Tailoring sleeves with functional buttons?

I just picked up this eBay find. It fits me pretty well out of the box, minus the sleeve length. The problem is that it has functional buttons. Will a basic-ass tailor be able to adjust a jacket from the sleeve head (which seems like a huge hassle) or can I afford to lose some of the end of the sleeves (like 1/2 an inch) and still have things look okay?
11 Replies
kstocks
kstocks11mo ago
I wouldn't trust a basic tailor with a sleeve head adjustment but I think taking off 1/2" max could be ok, I've done it before.
Viễn Hắc
Viễn Hắc11mo ago
Depends. I dont like regret so i always ask for adj at shoulder seam.
sioku
sioku11mo ago
functional sleeves are something i avoid for this reason but ive takent it off the sleeve instead of the shoulder/sleevehaed because i dont want it to get fucked up lol things have gotten really close to the sleeve buttons but i actually dont mind it i just unbutton the ones closest to the end so it loosk more "normal" however it doesn't look THAT long on you but if you feel like it is, i wouldn't midn taking it regularly just make sure you ask the tailor how they're going to do it i got a drake's sample navy hopsack jacket from a friend during the pandemic and i shortened it from the sleeve
sioku
sioku11mo ago
I don’t actually care lol
kstocks
kstocks11mo ago
Yeah that looks great especially on a darker fabric where you can't really tell. I've had a tailor mess up the sleevehead on the jacket and it just made me not want to wear it as often. And I agree with Ethan that the sleeves already don't look too long so you could maybe even get away with just 1/4" or so
callthatgoing_
callthatgoing_11mo ago
Yeah, this is more about the risk of messing up the shoulders vs the risk of a goofy cuff And I normally avoid functional cuffs secondhand, too But this was Loro Piana wool for $150
kstocks
kstocks11mo ago
It's a nice jacket! I think the only concern would be that there's contrast stitching on the buttonhole so you probably couldn't go as low as Ethan did in his example but I think what you're thinking is totally fine TBH seems like one of those things that only people super into tailoring would even notice anyways
callthatgoing_
callthatgoing_11mo ago
I keep tugging at my shirt sleeves, because not having them show is driving me crazy! I've also got a jacket I need to see if they can let the sleeves down a bit (also a fuctional button sleeve, but it's only one button, so there's a lot less going on)
gimp
gimp11mo ago
Lots of answers here. People are right. One, you are so close to a good fit you can just ignore it. Some people actually prefer jacket to be around the same length as shirt, even though most advice recommends a little less. Two, you are so close to a good fit that getting it just like 1/4" shorter should be easy. Usually the advice is 1" between bottom button and sleeve end. This is not a hard and fast rule, more like a "if you can get it absolutely perfect, do" rule. Realistically, anything from 0.5" to 1.5" will probably look okay. Three, if you had to shorten it enough to run into issues, you'd need to do it at the sleevehead and this requires a real tailor, not just an alterationist. It would need some searching and some discussion. Totally doable, and in fact while you're at it you'd reset the sleeve pitch to fix any minor deficiencies, but it's expensive and risky.
the_twinne😎
the_twinne😎11mo ago
The sleeve length looks acceptable to me. I’d leave it alone.
Viễn Hắc
Viễn Hắc11mo ago
Unless it a suit, sleeves jacket cover shirt’s is fine in my book Looks good imo