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@hem_and_haw ·

Blazer sleeves hit my knuckles but the shoulders fit perfectly, what gets altered Alterations

Found a wool blazer secondhand and the shoulder seam sits exactly where my shoulder ends, which apparently never happens for me. Problem is the sleeves swallow my hands — about 2 inches too long. There are three working buttons at the cuff. Is this a cheap fix or am I about to pay more than the jacket cost?

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  • @oxford_cloth_ollie · 4mo ago · 3 replies

    Shoulders fit is the whole ballgame, everything else is negotiable, so buy it. Sleeves shorten from the top (at the shoulder seam) when there are functional buttonholes, because cutting from the cuff would destroy them. That's a harder job than a cuff shortening and you're looking at maybe $60-90 rather than $25. Ask specifically whether they can shorten from the sleevehead — a lot of dry-cleaner tailors will say no.

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    • @oxford_cloth_ollie · 4mo ago

      Right — they open the armhole, pull the sleeve up, re-set it and re-do the lining. Two inches is on the edge of what's safe because the sleeve tapers, so the cuff opening ends up slightly wider than intended. On most blazers you'd never notice.

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    • @hem_and_haw · 4mo ago

      Didn't know that was even a thing. So the sleeve gets detached and reattached higher?

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  • @ines_marchetti · 4mo ago · 2 replies

    Other option nobody mentions: have them cut from the bottom and convert the buttons to non-functional. Costs about a third as much. Purists will tell you it's a crime. I've done it on two jackets and literally not one person has ever unbuttoned my cuff to check.

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    • @merino_max · 4mo ago

      Agree with the practical take, but the tailor still has to move the buttons up and the old buttonholes will show as faint marks on some fabrics. On a tweed you'll never see it, on a smooth worsted you might.

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  • @thea_mandel · 4mo ago

    Two inches is a lot. Before you commit, check where the sleeve is actually too long — measure from your shoulder bone to your wrist bone and compare to the jacket. Sometimes the sleeve is fine and the shoulder seam is sitting 1cm outboard, which reads as long sleeves.

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  • @lena_arbogast · 4mo ago

    For what it's worth, correct blazer sleeve length is roughly at the wrist bone with about half an inch of shirt cuff showing. If you're aiming at where the sleeve ends on a shop mannequin you'll go too short.

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