Gastric bypass surgery is another reason. People who have lost 100 pounds or more have baggy “batwings” hanging from the undersides of their their arms. This excess flesh is so unattractive that most post-GBS folks only wear long sleeves. You can get plastic surgery to take in the batwings but it’s painful and expensive.
You’re joking?
Tracks, scars or always cold?
I do always wear long sleeves. But those are odd choices.
In the summer I am protecting myself from the sun. Unfortunately I tan far too easily; so rather than bathe in sunblock, I wear long sleeves.
At work, I just find that long sleeves are more professional. We don’t have a strict dress code, but its personal preference.
Around here, if it was a guy, I’d assume he was a Mennonite. Or the tattoos.
I’d never think someone wearing a long sleeve dress shirt was unusual. I’d think it was odd if someone was wearing a sweater or sweatshirt in 115 degree weather.
I’d never wear a short sleeve dress shirt. They don’t look professional.
I assume that they’re trying to hide the superhero costumes they habitually wear underneath their street clothes.
Or supervillian costumes. Whatever.
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore]
Gastric bypass surgery is another reason. People who have lost 100 pounds or more have baggy “batwings” hanging from the undersides of their their arms.
[QUOTE]
I’ve lost 80 pounds (no gbs) and have batwings, but wear short sleeved and sleeveless. They’re not as pronounced as some people’s, though.
I wear long-sleeved shirts and sweaters when I’m cold. I wouldn’t assume anything other than ‘they like them’, or, in this area, ‘Orthodox’ if someone always wore them.
I do that too–it may be 115 outside, but inside the office it’s 68 degrees. Most people spend 23 1/2 hours a day in airconditioning. Who needs short sleeves?
I’ve personally dealt with cutting in the past - so for me it is the first thing that comes to mind. Also, I used to have hairy arms (I’ve shaved them for the past 6-7 years) and I’m usually cold - so pick one!
People who cut don’t always cut their arms… and on that note, I never cut my legs but I rarely wear shorts, even when it’s 100 degrees out.
Years ago, I read Dress For Success. The classic power fashion guide said to never wear short sleeves, it makes you look like a rookie. I don’t run in those circles, myself.
For a few years, I had a job with a considerable hazard of burns from hot glass. I wore long sleeves every day.
I worked with a guy who was into his cowboy image. I never saw him without a long-sleeved, starched cowboy shirt. I don’t think he has any tattoo, but he might have some scars. Horses have found a variety of ways to injure him.
Most of the people I see always wearing long sleeves are the elderly. For most of them, I assume that workers in their era simply always wore long sleeves (and a tie) regardless of what kind of work they did. And as near as I can tell a lot of these people only owned two types of clothes: work clothes and dress clothes. They seem to stop buying new clothes when they retire, so whenever I see them in non-dress-up situations, they’re wearing their old work clothes, which means long sleeves.
I knew a guy when I was in my early 20s, who was 10 years older than me. I noticed that he always wore long sleeves, and asked him about it. He rolled up one sleeve and showed me the marijuana leaf tattooed on his forearm. “I did that myself,” he said, “when I was 17 and sitting in jail. It was my way of saying ‘fuck you, world!’. Then I grew up and realized it didn’t look good when I was trying to find a job. So, long sleeves.”
Other than that, I really don’t think about it. I have, however, had people comment on the fact that I almost never wear long sleeves. I’m always in a T-shirt. I really hate long sleeves. They’re uncomfortable. Especially when I’m doing something like working at the computer or playing my bass guitar. Rub rub rub rub … it feels like the cuff is binding my wrists up.
Air Conditioning! We don’t control the AC in our office, guys do./ And it does seem they are less cold than us. We’re always freezing! So - long sleeves.
In summer I’d assume it’s to avoid sunburn and skin cancer.
There could be many reasons. I get cold easily, for instance, so unless I’m in Vegas (which I avoid, as horrible things always happen to me in Vegas), I’m likely to have on a long-sleeved shirt; even when it’s warm enough outside for me to wear a polo shirt, I’m still likely to have a sweater or light jacket at hand in case the air conditioning inside is set on “kill skald but leave everyone else alive.”
But you now realize that the fashion of the 90s was largely heroin-based, I hope. That’s where that came from. Of course, by the time the teenagers were doing it, it was just a thing. Except for the teenage junkies.
I’m always cold. Right now it is 75 degrees in my apartment, and I’m wearing a T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a thick chenille cardigan. It has to be very, very warm for me to wear short sleeves with nothing over them, and even in summer, it doesn’t typically get that warm in San Francisco. Then there’s air conditioning to consider. I almost never buy a short-sleeved top unless it’s part of a twin set.
Honestly? I’d never have noticed that someone always wore long sleeves unless they brought it to my attention for some reason.
It would never have occurred to me to wonder. I’d actually be more aware of people wearing short sleeves all the time. Possible reasons for that could be:
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Like to show-off/display their body.
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Fairly young and inexperienced (if they are in short sleeved office-attire).
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Hot and sweaty all the time.
I’m sure there are lots of other possible reasons but I can’t think of them at the moment.
I wear long sleeves all the time. You would be surprised at how many people ask rude questions about it in the middle of summer. The only time I don’t wear long sleeves is if I am working out. Vanity is no match for overheating and ruining a good workout.
But seriously, it really does rankle me how many people will ask rude questions. People who have known me for years and have never seen me in short sleeves will still ask about it. If, in 6 years of New England summers, you have never seen me wear short sleeves, please just assume that I have a good reason for it and that I don’t wish to discuss it with you any more now than I did the other 18 times you asked.
I honestly don’t think I’d notice. I never notice what people are wearing unless it’s exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally ugly or very out of place. Everyone I work with could wear the same outfit for two weeks and it wouldn’t even register.
But let’s say I did notice? I’d assume that it was either that they were cold, they found them comfortable, or they like the way the shirts look on them, since those are my own reasons for frequently wearing long sleeves. I’m one of those perpetually freezing people. And I hate air conditioning! 
← the colour of me when I’m subjected to air conditioning.
Cutting, track marks, ugly arms, or gastric bypass surgery wouldn’t even enter the very deepest corners of my mind.
Anyone that has ever worked ranch work has probably gotten into the habit of wearing long sleeves.
It is not just the horse although they are a major factor. You’ve also got the insects, the sun burning your skin, low-hanging trees and brush, cacti, barbed wire, other livestock, cold, ran, sleet, hay bales, sand and dirt, etc.
I am now in what arguably would be considered the white-collared world, and besides the dorky issue of short sleeves, my background growing up on a ranch will just not let me wear short sleeves.
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