Pleats on front of a shirt

[NYCniceguy]

I tried on a dress shirt which had two parallel pleat-like folds on the front, except they were sewn, from below the chest all the way down. What is the purpose of these?

The shirt was excellent, but I often skip the jacket and wonder if it would be tacky to wear it to work without one.

 

[officeboy]

They are called darts... And generally front darts should be for women's shirts.

 

[bjornb17]

Pleats on front? Shirt is on backwards!

 

[Mr. Sartorial]

Sounds pretty unusual. Who was it made by? Sounds a like a designer detail you'd see on something by Kris Van Assche or Helmut Lang.

 

[blahman]

Yup they are darts and unless you have nice, shapely, supple breasts stay away from shirts with front darts!

 

[SpooPoker]

They are supposed to take the attention away from your nipples.

 

[alexanduh]

Originally Posted by SpooPoker

They are supposed to take the attention away from your nipples.