High Armholes

[The Louche]

Ugh. Sorry for the bump, but I think a lot of people could learn from a picture the demonstrates an "acceptable" amount for the body of the coat to be affected by arm movement (i.e. armhole)...

 

[bigbris1]

Never gonna happen. Big timers don't want their hopes and aspirations shattered by critique.

 

[The Louche]

^

You may be on to something Bris... ***** big timers

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

I just watched the Smooth Criminal video and noticed Mike's jacket barely budged even though he threw his arms high above his head numerous times. It was unbuttoned but that seemingly made no difference.

bigbris, are you going to be doing alot of dance moves where you throw your arms high above your head? if not, why do you care so much about the armholes as long as they are decently high and in your photos they are acceptable.

 

[The Louche]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

bigbris, are you going to be doing alot of dance moves where you throw your arms high above your head? if not, why do you care so much about the armholes as long as they are decently high and in your photos they are acceptable.

Interesting point...

 

[bigbris1]

I enjoy the freedom of movement. Tonight I wore a Polo (Corneliani) suit and while I love the slim cut of the sleeves and everything else, I hate that I have to be stiff lest I unbutton the coat. I almost veered into thinking it was second rate. Surely well-made garments take all things sartorial into consideration, not just some.

On my Paul Stuart suit with the highest armholes I have almost the same issue. This is a suit that retails for $1,785. C'mon. I got both new at 90% off but thought to myself, what schmuck goes in and accepts this and pays full retail. Just doesn't seem right.

I'm a cheap bastage but this issue is enough for me to warrant bespoke. RTW fits me great minus this issue, and thanks to SF I am now aware of it and let me tell you. It sucks.

 

[RUSSBHEEZ]

great post, very informational

 

[a tailor]

take a look at the diagrams that srivats presented on page 2.
even though its in german you can easily see the problem.
the arm pivots at the shoulder joint. the sleeve pivots at the bottom of the armhole.
when the two are in line with each other the sleeve works perfectly.
check the picture, you can see that it cant be done.
all that can be done is to raise the armhole as much as possible.

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

I enjoy the freedom of movement. Tonight I wore a Polo (Corneliani) suit and while I love the slim cut of the sleeves and everything else, I hate that I have to be stiff lest I unbutton the coat. I almost veered into thinking it was second rate. Surely well-made garments take all things sartorial into consideration, not just some.

On my Paul Stuart suit with the highest armholes I have almost the same issue. This is a suit that retails for $1,785. C'mon. I got both new at 90% off but thought to myself, what schmuck goes in and accepts this and pays full retail. Just doesn't seem right.

I'm a cheap bastage but this issue is enough for me to warrant bespoke. RTW fits me great minus this issue, and thanks to SF I am now aware of it and let me tell you. It sucks.

I agree with the corneliani but with your rlpl coats isn't this problem minimized? I have absolutely no issue with this on mine (although I may not be seeing exactly what your issue pinpoints).

 

[The Louche]

I re-read some of srivats stuff - excellent. I now see that there is a compromise and that a coat cut for absolute mobility will look dumb during 90% of normal activities. One further question, however: can someone please be more clear as to what, exactly, the sleeve cap is? I am assuming it is the top of the sleeve, but I know there's more to it than that. Is it a portion of the sleeve itself? Or does it include the edge of the shoulder?

Thanks

 

[ricotta]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

bigbris, are you going to be doing alot of dance moves where you throw your arms high above your head? if not, why do you care so much about the armholes as long as they are decently high and in your photos they are acceptable.

i just realized something else about armholes - it seems the larger the armhole, the less room you have for waist suppression via the sides. this is because taking the waist in tugs at the fabric the same way raising one's arm does.

 

[Fantastic Mr Foxx]

A friend of mine believes that a well-tailored suit jacket/sport coat/blazer with (good) high armholes is one that, when worn (buttoned), one must be able to throw his arm freely over his head without feeling restricted by the suit jacket/sport coat/blazer. I always thought he was wrong. Is he right or is this some kind of GQ-talk?

 

[bigbris1]

I just wanted to be able to put my hands in my pockets with jacket buttoned and not have the lapels gape open. I have since gotten over this as I have recently swapped out most of my suits for RL blue label and am very happy with them.

 

[niidawg3]

just hopping on this thread Bigbris ... and i think Vox had a point. I do not think your jackets have as high armholes as you would want. I think if the armpit was cut maybe an inch or two higher, it would create the separation, that would stop the chest plate from moving.

i am kinda dissapointed no one posted a bespoke item to show the right way ... lol. Especially considering how many bespoke suits there are on SF.

Here are a few shots from three of my jackets:

I think these two have high armholes and the jacket movement is limited when i reach out:

This Polo 3 piece suit has terrible armholes - the worst of all my suits and thus worn only twice. Will eventually put it up for sale on ebay or something, but havent gotten around to it:

 

[bigbris1]

Dawg, thanks for that. The Polo suits don't necessarily have low armholes, it's just the shape of them. My Paul Stuart Charles has armholes that all but dig into my armpits, but I still have this problem. It was described before as having an oval shaped hole in lieu of a teardrop shaped hole.

The armhole should have been cut to slope rearward from the front of the shoulder going under the arm (if this makes sense). If you look at your armpits, the crease is higher in the front than the back. So the armhole should be cut accordingly.