Cuffs: Sleeve and Trouser Finishing Elements
A cuff refers to that layer of fabric forming the lower edge of a garment’s sleeve at the wrist or the bottom end of a trouser leg and is a detail with both functional and ornamental purposes. Cuffs adorn various clothing items, from shirts to jackets and trousers.
Shirt Cuffs: Designs and Fastenings
On less casual clothing, shirt cuffs feature a split along one edge, fastened to allow passage of a hand and a snug fit around the wrist, showcasing variations in design and closure mechanisms. Divided shirt cuffs come in different types, depending on their fastening style:
- Button cuffs, or barrel cuffs, use buttonholes on one side and buttons on the other; some include multiple buttons for an adjustable fit.
- Link cuffs feature buttonholes on both sides, intended for closure with cufflinks or silk knots, often in a “kissing” style with the insides pressed together. Link cuffs come in two main types:
- Single cuffs: This cuff represents an original linked cuff. This cuff is a traditional choice for formal events like white tie affairs.
- French cuffs, or double cuffs: These cuffs are twice as long and folded back, often seen as more formal, especially in Europe, and generally paired with cufflinks, even without a tie or jacket.
- Convertible cuffs can be closed using buttons or cufflinks.
The anatomy of these single or double cuffs involves folding the fabric back, which makes the inside of the shirt sleeve become the outside of the cuff.
Trouser Cuffs: Hemming and Style
Trouser legs commonly have a hem at the bottom to prevent fraying; turn-ups, known as “cuffs” in the US, are rolled outward after hemming, adding weight to improve drape, and sometimes stitched in place. Parents use cuffs to extend children’s clothing life by buying longer pants and unrolling the cuffs as the child grows. Historically, men rolled up their trousers to avoid mud splashes on unpaved roads.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a trend where young people tightly folded and rolled pant legs to slim the leg’s appearance, a fad that has returned since 2010, followed by shorter tailored trousers that stop at the shoe’s top.
Jacket Cuffs: Decorative and Functional Elements
Buttons and buttonholes on suit jacket sleeves tend to be decorative, but “surgeon’s cuffs” open at the wrist, which is a feature traditionally associated with bespoke tailoring.
Citations:
A cuff is a layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment (shirt, coat, jacket, etc.) at the wrist, or at the ankle end of a trouser leg. The function of turned-back cuffs is to protect the cloth of the garment from fraying, and, when frayed, to allow the cuffs to be readily repaired or replaced, without changing the garment. Cuffs are made by turning back (folding) the material, or a separate band of material can be sewn on, or worn separately, attached either by buttons or studs. A cuff may display an ornamental border or have lace or some other trimming. In US usage, the word trouser cuffs refers to the folded, finished bottoms of the legs of a pair of trousers. In the UK, while this usage is now sometimes followed, the traditional term for the turned up trouser hem is 'turnup'.
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