabric sewn on top of the sleeve edge with a functional buttonhole. It is uniform to match the pants and provides a flatter, slimmer silhouette which is very refined. Only the most skilled tailors would even attempt to create a cuff like this on a jacket sleeve. It is difficult to set it right and sew it smoothly. In this case the cuff was pieced together so skillfully that my tailor had to purposefully misalign the stripes for it to be noticed. This in contradistinction to the curved-Flusser cuff which is too in your face. If someone doesn't like it, that's fine but this is a unique, subtle, custom detail.