Tailoring terminology questions

OK who's correct?

Gorge - I've seen this described as the seam where the collar of a jacket meets the lapel. I've also seen it described as the depth of the V where the lapels meet ( which is also known as the button stance).

DB button patterns, for example 6 on 2 - I've seen this described as a low buttoning jacket where only the lower right outer and lower left inner buttons are functional. The other 4 are ornamental. I've also seen this described as a higher buttoning jacket where the middle and right outer buttons are both functional, while the upper right and all 3 on the left are ornamental.

Which is more correct?

This is a common mistake. Buttoning stance and gorge are unrelated. Gorge is like you said where the collar meets the lapel. Button stance, is what it is, where the button is. You can have a high gorge suit with a low buttoning point and vice versa.

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

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This is a common mistake. Buttoning stance and gorge are unrelated. Gorge is like you said where the collar meets the lapel. Button stance, is what it is, where the button is. You can have a high gorge suit with a low buttoning point and vice versa.

Correct.

Originally Posted by Ianiceman

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DB button patterns, for example 6 on 2 - I've seen this described as a low buttoning jacket where only the lower right outer and lower left inner buttons are functional. The other 4 are ornamental. I've also seen this described as a higher buttoning jacket where the middle and right outer buttons are both functional, while the upper right and all 3 on the left are ornamental.

6x2 means the bottom and middle rows are buttoned. 6x1 means only the bottom row is buttoned.

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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Correct.



6x2 means the bottom and middle rows are buttoned. 6x1 means only the bottom row is buttoned.

I have always preferred the way some (most?) English tailors define DB styles: where a 6 x 2 is called a "2 show 3". In the American 6 x 2 (or 6 x 1 or whatever) formulation, the first number is buttons, the second is the number of rows that fasten. In the English formulation, both numbers refer to rows: in this example, 2 rows that can fasten from a total of 3 rows. This may be cultural, but it just seems easier to understand.

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

Click to expand...

Correct.



6x2 means the bottom and middle rows are buttoned. 6x1 means only the bottom row is buttoned.

I always thought that the second number was the number of buttoned buttons, not rows.
I also don't wear DB's.

Gorge refers to the collar, from:

Gorge \\Gorge\\, noun [F. gorge, LL. gorgia, throat, narrow pass, and gorga abyss, whirlpool, prob. fr. L. gurgea whirlpool, gulf, abyss; cf. Skr. gargara whirlpool, g[.r] to devour. Cf. {Gorget}.]

1. The throat; the gullet; the canal by which food passes to the stomach.

gor·get (gôrjt)
n.
1. A piece of armor protecting the throat.
2. An ornamental collar.
3. The scarflike part of a wimple covering the neck and shoulders.
4. A band or patch of distinctive color on the throat of an animal, especially an area of brightly colored feathers on the throat of a bird.
[Middle English, from Old French gorgete, diminutive of gorge, throat; see gorge.]

At least one ancestor of a man's coat had a turn up collar. We still call US Marines leathernecks because this collar could be tough leather, which would protect from sword and bayonet cuts. That kind of collar could also be called a gorget. If you unbutton a stand up collar and turn it down, you get something akin to the "modern" coat and lapels.

Apologies for being pedantic, but I find it easier to understand, and remember, what terms mean if I understand where they came from.