UPDATE On the Street....Outerwear Sleeve Length, New York, Florence

Not to beat a dead horse, but this outerwear sleeve length isssue is really something to consider. It's not something I'm just making up.

The first time I really noticed it was while watching the Cary Grant movie, The Awful Truth. There's a fantastic scene with Ralph Bellamy dressed in formalwear for a night out on the town. There was something so chic about that half-inch of white shirt cuff peeking out from his perfectly slim fitting overcoat; it was the only thing I could look at for the entire scene. I'd never seen anything like it before.

It was one of those images I put in my memory bank. On those rare occasions since when I've see it in person, it still rings true as such a refined look.

I mentioned in the post originally that maybe this was a sportier affect. As you can see in the photograph above, it does still look great in the most formal of situations.

To be honest, I was surprised at how dogmatic the response was to the original post - "A coat is supposed to keep you warm! You'll never be warm with an exposed wrist." Come on. I'm not suggesting you wear this all the time. If it's freezing, wear a different coat. You can tell the guys in the pictures below are not freezing - it was maybe 40 degrees when these were taken.

What I'm suggesting is...don't hide behind "form follows function." What I'm trying to do is not create a rule but share options that I've seen.

Last thing: Let's make a special note of just how perfectly Ralph Bellamy's coat fits in this photograph. Another victory for the slim fit coat!


Not only do I think we wear our outerwear too big but I also think we wear the sleeve length too long.

As you see these two very elegant gentlemen wear a shorter sleeve length with a healthy amount of shirt cuff showing. Notice they are also wearing this look with a knit and not a suit. Maybe this sleeve length is a bit sportier?