Measured: Judged with the arm relaxed at your side, since bending or raising the arm pulls every sleeve hem up the limb.
The basics
What to know about sleeve length
Sleeve length runs a simple scale, from no sleeve to a full one. Each step changes three things at once, warmth, formality and what the piece can layer with. A sleeveless shell disappears under a blazer, a long sleeve is the layer, and the two middle lengths negotiate between them.
Convention judges a sleeve with the arm relaxed at your side, because a raised or bent arm pulls any hem up the limb. Where the hem lands matters as much as how long it is. Sleeve hems behave like skirt hems. They read cleanest where the arm narrows and widen the limb where it is thickest.
Weigh the four options against your climate and your habits first. The length you push up all day is the wrong length. Sleeves you shove past the elbow are telling you to buy three-quarter. A long sleeve that swallows the wrist bone is telling you the size, not just the sleeve, is off.
