Sleeves - Help!

K

Kleio

Member
Mar 30, 2011
308
1
#1
I know the ladies of TPF have got amazing fashion taste, so I need your help in figuring out what to do with the too-short sleeves of a vintage (1950s?) red cashmere coat.

They're currently ~ 21" long, but I usually prefer coat sleeves that are 24" long. Even when you let out all the fabric folded inside the sleeve/under the lining, the sleeves still fall more than an inch above my wrist.

I admit, I was initially imagining adding ruffles to the sleeve hems to elongate the sleeves, but is that too dandy looking? My tailor also suggested a fold-over cuff, in addition to three-quarter sleeves, but I vetoed the three-quarter sleeves idea as I plan to wear this coat throughout the winter and I hate having cold arms/wrists.

Since the fabric of the coat is prone to bleeding (it's old and it's bright red), whatever additional material I add to the sleeve would probably have to be black in color; I wish I could find a matching red to my coat, but I think that is a near impossible task.

I've attached a picture of the coat so you ladies can see what it looks like currently.

Also, does anyone know where I can buy wool (or even better, cashmere) fabric? Wal-Mart?

Thanks in advance, ladies! Looking forward to your suggestions! :smile:
 

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#2
That's a beautiful jacket!

Do you have to alter it??? I think it would look fantastic with a long sleeved sweatshirt or long black leather gloves which will keep your arms warm. This will give the jacket a lil twist and I'll bet all your friends would LOVE the look (or at least I would lol)

If you must, I would add black fur or shearling cuffs to extend the sleeves. Depending on how much you wanna play with the style, I'd add the same fur or shearling material to the collar too :yes:
 
#3
I like the three-quarter sleeves design and you can always put on a pair nice cashmere gloves... but if you are not into the three quarter thing... I like to suggest adding faux mink fur cuffs to extend the sleeves prefer in black color.

Not sure where you are... check out Britex Fabrics in SF.... they have a website I think you can purchase some fabric on line too or give them a call... if Britex is little pricy for you, try Joann Fabric.

http://www.britexfabrics.com/fabric.html
 
#4
tonkamama said:
I like the three-quarter sleeves design and you can always put on a pair nice cashmere gloves... but if you are not into the three quarter thing... I like to suggest adding faux mink fur cuffs to extend the sleeves prefer in black color.

Not sure where you are... check out Britex Fabrics in SF.... they have a website I think you can purchase some fabric on line too or give them a call... if Britex is little pricy for you, try Joann Fabric.

http://www.britexfabrics.com/fabric.html
Click to expand...

haha great minds think alike :lol:
 
#5
CEC.LV4eva said:
That's a beautiful jacket!

Do you have to alter it??? I think it would look fantastic with a long sleeved sweatshirt or long black leather gloves which will keep your arms warm. This will give the jacket a lil twist and I'll bet all your friends would LOVE the look (or at least I would lol)

If you must, I would add black fur or shearling cuffs to extend the sleeves. Depending on how much you wanna play with the style, I'd add the same fur or shearling material to the collar too :yes:
Click to expand...

I was going to say this too.. but hit the "Post" too quickly... :graucho:
 
#7
I like the coat as is. If you add fur cuff/collar, perhaps you could have it added in such a way that it is removable. This way, you can wear it both ways. If you leave the sleeves as they are, I like the idea of long gloves.
Also, you don't have to use real fur for cuff/collar. There is a lot of fake fur that looks nice and is plenty warm.
 
#8
I would leave the sleeves alone. There are fabulous choices in gloves this year, some with fur cuffs. It would be a very chic look and in keeping with the look of the coat. BTW, I think the coat is more of a 1960's look. The 50's coats had a bit more swing and fullness to them.
 
#10
Hey ladies, and thanks so much for all of your suggestions! :smile:

I see most of you are in favor of keeping the sleeves as is and wearing long gloves. I think that would work if I were only planning to wear this coat intermittently, say to formal functions and events. However, I'm actually planning to make this coat my "go-to" coat, which means I will be wearing it over a wide variety of outfits, including, for example, a suit jacket, and having jacket sleeves protrude from underneath too-short coat sleeves would likely look quite tacky.

I like the idea of adding black fur cuffs, although I'm not sure if I will be able to find the appropriate material. I tried JoAnn Fabrics but the selection wasn't great. However, the sales associate I spoke with did suggest another fabric store, so I will be going there later to peruse their selection.

Worse comes to worst, if I can't find fur, what do you ladies think of adding black wool cuffs?
 
