"Puckered" Lapels?

[Jolly Green]

What causes the "waviness" or "puckering" (or whatever the correct term is) along the outer edge of this gentlemans lapel? It is an effect that I see often and don't care for.

How should a suit be constructed and/or maintained to prevent it from happening?


link to the Sartorialist

 

[Jolly Green]

fixed link

Cheers,
D

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Jolly Green

What causes the "waviness" or "puckering" (or whatever the correct term is) along the outer edge of this gentlemans lapel? It is an effect that I see often and don't care for.

How should a suit be constructed and/or maintained to prevent it from happening?


link to the Sartorialist

Looks like a fused lapel that went through one too many rain shower...

 

[a tailor]

needs to be pressed.

 

[Ivan Kipling]

I've read a number of explanations, for this . . . one of them being that handwork on Italian made suits, might cause puckers or bubbles, in lapels. My sister's French suits, never had a single bubble or pucker in the lapels' finishing.

 

[DocHolliday]

It's not fusing, I don't think. Label bubbles usually manifest as just that -- bubbles. In this case, I'd guess this is a fully canvassed coat, and the top layer is loose. I've seen this happen quite a bit, including on a NWT Golden Fleece I spotted in a Brooks Brothers recently.

I'd guess it was the result of how the jacket was made, or how it was stored. Maybe it's also a result of his posture?

 

[Carey]

Canvassed lapels and the front of the jacket will pucker if too much moisture (steam) is used when pressing. This is an unfortunate, yet common mistake made by many dry cleaners.

I always request a very low moistur press on my suit jackets and blazers.

It is not a sign of a poorly made garment.

 

[Earthmover]

Usually, it's not the high amount of steam, but rather (1) low-temperature steam, which has more water content and (2) not using the press vacuum to dry the garment completely before moving on.

I don't know why it happens, but the puckering happens in humid conditions when the cloth absorbs some amount of water. thinner garments seem to have a greater propensity for it, although this is also probably a function of absorbing more water relative to the humidity in comparison to a thicker garment.

 

[DocHolliday]

So can it be fixed? Is that likely to be what happened to the GF I saw?

 

[stach]

Sponge the lapels and then press dry. You need to shrink the wool to match the canvas. You might need additional pad stitching to prop it up as well.

 

[Jolly Green]

Thanks guys.

I seem to remember seeing Pierce Brosnan with bubbly lapels in one of his movies. Bond? I can't remember. Several others too that are on the current "well dressed lists" too.

Yet another reason to pay extra for a good dry cleaner.

Cheers,
D

 

[chobochobo]

or rather one of my suits, again a BB GF - at first I thought it was dreaded bubbling but in retrospect it could have been my steaming with my home clothes steamer (I can't recall if it was like that before steaming, in which case it was due to the ebay seller). I fixed mine by recreating a bit of curvature during steaming - basically puling either end of the lapel taut and steaming from underneath the lapel to make it convex up, and lo and behold it's fine. I've yet to wear the suit yet, though it's very nice, lots of hand stitching.

 

[rssmsvc]

or rather one of my suits, again a BB GF - at first I thought it was dreaded bubbling but in retrospect it could have been my steaming with my home clothes steamer /QUOTE]

Was that the whirlpool steamer ?

 

[chobochobo]

Originally Posted by chobochobo

or rather one of my suits, again a BB GF - at first I thought it was dreaded bubbling but in retrospect it could have been my steaming with my home clothes steamer /QUOTE]

Was that the whirlpool steamer ?
nope, Con-air - the usual type that looks like a vacuum cleaner.

 

[needshoehelp]

I'm resurrecting this old thread, as I've a Caruso suit with this problem on one of its lapels (therefore it's certainly not a fusing problem). Is there a best way to fix this? Should I take it to a (good) tailor to see what he can do, or is it simpler than that? I'm not sure I can visualize what the poster a few posts up is doing.