Is it possible to enlarge the sleeves of a jacket?

[centuryvi]

It is interesting that the posts on this thread are dated 2010, as the problem of the fashion industry making coats and jackets with too-tight sleeves dates from around 2008, from my observation, and anything made before this time doesn't seem to have this problem. I have coats and jackets that are ten, twenty years old or more and they fit me perfectly. For instance, I have a UK size 12 Per Una denim jacket that I bought in 2006 that has ample room in the sleeves and isn't too big in the body. I have UK size 10 coats that I bought in the 1990's that have plenty of room in the sleeves without being baggy in the waist. (My waist is about 27 inches, which is a UK size 10, and when I buy a size 12 I find it is mostly the sleeves that won't fit, and most of my clothes aren't as fitted around the waist as I would like). As somebody said, it is particularly coats that are supposed to keep you warm that are unwearable when the arms are tight. I haven't been able to buy a coat in the current fashion of puffa coats, because the sleeves are all made excruciatingly tight, and they only look nice if they are fitted around the waist so I don't want to get a size 16 just so the arms are a bit less tight. In the cold weather I mostly wear a huge wool coat I got from a charity shop, beautifully made bargain but whoever gave it away probably did so because it is so big; its sleeves don't cause me any problem but it is probably something like a UK size 18, which drowns me; most people are between UK size 10 and UK size 14. Lovely warm coat, great colour and it does suit me except for being so unfitted. Most people I know just won't wear a coat that isn't fitted around the waist.

I have pretty much given up buying coats and jackets because of this tight sleeves problem, and wear older coats and jackets mostly that were made pre-2008. I would happily spend the money on a puffa coat if it fitted me round the waist without having tight sleeves, because it is a big fashion trend and everyone is wearing them and I like to fit in and not look different, but it is a lot of money for something that is going to be too uncomfortable and ill-fitting to wear.

So the OP, if he is still around, might want to look around for jackets and coats that were made before about 2008, when this ridiculous fashion diktat seemed to happen of making coats and jackets with tight sleeves and armholes that cut into you, and also baggy waists.

 

[GBR]

It's odd that this thread has been resurrected at all!

This is your apparent experience and I would suggest far from the norm. Many reasonable RTW suits and other have consistently appeared here. You might look at those threads which deal with alterations and I think that you will find it is your experience and nothing general.

 

[centuryvi]

It's odd that this thread has been resurrected at all!

This is your apparent experience and I would suggest far from the norm. Many reasonable RTW suits and other have consistently appeared here. You might look at those threads which deal with alterations and I think that you will find it is your experience and nothing general.

I think as somebody says in this thread, alterations are something that you would have to pay an expert quite a lot for, and it is probably cheaper and easier to get something made for you, or even make your own from scratch. Well beyond my skills, and I think I would find it easier to make my own coat from scratch.

Obviously myself and the OP of this thread are some kind of minority, otherwise the fashion industry wouldn't be making sleeves so tight, but I can assure you that sleeves didn't used to be made this way, I have lots of coats and jackets to prove this, in UK sizes 10 to 12 with plenty of room in the sleeves.

I will have a look at other threads on this subject, as you suggest.

 

[GBR]

Are you actually kidding yourself as to your requirements now you are older?

 

[centuryvi]

Are you actually kidding yourself as to your requirements now you are older?

Same garments I bought ten or even twenty years ago, they still fit with plenty of room in the arms without being baggy round the waist, but sometime around 2008 the fashion industry decided to make sleeves tight, as the OP says throughout their length, so your circulation feels cut off, and I remember years ago listening to some program where a fashion expert specifically instructed to cut deep into the armhole, like doing this was stylish and clever.

I was only suggesting a solution to the OP or anyone else with this problem is to find clothes that were made before about 2008. Everything made in the last ten years is cut “cleverly” to make sleeves and armholes tight, and waists baggy.

There is slightly the issue that some styles can look dated, though denim jackets don’t go out of style. I am sure others here have far more of a clue than me where to look for coats and jackets that are more than a decade old. I do lookin charity shops in th UK, and this is where I found the warm wool coat I referred to, which cost me fifteen pounds three years ago and it looked brand new, extremely high quality and as if it had been made by a tailor for somebody, as it had no labels in it, though it’s only drawback is it is huge all over and drowns me, but keeps me warm and otherwise looks and feels good. If anyone knows what happens to clothes over a decade old, please tell me as they seem to disappear.

 

[Gmajgirl44]

I have this issue and it's driving me absolutely bonkers because since stores aren't open during the pandemic I just keep ordering **** that doesn't fit my arms. One thing I've found that worked -- a friend let me try on a Burberry blazer she has that's sort of a cardigan-blazer hybrid, so the fabric is stretchy and has more give in the arms, but it's smartly tailored with a hard shoulder.

 

[Gmajgirl44]

Just realized this is under menswear and can't figure out how to delete my comment. Kindly disregard!