#11
Have you checked out Britex Fabrics website yet, on there you will find some inspiration of different fabrics.

My 2nd suggestion is pick little heavier wool cuff in charcoal or black color...my 3 selections of fabrics....

Velvet
Tweed wool blend
Wool with coating (stiffer material)
 
#12
Kleio said:
Hey ladies, and thanks so much for all of your suggestions! :smile:

I see most of you are in favor of keeping the sleeves as is and wearing long gloves. I think that would work if I were only planning to wear this coat intermittently, say to formal functions and events. However, I'm actually planning to make this coat my "go-to" coat, which means I will be wearing it over a wide variety of outfits, including, for example, a suit jacket, and having jacket sleeves protrude from underneath too-short coat sleeves would likely look quite tacky.

I like the idea of adding black fur cuffs, although I'm not sure if I will be able to find the appropriate material. I tried JoAnn Fabrics but the selection wasn't great. However, the sales associate I spoke with did suggest another fabric store, so I will be going there later to peruse their selection.

Worse comes to worst, if I can't find fur, what do you ladies think of adding black wool cuffs?
Click to expand...


Are you in LA? International Silks and Woolens has all the best fabrics. Even the studios shop there. They get fabrics that the designers have used. You would not need much so even something that is fairly expensive would not be too prohibitive in cost. Whatever you do, take the coat with you to match up against the fabrics so you don't make a mistake. If you could find a fake fur that looks like beaver or sheared mink, that would pair well with the coat. I think that because I had a red coat like this with a dark brown beaver collar back when I was quite young and it was stunning.
 
#13
Hey everyone, I dropped by the higher-end fabric store near me and as it turns out, they do sell 100% cashmere fabric, as well as faux fur, so I bought a strip of both, just in case.

The cashmere is obviously thinner than my coat's fabric, but when doubled over, it should do the trick. The faux fur ... I'm less of a fan of. For one thing, it shed all over the place as it was being cut, but actually, to be honest, I don't even really like faux fur in the first place, as my experiences with the real thing have been far better than with its faux counterpart. If I knew where to purchase real fur for a decent price, that's what I'd prefer to do. Any suggestions for the Washington, DC metropolitan area?

tonkamama, I did check out Britex Fabrics - thank you very much for the tip! :smile: I just didn't want to wait for them to ship what I needed to me, not to mention, since I did manage to find cashmere at my local fabric store, I ended up going with them. Patience is unfortunately not one of my virtues. :P

gracekelly, International Silks & Woolens sounds like a very interesting store, but alas, I'm on the opposite side of the country! And they don't have an online shop that I can peruse through. Your red coat sounds stunning, BTW. What happened to it? I'd love to see a picture of it if you have one around!
 
#14
Kleio, that coat has been ancient history for a very long time lol! Take your coat to a furrier. I bet that he/she has odds and ends about to make cuffs for you, though I think it might cost much more than you wish to spend or a vintage coat should have spent on it. You won't know unless you ask!
 
#15
Kleio said:
Hey everyone, I dropped by the higher-end fabric store near me and as it turns out, they do sell 100% cashmere fabric, as well as faux fur, so I bought a strip of both, just in case.

The cashmere is obviously thinner than my coat's fabric, but when doubled over, it should do the trick. The faux fur ... I'm less of a fan of. For one thing, it shed all over the place as it was being cut, but actually, to be honest, I don't even really like faux fur in the first place, as my experiences with the real thing have been far better than with its faux counterpart. If I knew where to purchase real fur for a decent price, that's what I'd prefer to do. Any suggestions for the Washington, DC metropolitan area?

tonkamama, I did check out Britex Fabrics - thank you very much for the tip! :smile: I just didn't want to wait for them to ship what I needed to me, not to mention, since I did manage to find cashmere at my local fabric store, I ended up going with them. Patience is unfortunately not one of my virtues. :P

gracekelly, International Silks & Woolens sounds like a very interesting store, but alas, I'm on the opposite side of the country! And they don't have an online shop that I can peruse through. Your red coat sounds stunning, BTW. What happened to it? I'd love to see a picture of it if you have one around!
Click to expand...
If you can find real fur will be the best solution! I suggested Faux fur cus not everyone likes the real thing...:amuse: I had a vintage leather jacket with real mink cuff & collar, after all these years, the fur still looking shining and beautiful!

Glad you found the fabric store that carries what you were looking... Pls keep us updated on your final decision and design.
 
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