Alejandro writes: What’s the deal with the extra button on shirt cuffs? I’d always
assumed that it was so people with thicker/skinner wrists could have a
better fit at the cuff of the sleeve, but does that mean you should
cut out the extra button? I’ve always hesitated to do so because
sometimes it’s nice to have it on the wider button on the left cuff
when I wear a watch (I have skinny wrists).
Carl Goldberg, who runs CEGO Custom Shirts in New York, is a friend of ours (and my shirtmaker). He’s always complaining about how big the cuffs are on ready-to-wear shirts. He says your cuff should be just wide enough to slide over your wrist joint and fit over your wristwatch.
You’ve pretty much figured out the reasons for those buttons. Some people prefer a narrower cuff, some a larger one. Some people wear big giant stupid watches, some people wear normal, non-ridiculous watches. Some people have big wrists, some little ones. The buttons are your choice.
Our recommendation: if the smaller-size-cuff button fits, then go with that one.
