The lapel, from the side that cuts it
Suit lapels: three names, and the number that actually matters
A lapel is the folded-back front edge of a jacket, the part that runs from the collar down to the buttoning point, and the part a flower or a pin goes through. Every article written about it is the same three names and three photographs: notch, peak, shawl. What almost nobody mentions is that the lapel is the only part of a jacket that is ordered as a number. On our sheet it runs 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 centimetres, and that number will date a suit faster than the cloth, the cut or the colour ever will. So this page does the three names properly, and then it does the number, which is the part that decides whether the jacket still looks right in four years.
The three lapels, and what each is actually for
| Notch | Peak | Shawl | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A step cut where the collar meets the lapel, so the two form a V-shaped notch. The default lapel of the modern suit. | The lapel points rise upward past the collar seam toward the shoulder, so the edge points up rather than notching in. | No notch and no point at all. One continuous curved edge running from the collar all the way down. |
| What it is for | Business, and anything that needs to be unremarkable. It is the quietest of the three and that is its job. | Formality and lift. It is the standard on a double breasted jacket and a deliberate statement on a single breasted one. | Evening. Dinner jackets and nothing else, really. It is the softest shape and it belongs after dark. |
| What we run | Live. Curved notch is switched off, so if a customer has seen one, that is a different maker. | Live. Curved peak is switched off. There is also a round stand collar as a fourth style. | Live, and the same three names apply to waistcoats, where V-neck is a fourth option. |
| Where it goes wrong | Not in the style but in the width. A notch lapel at the wrong number is the most common dated suit in the world. | Ordered on a business suit by a customer who liked it on a photograph of a tuxedo. It will read as dressed up rather than dressed. | Ordered on a suit that is not a dinner suit. A shawl collar in a business cloth does not look formal, it looks confused. |
| What I would not do | I would not put 6 cm on a broad man. A narrow lapel on wide shoulders makes the shoulders look wider, not the man slimmer. | I would not order peak lapels at 12 cm unless the customer knows exactly what he is asking for and wants to be looked at. | I would not put a shawl collar on anything a man is going to wear to work, whatever the cloth. |
Live option availability above is from our own order system, checked this week. Four jacket lapel styles are live and the curved variants are switched off.
The lapel, part by part
Learn the width ladder and the gorge and you can specify a lapel exactly, which is more than most orders manage.
- Lapel width, 6 to 12 cm
- The measurement from the edge of the lapel across to the roll line at its widest point. Our ladder is 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 centimetres, in one centimetre steps. Around 8 to 9 is the safe middle for most men in most years. The number should follow the man's shoulder width, so a broad man carries more lapel and a small man carries less, and neither of those is a fashion statement.
- Notch lapel
- The step where collar meets lapel. The quiet default, correct on any business suit, and correct on almost any jacket that is not an evening jacket. If a customer cannot decide, this is the answer and there is nothing apologetic about it.
- Peak lapel
- Points that rise toward the shoulder. Standard on double breasted, deliberate on single breasted. It draws the eye upward and outward, which flatters a narrow frame and can overload a broad one. On our sheet the straight peak is live and the curved peak is not.
- Shawl collar
- One unbroken curve, no notch and no points. Evening wear. It is the softest and the most old fashioned of the three in the best sense, and it stops being elegant the moment it appears on a suit meant for daylight.
- Gorge
- The seam where the collar joins the lapel, and its height on the chest. A high gorge lifts the whole jacket and reads modern; a low one reads classic. It is a proportion decision rather than a name, and it is the thing people are reacting to when they say a jacket looks dated but cannot say why.
- Lapel roll
- How the lapel curves as it folds back rather than lying flat. A soft, three dimensional roll is what a canvassed chest produces. A flat, pressed lapel with a hard crease is usually what fusing produces. This is the single easiest place on a jacket to see how it was built, which is why it is worth knowing before you inspect anybody's sample.
- Lapel buttonhole
- The hole in the left lapel, historically functional. Three live settings on our sheet: a machine buttonhole, a Milanese buttonhole, which is the hand finished version with a raised corded edge, or none at all. Worth deciding rather than defaulting, because it is one of the few details a customer will notice on somebody else's jacket.
What the notch versus peak articles leave out
What is a lapel, exactly?
The folded back front edge of a jacket, from the collar down to where the jacket buttons. It exists because the front of a coat used to button all the way up to the throat, and when men started leaving the top undone the edge folded back and eventually got cut and shaped deliberately. That history is why the buttonhole is still there: it used to fasten.
Notch or peak?
Notch unless there is a reason. Peak is the standard on a double breasted jacket, so there it is not a decision at all. On a single breasted suit, peak is a choice that says something, and the customer should know he is saying it. Neither one is more expensive to make on our sheet, so anybody selling peak as an upgrade is selling you a story.
What lapel width should I order?
Eight or nine centimetres if you want an answer that will still be right in five years. Then adjust for the man rather than for the season: a broad chest carries ten comfortably, a small frame is better at seven. What I would avoid is either end of our range chosen because it is what the market is doing this year. Six and twelve are both available and both are statements.
Can I have a contrast coloured buttonhole thread?
Not from us. The coloured buttonhole thread you see photographed constantly is switched off on our sheet, along with contrast buttonhole stitching on the jacket and the waistcoat. I would rather tell you that plainly than let a shop promise it. Three lapel buttonhole settings are live: machine, Milanese, or none.
Why is there a gap between the collar and my neck?
That is a collar gap and it is a fitting fault rather than a style. It usually means the jacket does not match the customer's posture, most often a fuller upper back or a forward head, and the balance has to change rather than the lapel. Photograph it from the side as well as the back and send both, because from the back alone we cannot tell which of two different causes we are looking at.
Can you tell how a jacket is made by looking at the lapel?
Better than almost anywhere else. A lapel with a soft rolling curve is being held by a canvas; a lapel that lies flat with a hard pressed crease usually is not. It is not a perfect test and a good presser can flatter a fused jacket for a while, but if you only get thirty seconds with a competitor's sample, spend them on the lapel roll and the buttonhole.
What about a tuxedo?
Peak or shawl, and satin. We run two live satin settings, lapel and collar together, or lapel only. Notch on a dinner jacket is done, and it is done often, and I still would not recommend it: it is the one garment where the conventions are narrow and following them is the entire point.
What should the order say?
The lapel style, the width in centimetres, and the buttonhole setting. Three lines. Width is the one that gets left blank most often, and a blank width gets a default rather than a decision, which is exactly how a customer ends up with a perfectly well made jacket he quietly dislikes.
Specify the number, not just the name
If you are writing a jacket order this week, put a centimetre figure on the lapel line rather than leaving it to a default. If you want the current live style and width list, ask us and we will send exactly what is switched on rather than a catalogue.