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tailor kept my suit sleeves too long (working button holes)...any good solution?

huskyzealot

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I cant't stand not seeing any of my shirt sleeve when wearing a suit.

Right now my suit sleeves are just a tad bit too long. I know that having working button holes really limits what you can do regarding sleeve length, but is there any way to decrease the sleeve length, even slightly, without messing with the shoulder? I am hoping for maybe a little more than 1/4th of an inch.

I am apprehensive to have my long time tailor mess with the shoulders on this suit. My understanding is that even the best tailors can have trouble doing the shortening at the shoulders and it can be very costly. Not to mention that the particular suit in question was not cheap. But....if that is my only option, I'd love to hear some success stories and references for good tailors for this in NYC.
 

saiyar1

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Take in from shoulder or take in from wrist. No other way to shorten. I would take off a tiny bit from the wrists. If you told your tailor where exactly you wanted to have the sleeves end, find a new tailor. If you didn't then just keep in mind next time you need to be clear, but it's not his fault. However, this is just another reason why it's silly to have cuffs that open. No flexibility once holes are made.
 

Gus

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Have it taken in at the shoulder. A good tailor can do it and can do a fine job.

Yes it is expensive $100-$150 depending upon where you and for the best in town tailor. I'm sure you can find someone who will do it cheaper but I would pay more with the tailor with the best rep.
 

mlongano

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I would think 1/4" is doable from the wrist.
 

acecow

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Take it from the wrist. If it's not a lot, it won't mess up the aesthetics too much. Plus, you can always leave the last button unbuttoned.
 

huskyzealot

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Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy
Have it taken in at the shoulder. A good tailor can do it and can do a fine job.

Yes it is expensive $100-$150 depending upon where you and for the best in town tailor. I'm sure you can find someone who will do it cheaper but I would pay more with the tailor with the best rep.


Is that a per-sleeve or total price estimate?
 

landshark

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An important question to ask: Does a sleeve with working buttonholes at the sleeve's edge look bad?
 

Master-Classter

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how much space is there between the last button and the end of the sleeve? I thought about 1.5 inches or something was standard so taking off like 0.25 shouldn't mess things up.
 

GBR

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Working button holes are generally the product of going to a decent cutter or else an affectation causing them to be added to RTW garments. It could of course be second hand.

If bespoken or even MTM then getting the sleeve length right should have been the business of your cutter/supplier.

So, if MTMN or bespoke take it back, if an alteration to RTW, get the length right first or if second hand either get a decent tailor who can alter from the shoulder or accept it as it is or sell it.
 

huskyzealot

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To be honest, I am not sure who is at fault with the sleeve length issue. I had to rush out of my last fitting to get somewhere and I clearly overlooked the sleeve length when picking up the suit. That being said, there is no way, I would have been fine with such long sleeves during the fitting. Regardless, my tailor is awesome, I just stopped by his shop and he offered to bring the sleeves up at the shoulder for free. Having used him for a number of flawless jobs in the past, I feel decently comfortable that he is not going to F-up the whole suit and that the length issue was not poor tailoring but a miss-communication.

When I looked at the sleeves more closely, it was clear that .25 inches wasn't going to get it done (closer to .5 was needed) so shortening at the cuff was not really an option.
 

empirestate

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Is shortening at the wrist a half-inch that noticeable?

Is there a general consensus as to what the cutoff is before one needs to short at the shoulder?
 

huskyzealot

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Originally Posted by empirestate
Is shortening at the wrist a half-inch that noticeable?

Is there a general consensus as to what the cutoff is before one needs to short at the shoulder?


Having just looked into this, I think the consensus is around .25 is the max you should shorten at a cuff if there is currently the standard 1.5 of space from the last button to the cuff.
 

empirestate

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That makes sense. I was on the wrong track - wondering if the reason was due to the cut of the sleeve, not thinking about the buttonholes.
 

Gus

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Originally Posted by huskyzealot
Regardless, my tailor is awesome, I just stopped by his shop and he offered to bring the sleeves up at the shoulder for free.

Good man! He should and he did the right thing.
 

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