A shirt can have a perfect collar and still look wrong if the sleeves are off. Too long and the cuff swallows your hand; too short and your wrists are on show every time you reach for something. The fix is a proper measurement, and it takes less than a minute with a helper.
What you'll need
- A soft tape measure
- A friend (this is genuinely a two-person job)
- A close-fitting shirt or no shirt at all
The correct method
Stand with your arm slightly bent and resting at your side. Have your helper place the tape at the centre of the back of your neck — the bump at the base of your neck — and run it along the top of your shoulder, over your elbow and down to the wrist bone. This is the sleeve length used by most shirt brands, which is why measuring only from the shoulder seam gives you the wrong number.
Common mistakes
- Measuring with a straight arm — a slight bend gives the true working length
- Stopping at the base of the thumb instead of the wrist bone
- Measuring from the shoulder seam instead of the centre back
- Forgetting that your shirt sleeve will shorten slightly when the cuff is buttoned
Left arm, right arm
Most people have one arm slightly longer than the other. Measure both and use the longer one for off-the-rack shirts. With made-to-measure, a good shirtmaker can cut each sleeve to its own length, which is one of the small details that make a custom shirt feel quietly right.
Wrist bone, slight bend, centre back. Remember those three things and you'll never guess a sleeve size again.
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