A perfectly fitting suit is something special. Not only because it’s a serious investment, but also because it’s an essential part of your wardrobe. It’s masculine and stylish, so every man should own a great suit. Luckily, there are tailors—because an off-the-rack suit rarely fits perfectly straight away.
The tailor's craft is a true skill for good reason. It requires knowledge — and comes with an enormous number of terms. To give you a peek into the world of the tailor (because it's always nice to know a little about everything), we've put together a glossary.
The Tailor’s Glossary:
Pleat
The pleat is the fold at the front of the trousers, for a bit more volume and room. It's fashionable again these days.
Piping
The piping is the coloured trim on your lapel. But as far as we're concerned it doesn't really belong on the list — piping is not of this time at all.
Darts
These are seams, for example on the back of a shirt, that make the fit narrower.
Kissing buttons
When the buttons on the sleeve overlap, they're called kissing buttons. This mainly occurs on Italian suits, less often on English ones.
Puckered lapel
This is a lapel finish that requires a lot of handwork, recognisable by the little “dimples” in the lapel. Not every suit has this, by the way.
Spalla Camicia
This is a Neapolitan way of setting the sleeve into the shoulder from the top, with the sleeve head pleated by hand. The Elair model by Van Gils, among others, has this.
Still with us? We’re not done yet…
Turn-up
This refers to the little cuff at the bottom of the trousers.
Jetted pocket
This is the opening of an internal pocket in a letterbox shape, usually inner pockets, the outer pockets of a tuxedo or the back pocket of formal trousers.
Lapel
This is the folded-back part that continues into the collar of your jacket.
Snor
This is a foam-like layer in the armhole that helps the jacket contour more closely to the body at this point.
Gorge
The “spiegel” (Dutch for mirror) can be found in our shops, but it's also the notch between the collar and the lapel. In English it's called a gorge.
Ticket pocket
The well-known ticket pocket is a small pocket on the right-hand side of your jacket. Londoners used to use it for their train ticket in their leisure suit.
Pascal
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Pascal is an expert copywriter with a passion for menswear. With his sharp writing, he shares practical advice on how to breathe new life into your wardrobe and how to live in style with confidence.
