How long should my suit jacket be?

I am 6 feet tall. I bought a solid navy and a solid grey from Brooks Brothers yesterday (got about 30% each of $900).

Both suits are a 42L. I get the long because I have very long arms and usually only the 42L sleeves have enough material to full cover my arm. I am trying to figure out if the jacket is actually too long. If this is the case, then I may have to get some bespoke suits which is outside of my budget right now.

The salesperson at BB said that from the top of the collar to the bottom of the jacket should be the same distance as the bottom of the jacket to the ground.

My measurements:
Collar to bottom of jacket: 32 inches
Bottom of jacket to grough: 30.5 inches

Is this the proper jacket length?

Flusser's Dressing the Man has the same guideline, but I wouldn't take it as absolute since not everybody is ideally proportioned. Within the spectrum of 6 foot tall men, you'll find some with longer torsos and shorter legs, some with shorter torsos and longer legs, and every variation in between. There's not a single jacket length that could be prescribed for all of them.

How far does the jacket come down your back side? If should be long enough to fully cover your behind, but not unnecessarily longer.

A suit jacket is like a good lawyer. It should cover your ass.

If the coat is 32 inches from the top of the collar, I wonder if it's truly a size Long?

I wear a 42 Regular and every one of my suit coats and SC's is at least 32 inches long from top of collar to coat hem, so I really wonder if a 32 inch length coat is a Long.

I also agree with the previous poster that people have different proportioned torso's and that a better rule for jacket length is to judge by where the bottom of the coat is in relation to your backside and perhaps also to your fingertips.

I'm 6' tall and originally my tailor told me that I'm a 42L, but I'm trying to get rid of these sack suits now. The long is just too long for my liking and the shoulders on the 42 are always make me look a little bit too much like a football player. So now I go for 40R, even if they are a tad snug when buttoned.

I think just barely covering the bottom butt crease is best for a slim suit. If you have your hands at your sides, your fingers will naturally roll up a little bit, the skirt of the jacket should be no longer than where they tips of your fingers are, I like the skirt just a little bit shorter though, with slim pants especially.

My 42R jackets range from 31.5-33" measured from the top of the collar as well. If you get a jacket long enough to cover your ass plus 1", I would be surprised if the sleeves couldn't be let out to where you want them.

I had a really short sleeve extended once, and the tailor had to add fabric, creating a seam just inside the sleeve. It isn't visible, so I'm happy. This seems like a better way to go to me as opposed to shortening a 42L jacket body to get the right sleeve length.

Cpadude, since you're a new member (welcome to the forum!), I'm required to comment: many men wear their suit sleeves too long, are you sure yours aren't? (Post pics.)

Please comment. I just started wearing suits, and am feeling the rough learning curve of making this all come together. All comments welcome, positive or not.

Also, I paid what I think is a lot to a tailor ($170) for him to make adjustments to the seat, sleeves, shoulder, and waist. I'm not sure he is *done*, and if you don't think so, please let me know so I can go wrap on his door again.

Thanks

;>

The sleeve length is good! It's hard to tell where your butt is exactly, but the jacket couldn't go much shorter: I believe it would look odd if the jacket were shorter than the sleeves. Good button stance - Brooks Brothers never lives up to my expectations. There seems to be a bit of wrinkling at the back of the sleeves, but maybe it just needs some steam or something? (Other members are better at this game than I am.) The trousers are definitely too long and maybe don't fit right around the crotch. The grey-on-grey stripes are a nice choice.

You have very, very long arms, and I think a size long jacket is necessary so that it looks longer than your sleeves.

Your pants look much too full. I'd say to go back and have him fix that, but it sounds/looks like he may not be very good especially for what he charges. Although if you had much done to the shoulder, I could understand the price. Also, the crotch fit is weird, and the jacket vent looks like it's opening for some reason. It may be just the pic, but it shouldn't open when you stand normally. May need that taken out a bit.

Sleeve length on the jacket looks all right - you may want to tighten up your shirt cuffs (move the button a bit) so that your cuffs don't hang over your hands.

This internet diagnosis procedure is pretty limited, BTW. You might be best off going into a good menswear shop (an independent place, hopefully - those guys are usually the ones who know what they're talking about) and talking to them and getting in touch with whoever does their tailoring, and have him look at what you need done.

Originally Posted by Jared

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The sleeve length is good! It's hard to tell where your butt is exactly, but the jacket couldn't go much shorter: I believe it would look odd if the jacket were shorter than the sleeves.

Yeah, I agree. The jacket as a whole is pretty good.

The trousers are definitely too long and maybe don't fit right around the crotch.

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Agree here as well. It looks like the same problem that I have with off-the-rack suits - I'm about an 8-10 inch drop, whereas most suits are 6 inch. The trousers need some shortening, and more needs to be done to get the extra fabric out of the crotch/upper leg area.

The jacket looks great in length, any longer would make you look shorter - i prefer a slightly shorter jacket to lengthen my legs. I agree on trimming down the pants a bit to go with the sleeker style of the jacket

This is a generalization but to determine your basic jacket length take you full height, 72", divide by 2 = 36. subtract 4". 32 is your jacket length. This is measured from the point where the under collar is sewn to the jacket ( under the top collar). Measuring from the top of the collar is a variation created by and for internet shopping but is not practiced by actual tailors. This length will vary depending on you own proportion of torso to leg.

An advantage for you going MTM or full custom would be a properly balanced jacket. From the side you see the jacket fronts flaring out and upward due to your posture and the jacket not being in sync. Proper proportion from a jacket cut specifically for you would balance the sleeve and jacket length and not draw attention to long arms etc.
The jacket you are wearing does not look too long but it is not accurate to judge from a picture on the internet.

Originally Posted by tiecollector

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If you have your hands at your sides, your fingers will naturally roll up a little bit, the skirt of the jacket should be no longer than where they tips of your fingers are

There is no correlation between where a jacket hits one's hand and proper jacket length. Arm length varies among individuals.

Originally Posted by Tomasso

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There is no correlation between where a jacket hits one's hand and proper jacket length. Arm length varies among individuals.
No correlation? Don't you think it would look very odd if a person's sleeves were longer than the coat?