Q: Dear Black Lapel, how long should my suit jacket be? I heard of the “cupped fingers” method (you should be able to “cup” your fingers over the end of the jacket when your arms are hanging from your sides), but I also heard this can be inaccurate. What’s the correct method? – Tim M.

A: For the most part, if you use the “cupped fingers” method to determine appropriate jacket length you’ll be okay. However, this method may not only be vague to some, it also obviously depends on arm length of an individual; since arm length can vary even amongst gentleman of the same height, this can sometimes lead to jackets that are slightly longer or shorter. Technically, the jacket length should be approximately half the height of the distance between the point that is the base of your neck down to the ground. Here is what we mean:

Since the majority of us do have arm lengths that are proportional to our height, if you measure from the point at which your shoulder meets your neck down to the point between your Basilar joint and your first thumb knuckle (proceeding image), your jacket will come back at the appropriate length.

 

Below is an image of a Black Lapel suit with the ideal jacket length.  Also, be sure to check out our jacket length measurement video tutorial.

 

If you have any specific questions or comments about this topic or any others, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at concierge@blacklapel.com!