The Right Suit Sleeve Length: How Much Shirt Cuff Should Show?

Put on the dress shirt you wear most often before judging a jacket sleeve. With your arms relaxed at your sides, roughly ¼–½ inch of visible shirt cuff is a useful starting point. The amount can vary with the shirt, jacket and occasion.

Fasten the cuffs and look at both wrists from the front and the side. If one cuff disappears, check how the shirt sits on that wrist before asking a tailor to shorten the jacket.

Compare the three common fits

• Too long: the jacket swallows the cuff even though the shirt reaches the wrist.
• Too short: a large section of cuff stays exposed while the arms hang naturally.
• Balanced: a narrow strip of shirt shows at rest. More cuff will show when you bend your arms.

Bring the shirt to the fitting

Bring the watch you usually wear, too. A cuff can catch on a watch and make one side sit higher. Functional sleeve buttonholes can also limit how much a tailor can shorten from the cuff.

Further reading: Proper Cloth’s jacket sleeve fit guide.