As a man of true style, Topper believes passionately that fashion should be fun and definitely not a forest of fussy rules and obscure regulations. But there are some things that really reward a little care and attention up front. One of them has to be making sure your choice of jacket comes in a length that’s right for you. Fortunately, this can be achieved without a doctoral degree in engineering.

Topper says: “When you pause to investigate the correct length of a jacket, you will soon find various ‘rules of thumb’. The most popular is literally a rule of the thumb and goes something like this. The appropriate position for the cuff hem of a jacket to finish is where the thumb joint meets the palm. Another variant is that the hem should be capable of being cupped in the palm when worn. Both versions are essentially the same.”

If you are more traditional, you can go with the ‘cupping your hand method’. This occurs when you are able to cup your hands around the bottom of the jacket. The other current approach to acceptable tailoring on jacket length would be to make sure it ‘just’ covers your rear end.

The real issue however is about proportion and the lengths that are both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable for various body types. In fact, for many body shapes the rule of thumb seems to work. However at Westport Big and Tall we are not serving ‘most’ people. We tailor exclusively to the needs of the discerning big and tall man. Our informed thoughts, guided by the wisdom of Topper, on the question of jacket length are summed up in the length related puzzle solved by Topper below.