Cuffs on Suit Coat Sleeves

[Sator]

I have had cuffs on all my bespoke lounge and country suits (except the first), and on my top coats. I do not have them on DJ, evening coat or morning coats (formed cuffs are a possibility on morning and evening coats). On my swallow tail evening coat (in midnight blue) I have a blue velvet collar. Below is one of my lounge suit cuffs - sorry that the buttons are undone(!) - the picture was taken for a particular purpose and my camera has given up on me. This is not a great photo! The Fleming suit in the very photo above in this thread was something of an inspiration.




NJS

I like it. Very Teddy Boyish!

[storeynicholas]

Sator - thank you very much - I think!! The buttonholes don't look as rough in real life and there are 4 buttons rather than three (as might be suggested by my less than Norman Parkinson photo). The rest of these suits is perfectly timeless/contemporary - although there is a plain SB vest on the DBs - unwearable in the heat here....I was, actually, expecting someone to say that the stripes don't match up - but, frankly, I think that that would make the cuff fussy - especially as they mismatch exactly on both!!.
NJS.

[dufossat]

I have turnback cuffs on a few suits and like them for a change of pace. I believe, however, that the cuffs have to be reasonably deep to look good (like storeynicholas's and unlike those in the other photos).

[storeynicholas]

The cuffs on my suit shown nearly hide the first button when it is done up. I've seen several different styles of coat cuffs - some are like mine; some are shallow and wholly expose all the buttons and some are deep but cut away at a sharp angle to do the same; some even just cover the top of the sleeve - it's just a matter of the cutter's ideas unless you specify - and, even then, they often do as they think fit!! - "Ooh! I don't know about that, sir!" Tomorrow, provided that I can persuade my Good Lady (who has a built-in 'web camera'). to co-operate in what she regards (despite lengthy hair and nail dos) as frivolity (what! here ?), I will try to demonstrate the overall effect of this suit, with a view to showing that cuffs don't have to look quirky or anachronistic.
NJS

[Cufflink79]

In the movie "Wall Street" towards the end Gordon Gekko is wearing a suit with cuffs on them. He's on the phone telling someone to keep a ziplock mouth on the Blue Star deal.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[storeynicholas]

In the movie "Wall Street" towards the end Gordon Gekko is wearing a suit with cuffs on them. He's on the phone telling someone to keep a ziplock mouth on the Blue Star deal.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

i can't quite promise that.............
NJS

[pvpatty]

[Scot]

I have had cuffs on all my bespoke lounge and country suits (except the first), and on my top coats. I do not have them on DJ, evening coat or morning coats (formed cuffs are a possibility on morning and evening coats). On my swallow tail evening coat (in midnight blue) I have a blue velvet collar. Below is one of my lounge suit cuffs - sorry that the buttons are undone(!) - the picture was taken for a particular purpose and my camera has given up on me. This is not a great photo! The Fleming suit in the very photo above in this thread was something of an inspiration.




NJS

I think these cuffs look very nice indeed. What is the weight of the cloth? I ask because I think that with too heavy a cloth the overall effect could be one of bulk and clumsiness.

[storeynicholas]

Scot - this suit is dated May 1997 - so I don't recall the exact weight - I guess 12-13 oz.
I did promise a photograph. it is very poor quality and, until I noticed the Hitchcock touch by the photographer (far right), I was going to abandon the exercise. However, it is worth posting it just for this and, besides, it is just about possible to see that the suit is not quirky overall.



NJS

[HappyStroller]

Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen, but according to sartorial history, trousers were constructed without cuffs until a certain Prince of Wales folded up his pants while out in the country side. If that is the case, then cuffless pants should be OK, right?

And, even today, the rule is semi-formal and formal pants must not have cuffs.

All my trousers (except DJ and Morning Suit, or jeans and inexpensive chinos) have them, even cotton twill trousers and moleskins and cords. Without turn-ups, trousers look unfinished, like a SB lounge suit without a waistcoat.

Who in their right mind would dare disagree ?

Frog in Suit

[Frog in Suit]

Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen, but according to sartorial history, trousers were constructed without cuffs until a certain Prince of Wales folded up his pants while out in the country side. If that is the case, then cuffless pants should be OK, right?

And, even today, the rule is semi-formal and formal pants must not have cuffs.

I agree, of course, on the soundness of the rule of "no cuffs ob formal suits".

I think it would depend on which Prince of Wales we are indebted to for that particular rung on the ladder of sartorial progress.

If we have to go back beyond the two latest holders of the title, which, unless I am mistaken, brings us back to His late Majesty King Edward VII, then surely we must be resting on a precedent of sufficient antiquity as to make trouser turn-ups beyond the reach of censure by even the most exact upholders of tradition and propriety in the realm of dress.

Frog in Suit

[Frog in Suit]

Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen, but according to sartorial history, trousers were constructed without cuffs until a certain Prince of Wales folded up his pants while out in the country side. If that is the case, then cuffless pants should be OK, right?

And, even today, the rule is semi-formal and formal pants must not have cuffs.

I agree, of course, on the soundness of the rule of "no cuffs ob formal suits".

I think it would depend on which Prince of Wales we are indebted to for that particular rung on the ladder of sartorial progress.

If we have to go back beyond the two latest holders of the title, which, unless I am mistaken, brings us back to His late Majesty King Edward VII, then surely we must be resting on a precedent of sufficient antiquity as to make trouser turn-ups beyond the reach of censure by even the most exact upholders of tradition and propriety in the realm of dress.

Frog in Suit

I almost forgot : "HARRUMPH!"

Frog in Suit

[storeynicholas]

There's afamous picture of Edward VII at the races in a topper and turnups and there's a Spy cartoon of Joseph Chamberlain in formal clothes with turn-ups at the Despatch Box . I should just mention that Spy was Sir Leslie Ward who signed himself Spy when the cartoon was done from the life and used other signatures for other cartoons. It might well be that Victorians and Edwardians felt more liberty with such things as cuffs/turn-ups than we do.... My copy of the Joe Chamberlain cartoon is too poor to post.
NJS

[marcelo]

If we have to go back beyond the two latest holders of the title, which, unless I am mistaken, brings us back to His late Majesty King Edward VII, then surely we must be resting on a precedent of sufficient antiquity as to make trouser turn-ups beyond the reach of censure by even the most exact upholders of tradition and propriety in the realm of dress. Frog in Suit

In his Memoirs the Duke of Windsor recalls the way his father strongly opposed trousers with cuffs – or turn-ups –, to the point of frightening the future King at breakfast one morning. The relevant passage is reproduced bellow.

[storeynicholas]

Edward VII and George V could hardly have been much different men, except that George V once remarked that ... I was terrified of my father - and I made sure that my sons would be terrified of me - possibly reflected in Prince George's stutter and then, later. there was Edward VIII's ultimate rejection of his duty.

There's little doubt that George V's punctillious observance of comme il faut was partly a reaction to his own father's libertinism. However, one wonders whether Edward VII would not, perhaps, have been more robust and sent the Royal Navy to save the Romanovs; that he vetoed the plan, for me, is the main blip in George V's reign, so far as state affairs go, anyway.
NJS