Tuxedo - Button holes on shawl lapels

[Happy Stroller]

Hi, everyone, I'm new here.

Many articles and books insist on a button hole on a dinner jacket lapel. So far, the examples I've seen are on peak lapels.

Can and should shawl lapels have a button hole? If yes, where exactly should this button hole be located?

And, if there is to be a button hole, should there be a corresponding button around the other side's lapel? Again, if yes, where should that button be? Should it be behind the other lapel, but on the jacket itself? Or, should it be on the backside of the other lapel?

 

[Tomasso]

Can and should shawl lapels have a button hole?

Now that you mention it, I've never seen a buttonhole on a shawl lapel. And, as I ponder it, I don't think that it would look that good.

And, welcome to FL.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Can and should shawl lapels have a button hole? If yes, where exactly should this button hole be located?

And, if there is to be a button hole, should there be a corresponding button around the other side's lapel?

You shouldn't worry so much! But since you asked, I'll try to answer.


Having a buttonhole on a shawl lapel is entirely up to you. Shawl-collared evening jackets from early 1900s onward were made with and without boutonniere holes. No hard and fast rule applies here.


If you wish to have a boutonniere hole, it should be at the same area of the lapel as any other boutonniere hole would be: above the breast pocket.


Double-breasted shawl collared tuxedo jackets can have only one boutonniere hole, not two. And there is no button on the other side, because the boutonniere hole is not for buttoning -- it's for sporting a flower, usually a carnation or a rose.


.

 

[Tomasso]

I'm watching "Sabrina" and I just noticed that William Holden is wearing a white shawl collar DJ with a buttonhole on the lapel. BTW, the jacket has a center vent.

 

[Happy Stroller]

Marc, your reply is very helpful. And thanks to all who replied.

I guess a good alternative is not to put a boutonniere hole on a shawl lapel dinner jacket, which seems most suitable for pure dining functions, but to make an alterntive peak lapel tuxedo with a boutonniere hole for more general social functions.

But I can see from the Suits - Details And Options thread that a lapel button, if desired, should be on the back side of the other lapel. Perhaps this can only be done without leaving a trace on the front of the lapel only if the button is added to the lapel when the jacket is being made. I believe the idea of this special button is to enable the wearer to withstand the cold or rain if he happens not to have a scarve or topcoat handy.