# Why do men's suits have buttons on the sleeves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 11, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975 "2003-09-11T14:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/21 "2003-09-12T20:44:03Z")
I always thought it was so the wearer could adjust the size of the sleeves. Not everyone buys tailored shirts, and our forearms come in all different sizes. If you have a smallish forearm, then you use the inner button. If you have a larger forearm, then you use the outer button. With no buttons, large men would rip the sleeves when they tried to force their arms in, and small men would have far too much room (i.e., they’d be uncomfortable). ---
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/22 "2003-09-14T03:08:43Z")
**dan** i think you’re confusing the side-by-side buttons (found on certain single-cuff shirt sleeves) with the stacked buttons that are present on coat sleeves. as in – shirt sleeve buttons: - - coat sleeve buttons: \* \* \* the first arrangement does offer a minor level of sizing adjustment; the latter merely closes at a pre-determined opening, just like the main buttons on the front of the coat. not to say that there isn’t a slight possibility of such a button arrangement ever having been present – i’ve just never run across it myself. but also, consider that off-the-rack clothing is a phenomena of just the last century or so. before then, it wasn’t only the well-to-do that had clothing made by tailors. the tailors WERE who made clothing, for everyone (unless you did for yourself). so having the cut conform to the wearer’s body size wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary. oh, and **BMalion**? \<\<\< flounces skirt hem in his direction \>\>\> 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/23 "2003-09-14T03:12:19Z")
Stacked buttons on coat sleeves. Ah. Well, on the sports jacket I have, there are three buttons on the sleeve. They’re completely ornamental. They don’t unbutton or button - they’re just there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/24 "2003-09-14T20:02:42Z")
> [@](#): > > petticoats?.. PETTICOATS!?!.. why you’re a… a… girl! No, no… Clotho is a girl. Lachesis is a woman. Doesn’t anybody know their classics anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_In\_Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@Not\_In\_Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_In_Anger)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/25 "2003-09-15T05:24:59Z")
My question back, at the risk of offending PC fags, not you, is. You can undo the buttons, and pull the sleeves back on your monkey suit, and roll them up. The fucking sleeves, not you, YET. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/26 "2003-09-15T07:42:02Z")
What the hell just happened? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/27 "2003-09-15T13:06:13Z")
I’m surprised that even Cecil has missed the practical purpose of the buttons on the lower sleave. Years ago when people (usually wives) were faced with their husband’s jacket missing a button on the front, they didn’t discard the otherwise perfect jacket, but merely retrieved a button off the sleave and sewed it on. considering the number of different buttons on the market, one was hard pressed to restore a jacket to its original condition if there wasn’t a readily available and accessible supply. Considering the location of the reserve buttons, a few missing there would hardly be observed. Today, sleave buttons are purely an anachronism. Sleave buttons are now usually a smaller version of the vest buttons. After all, a properly worn jacket today only requires one button done up on the vest. Now this is only a theory that I just made up. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/28 "2003-09-15T13:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lachesis \* > [B **BMalion**? \<\<\< flounces skirt hem in his direction \>\>\> > > 😃 😃 😃 \*\* :eek: ---
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/29 "2003-09-15T14:43:10Z")
**grienspace** , a _good_ suit normally comes with extra buttons, both for the front **and** the cuffs. sometimes they are sewn to the inside of the jacket; sometimes they are included separately in a little package. substituting cuff buttons for main buttons, at least on modern jackets, doesn’t normally work anymore. cuff buttons are generally a size or more smaller than the front buttons used for closing the jacket. and yes, **dan** , **grienspace** , we _all_ agree that cuff buttons are an anachronism nowadays. but once upon a time, they WERE functional. which may answer **Not In Anger** ’s question… if that was a question. yes, if the buttons on the sleeves are functional, you could theoretically undo them and roll the sleeves up (dependent on how many buttons are present, how far apart they are spaced, how massively (or not) your arms are muscled, etc. etc.). however, nowadays i think most men would be more inclined to simply remove the jacket entirely if they were doing something that seemed to make moving the cuffs out of harm’s way advisable. **Chronos** , nice to see _someone_ here still knows their classics. 🙂 oh, and **BMalion**? you might want to close your mouth now. hehhehheh. too bad **dan** hadn’t shown up sooner–he could have told you i was female. he’s one of the very few who’ve ever seen me. (well, at least and known about it at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/30 "2003-09-15T14:45:18Z")
And the good news is that I’m not **lachesis** intolerant! ---
**Author:** ![Dinnardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@Dinnardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinnardin)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/31 "2003-09-16T16:43:51Z")
as a jeweler, I have long removed these buttons from all my jackets (I tired quickly of rearranging all the chains in a case every time I reached for anything)…and noone has EVER noticed, in almost 18 years of buttonless cuffs… so there PFFFFFFFFTTTT!!! or something like that ---
**Author:** ![Zenpea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Zenpea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenpea)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/32 "2003-09-17T21:14:44Z")
I was told by a guy on Saville Row that the number of buttons reflected the quality of the suit. So if you had four, it’s a good suit. If you have two, it’s shoddy. But this doesn’t really stand with the empirical evidence in my wardrobe; sure, all the nice suits are four buttoned, but then so is this cheap £99 one from a high street shop. Hmm. -J ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/33 "2003-09-19T21:23:06Z")
Well, the buttons are still functional on the very best suit jackets, made the old fashioned way. I happen to own one (why a middle class guy owns a $1000+ blazer is a loooooong story) and the butttons do work, they unbutton & all (and are natural horn). The wool is so soft, most dudes think it is silk. Sure makes those $29.95 Old Navy Chinos look sharp, I can tell ya! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/34 "2003-09-20T00:08:52Z")
[jacket envy] ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975/35 "2003-09-22T19:12:32Z")
There’s a rumor that Palm, Inc. engineers are putting the finishing touches on a fold-out flap with buttonholes, so that the well-equipped gentleman can have his PDA at the ready instead of hiding in the thigh pocket of his Dockers®. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-mens-suits-have-buttons-on-the-sleeves/200975.md?page=1)