Jacket too small?

[thunderw21]

It feels fine but it looks too short/small.

What do you think? It looks to me that the belted back sits a little high and of course the sleeves are short (normal for me with my monkey arms, I can let it down as much as I need) but it covers my rear.

 

[Mahagonny Bill]

I don't think the belt looks too high. Worn with the right style pants it should be fine. It looks to me like the chest is too tight, but that could just be the picture. It's a great looking jacket though, well worth having some tailoring done.

 

[Jerekson]

The smaller the better if you ask me. In a world where jackets are actually tailored to fit two sizes too big, a small fit is a nice thing to have.

 

[thunderw21]

I'm getting ready for work so here are some pics with a more normal sports coat outfit. Again, sleeves are uber short.
I know the belt is supposed to sit at the waist but it seems about an inch too high, getting up onto my back.

 

[KObalto]

If you can move comfortably in it, I'd say it's fine. Generally, if a jacket is too small and you button it, you will get a crease in an X-shape.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

The sleeves appear at least an inch or two short. The body appears a good inch short as well, but that's really that bad. From the back, it looks OK. What I'm looking at, in regard to the body, is the rule of thumb that the bottom hem of the coat should be about the first knuckle of your fingers - holding your arms loosely at your sides and cupping the fingers slightly upward, the hem should be somewhere between the knuckles on your hand and the first knuckle on your fingers. But then, too, back in the 20s, 30s & part-way into the 40s, jackets were a little shorter in the body. Therefore, the body length on that jacket MIGHT be a little more "vintage-correct."

I'd say if you can lengthen the sleeves enough, go for it, and not worry about the rest.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Having the arms lengthened would help the look substantially.

People generally wear their jackets too long. This one seems about right.

bk

 

[MrBern]

The current style of jacket is a bit on the short side & very fitted. Not uncommon in the `60s & sometimes referred to as bumfreezers.
Most importantly tho, From the back you look ok.
But the sleeves are short. Sometimes they can be lengthened from material in the shoulders.
Good luck.

 

[Feraud]

The sleeves can come down a bit but the rest looks o.k.

 

[Jerekson]

Honestly if the sleeves were corrected I think it would be a fine look.

 

[thunderw21]

I finally got around to letting down the arms. I think it looks much better. Man, I love these 1930s-style jackets from the 1970s!

All pockets have bellows.

 

[tonyb]

OK, I'm not afraid to pose a question that so betrays my ignorance ...

As the most general of rules, isn't the length of a suit or sport jacket's body "correct" if it covers the wearer's rump? Anything more than a tad longer than that is too long, and shorter than that is too short, regardless of how far down the wearer's arms it reaches? Yes? No?

 

[thunderw21]

OK, I'm not afraid to pose a question that so betrays my ignorance ...

As the most general of rules, isn't the length of a suit or sport jacket's body "correct" if it covers the wearer's rump? Anything more than a tad longer than that is too long, and shorter than that is too short, regardless of how far down the wearer's arms it reaches? Yes? No?

Yes, you got the idea.
By Golden Era standards anything that covers the rump is correct (as long as it's not extremely too long). If it doesn't cover the rump it's too short. Arm length doesn't matter because arm length (usually) doesn't change too much according to rump height from person to person.

The rule today is the "rule of thumb". Down to the tip of the thumb, though longer is common.

 

[Edward]

Yes, apply the "finger tip test".... in Britain in the 50s, when the Teddy Boys first appeared and were feared as trouble makers, a lot of venues used to employ the 'finger tip test' as a way of keeping them out. If your jacket hem was lower than your finger tips with your arms striaght by your sides, it was a Ted drape and you would be denied admission. Nowadays, that's a quick test I use to determine whether a (non-drape) jacket is a bit on the long side for my body!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Letting down the sleeves made a world of difference. It looks great.

 

[Tomasso]

Just cover your ass!

Arm length (where the jacket hem hits the hand) should play no role in assessing the proper length of a jacket. I wish this fallacy would die.:eusa_doh:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

^^ amen.

bk

 

[reetpleat]

I will agree and disagree with various opinions. Firstly, arm length can make a difference. This jacket and wearer are a tough one because, while the arms being lengthened helped a lot, it still looks a little short if you look at the arms. If you can instead, focus on the body overall, it does not look so too short. But then, looking at the body, I would suggest it should be paired with different pants. These pants billow a little below the jacket making him look hippy which would be a mistake with this jacket. A further complication is that while seventies jackets kind of replicate the 20s and 30s, they vary a little in that they tend to have a slightly lower narrow part which skews the balance.

The bottom line though, is that it is all about the overall appearance. A good dresser should be able to glance at a man or himself in a suit jacket and say weather it is too long or not as a matter of overall visual balance and appearance.

If you are long legged, or wearing contraxsting slacks, that will make a difference. Long torso or sleeves as well. I tend to insist on a jacket not going below my first knuckle as I am short. But that might be more about my body, not my arms.

I once had a jacket that did not look quite right due to the balance from top to bottom, and the more I looke, the more I realized it had been shortened. Wit ha vintage double breasted jacket, it should taper at the waist, flair at the hips, then taper a little more, all to a certain kind of visual balance. So I let it down again and it once again looked right. I would bet that most people would not have noticed, but I have that trained eye that tells me if something looks right or not on me.

As for the jacket in question, i think it looked too short, but the arms lengthened helped a lot. It still looks a little on the short side from the front, but some high waisted pants that flair, but then taper as the jacket ends would probalby look fine. Perhaps some trimmer fitting flat front. Not 60s quite, but maybe not too full at the hips.

 

[der schneider]

were does your waistline hit under the front? the middle between the buttons?
The sleeve job did wonders for the look. it looks nicely done. you are showing an acceptable amount of sleeve. the shorter body length has a 40's german look.

 

[dakotanorth]

Jacket fitting?

I still think the jacket looks short.
The belt looks like it's coming across the bottom ribs, not your waistline. You can tell because from the front, the jacket darts inward too high. I'm thinking, this could be altered, but you couldn't move the belt down; it has fadelines now. In short, it could look better from the front, but the back would stay the same.
The sleeve length was a big hint too- THAT much shorter, odds are, so is the jacket!