What are buttons on the cuffs of jackets for?

A tailored garment is recognized for its unmistakable quality and extreme attention to detail, the only one that really makes a difference. Few people know that the buttons on the cuffs of the jackets represent the personal signature of the tailor and only in those hand-sewn is it possible to undo them.

You ask yourself, what are they for? But above all, when and how were they first applied? Like much of men's fashion, these particular buttons also have their origins in the military. In fact, it is said that in 1500 Queen Elizabeth imposed this change in the uniforms of her soldiers to prevent them from drying their tears and wounds, making this practice annoying and painful and forcing them to respect the decorum required of an official uniform.

However, there is a further theory on the birth of these buttons. For centuries the jacket has been the staple of the male wardrobe and men wore it on every occasion, from the most formal events to daily activities that required a lot of physical effort, such as working the land.

The tailoring has therefore modified and adapted fashion to everyday life by creating buttonholes on the sleeves of the jackets, useful for inserting buttons to be able to roll up the sleeves without having to remove the jacket, avoiding to dirty it and making it even more practical and versatile.

Over time, this detail has become a simple but refined decorative accessory and serves to distinguish a tailored jacket from an industrial one at a glance.

Today the buttons on the end of the sleeve are simply decorative and vary in number according to the tailoring traditions: four for the British, three for the Italians and two or one for the Americans. The tailored jackets have buttons on the wrist but the buttonholes are fake, to allow you to change the length of the sleeve according to your physical characteristics.

In tailor-made garments, on the other hand, the buttonholes are sewn by hand and therefore the buttons can be unbuttoned: this detail is considered refined and denotes the good workmanship of a jacket, even if it has no practical purpose. There are some people who, when buying a tailored jacket, have the fake buttonholes on the sleeve opened and finished so that they look handcrafted.

Good question.

Today tailors recommend the presence of three or four buttons on each sleeve of the jacket, while the choice of two buttons is not very common. There are some tricks that it is useful to know before contacting a tailor to have a perfect tailored jacket made.

The three buttons are generally suitable for more casual and light jackets, for example blazers: if you have decided to buy a tailored linen jacket to be used during the summer season for casual chic outings, then the three buttons will be perfect!

The four buttons, on the other hand, are perfect for a more rigorous and formal garment, to be used on occasions where respect for masculine etiquette is required: therefore, prefer four buttons on more traditional jackets to be used in autumn and winter.

Our style tip? Keep the last button on the sleeve undone to enhance the tailoring of your jacket, especially when you wear one with four buttons.