How Long Should My Suit Jacket Sleeves Be?

Q: How long should my suit jacket sleeves be? And how much shirt cuff should I be showing? I’ve asked around and heard everything from no cuff showing to 1 inch of cuff showing.   

A: Your suit jacket / blazer sleeve should end right above the top of your wrist bone (or the hinge of your wrist). However, in order to show the proper amount of shirt cuff based on the correct jacket sleeve length, your shirt sleeve length must obviously fit correctly; a properly fitting shirt sleeve should end at the base of your hand. Once these two are properly fitted, you’ll notice that naturally some shirt sleeve cuff will show. The general rule of thumb is that you want to show 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of shirt cuff, so feel free to adjust your garments to achieve your desired look.
Why is a “minor” detail like this so important? Showing no sleeve may have the visual effect of making your jacket sleeves look sloppily too long on you while showing too much cuff may have the visual effect your jacket sleeves are comically too short on you – both will betray the powerful effect of the superb fit you’re going for. A proper relationship between jacket sleeve length and shirt sleeve length suggests a man who is in control of his appearance and knows that a pleasing aesthetic is comprised of these “minor” details.