Working Buttons on Suit Sleeves

[shoes22]

i am having a jacket altered so that the buttons work on the sleeves? Is this something I should trust my guy (reliable so far) to do? Also isn't this kind of a must do on a nice coat?

 

[edmorel]

No to both if by "your guy" you mean a local dry cleaner. Working button holes are neither must haves (I do like them) nor only for expensive coats as many cheap ones now come with working button holes.

 

[creat3cp]

why do you need to alter when you can get a new coat with button? And what does a tailor do? ( they alter clothes and give you suggestion to alter more)

just my personal thought, I give up on altering my coat button in the end.

 

[grimslade]

Working button holes (or rather, for RTW, basted sleeves without holes) are sometimes found on high-end suits. Bespoke suits often have working button-holes. So it is perceived as a sign of quality (it's also kinda cool cuz it's different from the norm). But having working button holes added to a suit that doesn't have them won't make that suit better. Of course.

Depending on how the suit sleeves are constructed, btw, adding buttonholes may be difficult.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by grimslade

But having working button holes added to a suit that doesn't have them won't make that suit better.

Exactly. They seemed to have evolved into a sartorial affectation.

 

[chobochobo]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

Exactly. They seemed to have evolved into a sartorial affectation.

Yes, I have a Sulka suit which has them- the suit is nice but not my best. And then a few Fiorovantis which really aren't worth speaking about. My best jacket/suits (Oxxfords) don't have them. They really aren't 'functional' as far as I can tell, as modern suit wearing goes.

 

[kitonbrioni]

Working suit sleeve buttonholes always as a statement of your personal style.

 

[GBR]

Originally Posted by ......2

i am having a jacket altered so that the buttons work on the sleeves? Is this something I should trust my guy (reliable so far) to do? Also isn't this kind of a must do on a nice coat?

No to the first. Why oh why is there this fascination with converting a coat into something it is not? Leave well alone - if it is cheap or ill fitting then it will always be cheap or ill fitting and no amount of unneeded changes to the sleeve buttons will change this one jot.

 

[Jovan]

Originally Posted by kitonbrioni

Working suit sleeve buttonholes always as a statement of your personal style.
Not necessarily. While the detail is nice to have, not many people will focus much on it unless you purposely leave a button or two undone on the cuffs like some do. I do like them myself however, and a couple of times when I've worn my suit out I've found them useful for washing my hands. I think the most attractive thing about it, as has probably been said here before, is a. the suit has that kind of detail put into it and b. the affection for many sartorialists about having a lot of handwork on suits. (One reason kitonbrioni previously said he likes an off the rack Brioni rather than a Savile Row bespoke item, though the amount of handwork in either compared to each other seems up to debate.*) In answer to ......2's question, I think you should only trust someone you've known to do this well on others' jackets before. The main thing to ask yourself is: With how much (or little) I paid for this, is it a good idea to trust him? If it's an inexpensive suit, I would leave it alone personally. *If this isn't you, I apologize, I'm just going by memory.