French cuffs inside suit jacket -- too bulgy?
I had a custom suit made a while ago, and I want to wear it for my wedding. Since it's my wedding, it seems more appropriate to wear a shirt with French cuffs, but I didn't have a (non-tux) white shirt with French cuffs that fit well. So I had a couple made via Indochino, one with barrel cuffs and one with French cuffs.
However, I feel like the French cuffs are maybe too big, and are stretching the suit jacket sleeves a bit. When I brought it to the Indochino tailor, they suggested unbuttoning the first sleeve button, which helps a little, but I'm not sure if that's appropriate for a formal occasion like a wedding.
Attached are a few pictures with the French cuffs shirt, as well as a couple with the barrel cuffs shirt for comparison. (Note that the cufflinks are just placeholders -- if I wear this shirt, I'll probably pick out a better one.)
Questions:
1. Which one looks better for a wedding? The French cuffs shirt or, the barrel cuffs shirt?
2. Are the French cuffs too large?
3. Should I unbutton the first sleeve button for the French cuffs shirt?
4. For a wedding suit, Is it more common to wear a French cuff shirt or a barrel cuff shirt?
Incidentally, someone posted a similar question a long while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/3ivban/french_cuffs_inside_my_tuxedo_jacket_are_they_too/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=malefashionadvice&utm_content=t1_ln66hzw
Thanks in advance!
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4 Replies
How long before your wedding? That gives people a better sense of whats feasible before then
Not too long, unfortunately 😢 -- just two weeks. If I had more time, I'd go back to my old tailor to get shirts made that would fit with the suit.
1. There isn't really too much of a difference in looks in a french-cuff and barrel-cuff shirt in themselves; any difference in looks would derive from the cufflink being worn. If you have some really sexy cufflinks, there's a big difference. Likewise if you have some really shitty cufflinks, there's a big difference. On a day-to-day basis, if the cufflinks aren't particularly good or bad, I wouldn't say there's very much difference in the looks aspect.
2. Those cuffs are indeed too large - a bit smaller and they'd still be too large from a sartorial standpoint but perfectly OK from a 'no one is going to notice standpoint'
3. If it makes you feel more comfortable, sure. It's more 'rakish' than 'casual' imo, so it's not a huge deal if you do so at your wedding. It is a deliberate choice that creates a certain image, if noticed. But it's objectively not a big deal.
4. If it's my wedding, I'd try to wear a french cuff shirt - the same for going to someone else's. But I don't think its a very important thing in the overall dress element, particularly if its a daytime wedding (as I imagine it is, considering you've chosen not to wear a tuxedo?)
Are you in the UK? I'm US/UK based and french cuffs aren't really nearly as much of a thing in the US as they are in the UK. I think that outside of some specific countries, you could totally go ahead with barrel cuffs with no one noticing the difference. And even in the UK, the vast majority of men are not particularly obsessed with this distinction.
On a side note, this is an example speaking to the failings of Indochino - they're actually just not very knowledgeable about clothing, at all levels of production and including the sales reps in-store (in my experience, anyway). That cuff should never have been made with those dimensions.
Thanks, this was very helpful! Re. #4, yes, it is indeed a daytime wedding.
I'm in the US. I agree that french cuffs aren't much of a thing here anymore in general. I was under the impression that it was more common for wedding suits, but from a quick Google images search, it seems that even then barrel cuffs are the majority. (Maybe I've just been watching too much Mad Men...)
Sadly, I agree re. Indochino. I was hoping they'd at least give me a shirt that was in the ballpark, especially since I went in and had them measure me. Time to ask for a refund...