# What are armbands for?



## JJR512 (May 18, 2010)

I was just browsing the T.M.Lewin website (to look at all the nice fancy stuff I either can't afford or don't need...usually both), and came across this: 

I read the description but still don't understand what these are for. ???


----------



## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Garters for your too long shirt sleeves typically found on bank tellers and card sharps!!


----------



## upr_crust (Aug 23, 2006)

As WouldaShoulda stated - though the custom in the UK is to make dress shirts in only two or three different sleeve lengths (and for me, at Lewin, always a bit too long), and the armbands take the place of 8GBP worth of alterations (if you order shirts from Lewin online, you can adjust the sleeve lengths for an extra fee).


----------



## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

I use a rubber band on my forearm if I get stuck wearing a shirt with sleeves too long (happens to me on Nordstrom shirts), and I've been too lazy to get it altered.

One of those things that's good to keep around like a collar extender. You never know...


----------



## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

They're not really for sleeves that are too long, tho I guess you could use them for that.

They are for taking a sleeve of proper length and hiking it to the point where the buttoned cuff is too narrow to go further up, usually 2-3" above the wrist. And the reason for this is solely so the cuff will not rub against either the wrist or something that the wrist for extended periods will come in contact with, i.e., the desk or ledger book of an accountant who makes entries by hand. They also lessen the chance of smudging when using a fountain pen. They're very Charles Dickens.

Computers have made them mostly useless, although I use them when drafting or doing pencil work, but I use wide elasticized black ones that I find in the womens hair care aisle at WalMart.


----------



## GoToEleven (May 19, 2010)

JJR512 said:


> What are armbands for?


Ummm...Nazis, perhaps?


----------



## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

Or to mourn the death of a loved one, particularly if you think Victoria's still the queen.


----------



## sowilson (Jul 27, 2009)

I used them so my shirt or jacket wouldn't drag over the strings of my upright bass when I was playing in big bands


----------



## Jake Genezen (May 27, 2010)

Peak and Pine said:


> They're not really for sleeves that are too long, tho I guess you could use them for that.
> 
> They are for taking a sleeve of proper length and hiking it to the point where the buttoned cuff is too narrow to go further up, usually 2-3" above the wrist. And the reason for this is solely so the cuff will not rub against either the wrist or something that the wrist for extended periods will come in contact with, i.e., the desk or ledger book of an accountant who makes entries by hand. They also lessen the chance of smudging when using a fountain pen. They're very Charles Dickens.


Interesting: I never knew that was the intended reason.

I actually have a pair of the TM Lewin armbands, used for my cufflink shirts. I don't take off my jacket, so the armbands being displayed is not an issue for me. However, they are not that good for keeping the length you want your sleeves to be at; you have to adjust them throughout the day. In saying that, and as TheGreatTwizz says, useful to have around.


----------

