Saint Laurent Jacket - Sleeve/Armpit Question

[Rocaille]

I set foot in Saint Laurent for the first time prior to the holidays, as I was curious to check out the boutique closest to me. They matched me with a clerk who was friendly and attentive, but seemed a little pushy to make a sale. I say this because when I tried on this beautiful cropped jacket that she described as a modern re-imagining of the Le Smoking jacket in wool for ladies, I could barely move my arms. (At best I could move them from the sides of my body a few inches comfortably, for fear of tearing the jacket.) The jacket did not have buttons or a fastener, it was designed to be an open jacket. The rest of the jacket fit fine, save for the sleeves being on the long side and the shoulders were a tiny bit bigger than my natural shoulder width. (It was so slight, you'd have to squint to see it.) I asked the clerk about trying a FR40, the next size up, and she insisted I wouldn't want the FR40, as that would be too big all around and would ruin the cropped look that the jacket was supposed to have. She even went as far as to claim that all of the Saint Laurent jackets, including the staff uniform ones for men and women, had tight/snug underarms, due to the way the sleeve was sewn into the body of the jacket. It sounded shocking that a brand would create a jacket with that design choice and I passed on the jacket that day.

I tried a jacket on from the 2017 collection which was more like a band or military style jacket, but noted that the underarm area was a bit snug too, even in the FR40 I had on.

For those who own a Saint Laurent blazer or jacket, can you confirm if this is indeed a trait of all Saint Laurent jackets, where the sleeves are inset to be snug under the armpits of the wearer? Were the jackets constructed this way since the inception of the brand, or is this a recent change with the modernization of the brand to Saint Laurent, versus YSL?

Thank You!

 

[averagejoe]

I set foot in Saint Laurent for the first time prior to the holidays, as I was curious to check out the boutique closest to me. They matched me with a clerk who was friendly and attentive, but seemed a little pushy to make a sale. I say this because when I tried on this beautiful cropped jacket that she described as a modern re-imagining of the Le Smoking jacket in wool for ladies, I could barely move my arms. (At best I could move them from the sides of my body a few inches comfortably, for fear of tearing the jacket.) The jacket did not have buttons or a fastener, it was designed to be an open jacket. The rest of the jacket fit fine, save for the sleeves being on the long side and the shoulders were a tiny bit bigger than my natural shoulder width. (It was so slight, you'd have to squint to see it.) I asked the clerk about trying a FR40, the next size up, and she insisted I wouldn't want the FR40, as that would be too big all around and would ruin the cropped look that the jacket was supposed to have. She even went as far as to claim that all of the Saint Laurent jackets, including the staff uniform ones for men and women, had tight/snug underarms, due to the way the sleeve was sewn into the body of the jacket. It sounded shocking that a brand would create a jacket with that design choice and I passed on the jacket that day.

I tried a jacket on from the 2017 collection which was more like a band or military style jacket, but noted that the underarm area was a bit snug too, even in the FR40 I had on.

For those who own a Saint Laurent blazer or jacket, can you confirm if this is indeed a trait of all Saint Laurent jackets, where the sleeves are inset to be snug under the armpits of the wearer? Were the jackets constructed this way since the inception of the brand, or is this a recent change with the modernization of the brand to Saint Laurent, versus YSL?

Thank You!

I can't speak for the women's jackets, but I have several of the men's jackets (leather and otherwise, including a men's Le Smoking), and I do find that the arm hole is snug. The sleeves tend to be skinnier than other brands, as is the rest of the jacket usually. I believe this is the Hedi Slimane aesthetic, the skinny look that Hedi brought to the brand which is being continued under Anthony Vaccarello.

The fits vary by jacket as well, as there are some pieces deemed "skinny" and some that are more oversized. I tried on a beautiful variation of the Le Smoking for men that can't button at the front, but the arms were so skinny that I had to go into the change room to take my shirt off to put my arms through the sleeves. They didn't go in with my shirt on. The cut was beautiful but my arms warped the skinny sleeves and I didn't get a nice pencil thin look on the arms. Would look amazing on a very skinny person. Meanwhile, my Le Smoking jacket is the same size and the arms are fine.

 

[Colieolie]

I set foot in Saint Laurent for the first time prior to the holidays, as I was curious to check out the boutique closest to me. They matched me with a clerk who was friendly and attentive, but seemed a little pushy to make a sale. I say this because when I tried on this beautiful cropped jacket that she described as a modern re-imagining of the Le Smoking jacket in wool for ladies, I could barely move my arms. (At best I could move them from the sides of my body a few inches comfortably, for fear of tearing the jacket.) The jacket did not have buttons or a fastener, it was designed to be an open jacket. The rest of the jacket fit fine, save for the sleeves being on the long side and the shoulders were a tiny bit bigger than my natural shoulder width. (It was so slight, you'd have to squint to see it.) I asked the clerk about trying a FR40, the next size up, and she insisted I wouldn't want the FR40, as that would be too big all around and would ruin the cropped look that the jacket was supposed to have. She even went as far as to claim that all of the Saint Laurent jackets, including the staff uniform ones for men and women, had tight/snug underarms, due to the way the sleeve was sewn into the body of the jacket. It sounded shocking that a brand would create a jacket with that design choice and I passed on the jacket that day.

I tried a jacket on from the 2017 collection which was more like a band or military style jacket, but noted that the underarm area was a bit snug too, even in the FR40 I had on.

For those who own a Saint Laurent blazer or jacket, can you confirm if this is indeed a trait of all Saint Laurent jackets, where the sleeves are inset to be snug under the armpits of the wearer? Were the jackets constructed this way since the inception of the brand, or is this a recent change with the modernization of the brand to Saint Laurent, versus YSL?

Thank You!

I own a few women’s blazers and a couple of men’s jackets and I find all of them have snug armholes to varying degrees. In general with the women’s blazers, if I buy my regular size that fits my torso (shoulders, chest, waist), the arms will be snug to the point that I can only wear thin sleeves underneath. I have tried a size up before and the arms only feel slighter bigger which isn’t worth losing the shape in the torso. All of my jackets are from after Anthony Vaccarello took over so I can’t confirm if this was also the case before.

 

[Rocaille]

I own a few women’s blazers and a couple of men’s jackets and I find all of them have snug armholes to varying degrees. In general with the women’s blazers, if I buy my regular size that fits my torso (shoulders, chest, waist), the arms will be snug to the point that I can only wear thin sleeves underneath. I have tried a size up before and the arms only feel slighter bigger which isn’t worth losing the shape in the torso. All of my jackets are from after Anthony Vaccarello took over so I can’t confirm if this was also the case before.

Thank you, this helps. I think the Saint Laurent blazers aren't for me.