Removal of Pick Stitching

[drj4885]

I bought a relatively inexpensive suit (on sale $400, retail $800) last week. Being quite ignorant in these things, I did not know that the stitching on the lapels is called pick stitching, and I assumed that they would be removed. They obviously were not. I didn't quite like it as it made the lapels look wrinkly/ruffled at the edges. Also, I have not seen others at work wear suits with such obvious pick stitching and I do not want to stand out. So, I wanted it removed, and the shop had no problems with doing that.

After reading forum posts, I am now wondering about the consequences of having the pick stitching removed considering that it does have a practical purpose. Was this a bad move? and what will happen to the suit's lapels? Is the life of the suit going to be shortened? Will it in anyway look "weird?" I only plan on wearing this suit for a few years, and it will most likely not see heavy usage.

 

[j]

Most likely, the pick stitching on your suit was decorative and redundant. I can't imagine an 800 dollar suit being constructed so that the pick stitching really held anything in place. And if it had, I suspect you'd know by now.

Welcome to the forum, BTW.

 

[bullitt440]

Now that pickstitching comes standard on even the cheapest OTR suits, I don’t think it matters anymore. It doesn’t serve a practical purpose on most suits anyhow since fusible interfacing came along. Personally, I prefer topstitching (which is rare these days) or none at all.

 

[drj4885]

Thanks for the answer and the welcome. This is a great forum.

I thought the pick stitching might be redundant (as the tailor said it would be ok to take it out), but I wanted someone to second that thought.

 

[GeckoBroSeth]

I bought a jacket recently that also has pick-stitching, but it goes all around, up and down the lapels, around the collar and around the whole jacket. I wondered if it would be able to be removed without ruining the jacket.