Cuff buttons and why they matter
Buttons on a cuff that can be fastened, Surgeons or Working cuff is traditionally known as a feature exclusive to the bespoke clientele. It was designed to be used so a gentleman didn't need to take off his coat (not jacket, but that's for another time) when washing his hands. This simple but rarely used piece of utilitarian design is a sign of style and quality.
Thanks to manufacturers such as Hackett this design has seen a surge in popularity in the ready to wear market. Once reserved for the jet setters of Savile Row, now it's for everyone on the high street.
Why has this never typically been used in the ready to wear section you ask?
On a sleeve where the cuff is purely cosmetic the sleeve lining runs all the way down the inside of the sleeve, on a working cuff the lining has to be cut around the cloth to make room for the button holes, the buttons then get attached, usually by hand. Modern day ready to wear is all machine made, the cutting and realigning of the sleeve lining is an extra expense, due to the companies wanting to minimise production costs they usually leave this out.
Selling vintage clothing for a living i have come across thousands of gentlemen's garments, from the £80 high street suit to the £5000 bespoke Savile Row suit i have come to be able to tell if an item is of quality before looking for the label, and you will too if you show an interest. From looking at a coat and seeing a working cuff you know that the manufacturer is contempt with not cutting corners for design and utility, it is small features like this that make a piece of clothing interesting.
Types of Cuff button placement
Kissing - this is where the buttons overlap eachother, most commonly found in 4 button designs
Non kissing - oh the creativity, buttons that sit next to eachother
Working - where the cuff buttons can be undone like standard buttons for fastening
What cuffs can do to your body shape
Tall people or people with long arms an easily look very out of proportion, lanky, beanpole you get the idea. Breaking up the lines of a jacket (coat) greatly help in making the body look shorter and in this case more in proportion. The more cuff buttons you have the shorter your arms will look, take a look at some of Paul Smith's jackets here to see what i mean
Short people or people with short arms want to use the same principal in reverse, they want to keep the lines of the jacket flowing to give the appearance of a taller, longer physique. Having a single cuff button will give the appearance of a longer arm, you can of course get a working cuff and only do up the last button if you like.
