Suit collar issue

[Allen]

Hi all,

I've got a bit of a predicament with a couple of suits that I purchased used; the collars ride up and expose the felt(?) underneath. The pictures can probably explain it better than I could:



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The first one is an Armani, the second is a Zegna and both of them are DB's. What causes this to happen, and is this something that's common amongst double breasted suits? Also, does anyone know what can be done (if anything) to correct this?

Thanks

 

[Guttersnipe]

Whether a suit is double breasted or not doesn't have any relationship to this.

There are several causes of this, the most common of which is a stretching out/loss of shape that results from hanging a suit on the improper kind of hanger for a prolong time (e.g. wire hangers, or anything too thin). To help suits keep their shape over time, it's best to store them on really bulky hangers specifically designed for suits.

Depending on how bad/long they've been like that, anything from a repress by a dry cleaner to a re-cut by a tailor may be required.

 

[Allen]

Whether a suit is double breasted or not doesn't have any relationship to this.

There are several causes of this, the most common of which is a stretching out/loss of shape that results from hanging a suit on the improper kind of hanger for a prolong time (e.g. wire hangers, or anything too thin). To help suits keep their shape over time, it's best to store them on really bulky hangers specifically designed for suits.

Depending on how bad/long they've been like that, anything from a repress by a dry cleaned to a re-cut by a tailor may be required.

Yeah, I buy very wide hangers for all of my suits, specifically those ones you can find at Jos. A. Bank for 15 bucks a pop, haha. I was kind of thinking the same thing, I'm going to try taking them to the dry cleaners and see if they can press them in a way that will correct this issue, I think that would be the cheaper option. Thanks for your help!

 

[Nick D]

the collars ride up and expose the felt(?) underneath.

The felt is collar melton. Less important than the issue of the improper roll, but now you know.

 

[Allen]

The felt is collar melton. Less important than the issue of the improper roll, but now you know.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Tomasso]

Were I to see that issue on a jacket I would take a pass.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Were I to see that issue on a jacket I would take a pass.

In my experience, more often than not, I've been able fix this issue by simply repressing the suit, storing it on a proper hanger, and letting gravity do the rest. Sometimes, if the stretching is more pronounced, a tack stitch is needed. I've only ever come across one coat that actually needed the collar re-cut by a tailor, which can be a little pricey, but not outrageous. The last time I had a collar re-cut was a few years ago; it cost about forty or fifty bucks.

 

[ivyrbotson]

thanks for sharing this experience.

 

[Talbot]

Whether a suit is double breasted or not doesn't have any relationship to this.

There are several causes of this, the most common of which is a stretching out/loss of shape that results from hanging a suit on the improper kind of hanger for a prolong time (e.g. wire hangers, or anything too thin). To help suits keep their shape over time, it's best to store them on really bulky hangers specifically designed for suits.

Depending on how bad/long they've been like that, anything from a repress by a dry cleaner to a re-cut by a tailor may be required.

Or the original owner had bad neck posture and stretched the back of the suit relative to the collar over time.