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What do you think of leaving the last cuff button unbuttoned?
Leaving last cuff button unbuttoned
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+1.
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Daniel Craig does it as James Bond in his ill-fitting suits.
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I was thinking of jackets.
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Even worse.
Truthfully sometimes I leave mine unbuttoned because I sometimes fiddle with them if I am bored (for instance at a meeting) and then forget to re-button them. And then there is the rare case of actually rolling up the sleeves. But the whole thing of leaving the last button unbuttoned routinely or worse having the thread color different - ugh....
Oh my gosh, everyone to the fainting couches! You can cut the priggishness with a knife! Who makes these rules, anyway? and why bother with them? 
Let's take a breath...
It's neither sophisticated nor gauche.
You go through the bother of having the things made so they can be unbuttoned, so just go ahead and have some fun with it if you want. Buttoned, unbuttoned, it's neither in service of humanity nor crime against.
You don the jacket. "I think I'll have one of my cuffs undone!" you say to yourself, feeling a bit rakish this morning. *Snap* "Ho ho! A bit of fun, this!" And out the door you go.
A handful of observant people will notice. Some will have opinions on it. No one will leap into your arms, confessing their love. None will stalk you into an alley, knife in hand, bent on "correcting" the problem.
If someone asks, you say "yeah, it's called a surgeon's cuff? I thought it would be a neat detail when I had the jacket made. Hmmm? Yes, I like it, a better fit, you know?... actually much less than I expected! Of course I can recommend the tailor, hold on..."
See? Not so bad.
DH
Let's take a breath...
It's neither sophisticated nor gauche.
You go through the bother of having the things made so they can be unbuttoned, so just go ahead and have some fun with it if you want. Buttoned, unbuttoned, it's neither in service of humanity nor crime against.
You don the jacket. "I think I'll have one of my cuffs undone!" you say to yourself, feeling a bit rakish this morning. *Snap* "Ho ho! A bit of fun, this!" And out the door you go.
A handful of observant people will notice. Some will have opinions on it. No one will leap into your arms, confessing their love. None will stalk you into an alley, knife in hand, bent on "correcting" the problem.
If someone asks, you say "yeah, it's called a surgeon's cuff? I thought it would be a neat detail when I had the jacket made. Hmmm? Yes, I like it, a better fit, you know?... actually much less than I expected! Of course I can recommend the tailor, hold on..."
See? Not so bad.
DH
It's a douchey look.Oh my gosh, everyone to the fainting couches! You can cut the priggishness with a knife! Who makes these rules, anyway? and why bother with them?
Let's take a breath...
It's neither sophisticated nor gauche.
You go through the bother of having the things made so they can be unbuttoned, so just go ahead and have some fun with it if you want. Buttoned, unbuttoned, it's neither in service of humanity nor crime against.
You don the jacket. "I think I'll have one of my cuffs undone!" you say to yourself, feeling a bit rakish this morning. *Snap* "Ho ho! A bit of fun, this!" And out the door you go.
A handful of observant people will notice. Some will have opinions on it. No one will leap into your arms, confessing their love. None will stalk you into an alley, knife in hand, bent on "correcting" the problem.
If someone asks, you say "yeah, it's called a surgeon's cuff? I thought it would be a neat detail when I had the jacket made. Hmmm? Yes, I like it, a better fit, you know?... actually much less than I expected! Of course I can recommend the tailor, hold on..."
See? Not so bad.
DH
How so?
It's barely noticeable (versus, say, "popped" collars, which I would concede is "douchey".)
At worst, it might be condemned as Trying To Hard or faux-sprezz (or whatever kind of phrase one wants to coin.) The obvious solution would simply be to say "no one should ever get functioning buttonholes", because if you're not using them, why bother with the added expense?
DH
PS. Attached - photo of the famously douchey Jean Cocteau?
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Seems like the OP has a question and wants to know our opinion so I don't feel that "do what you please" is a great response to someone who's asking what others think. The man asked us a question so lets answer it.
Functioning buttons look better than decorative buttons even when they are all fastened. So, if anyone does care to look that closely, they will see that the buttonholes are in fact real even when properly fastened. Besides, as menswear aficionados, we like having little details on our clothes that others may never notice. Who besides the wearer knows the difference between a full canvas suit and a half canvas one?
Not all my jackets have working sleeve holes but I always keep them fastened. I mean, fancy trousers sometimes have button flys, do you leave them unbuttoned so people can see how much more work went into them than a zipper. Do you leave bowties untied so people can see that they aren't pretied? I didn't think so.
The gent in this picture was being different from others and showing he didn't care about it by wearing his sleeves like that. Leaving a sleeve button undone isn't original. In fact, its something quite common so it doesn't give off that "I'm different" vibe anymore.
I say keep your cuffs buttoned and let the quality and fit of your clothes, and your general comfort wearing these garments express to others how much pride you take in your appearance. And enjoy the knowledge yourself that you put in the extra effort and extra cash to get working buttonholes and other unseen details.
Nope. Not a good look there either.
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This is how I see it. I don't find it inappropriate or offensive in any way, much less a definitive indicator of douchebaggery.
How is it any different that leaving the bottom button of your two button jacket unbuttoned? Or only buttoning the middle button of your three button (assuming of course that its not a three/two roll)? Or wearing your four-in-hand knot slightly askew, or any of the other multitude of small sartorial affections that we commonly accept.
Tom
Tom
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If it looks purposeful, it defeats the purpose.
Trying too hard feels needy on some level and projecting neediness does not a gentleman make. But we are all guilty of fumbling on occasion, and few of us have a Jeeves at hand to offer deferential correction.
The only ones who never make mistakes are those who never try. To each their own, I suppose.
The Duke of Wellington kept his cuffs buttoned and the British ruled the globe for the next century.
C'est la guerre....
![4C2C63FE-72C7-4EA0-87ED-0B7C5E35D5CC.jpeg]()
BSR
Trying too hard feels needy on some level and projecting neediness does not a gentleman make. But we are all guilty of fumbling on occasion, and few of us have a Jeeves at hand to offer deferential correction.
The only ones who never make mistakes are those who never try. To each their own, I suppose.
The Duke of Wellington kept his cuffs buttoned and the British ruled the globe for the next century.
C'est la guerre....
BSR
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2,131 Posts
Agree.
Many more indicators of " douchebaggery" than the subject of this age old topic.
I own many jackets with beautifully hand sewn working button holes done by my tailor, Neapolitan grown and trained . I like them, much nicer than machined buttonholes and functional at that.
I recall the praise for sprezz heaped upon a certain rather well dressed executive for his not buttoning his BD collars and wearing his watch over his shirt cuff. I personally don't like the look, I doubt many would call him a douche! Or would they?
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