Top Notch Tailors

[Amelie Robertos]

Thefirst sewing patterns I used were by Vogue and Butterick, and I made my very first garment under the supervision of my mother-in-law. I therefore picked up her way of marking notches: we cut small triangles on the outside of the seam allowance.

Notches are the little triangles on the edge of your panel which you can mark with a little snip or cut the whole triangle out. Sometimes you have double or triple notches like in this photo. They all have a significance and match another part of the garment.

Tailor tacks (or thread marks) are double thread loops into certain points marked on your pattern. On the photo below it is a circle. To insert them, you go through paper and both layers of fabric and make 2/3 loose loops. Do not knot them as you want to be able to remove them later on. Always do from the top. If you go from underneath you are liable to go at an angle which could mean them being in the wrong place.

Students always ask what is the point of them? They help with putting your garment together so that each piece is attached evenly and correctly as well as marking important points on the garment such as pockets, darts, tucks/pleats, etc. They are a godsend when inserting sleeves.

Press the seams open, without pressing past the collar notch on the lapel. I like to drape the garment around the end of the ironing board for this, like the photo below. You can see I need to clip to release some tension in the seam allowance around the gorge line and back neck:

Start stitching 1mm away from the endpoint, catching the collar seam allowances. The lapel seam allowances must be kept clear. See the 4mm turn of cloth allowance that was added to the top collar peeking out the end? We need to ease that in as we sew:

Sew the lapel edges and pivot at the corner, ready to sew the top edge. Make sure the endpoints at the collar notches lie exactly on top of each other, place your left fingers between the layers to distribute the ease evenly. Fold both lapel seam allowances up out of the way. Stitch to within 1mm of the end of the previous stitching, without catching any seam allowances:

Hi Sherry- I'm really enjoying the detailed instructions and pictures.I wasn't able to join the sew along, but I plan to start my jacket soon, and will go back over everything then.thanks for all the info:)

Thank you so much for your detailed construction explanations. I plan to use many of the techniques you are describing in my sewing. Your visual explanations helps those of us who need to see what is being done.

I'm philosophical though; it's my very first jacket and the next one will be much better. My self assigned homework between the semesters is to make at least two more jackets, more if I have time. Practice always improves my sewing.

Theresa in Tucson

GREAT lesson Sherry. Your closeup pictures make all the difference in the world. This part of the jacket construction has always scared me. With this step by step guide, I feel much more confident I can line everything up.

I know this comment is way behind schedule ? but I wanted to say thank you for this section of instructions. I am happy to report that I have finished this section of my jacket! I am so glad I didn't give up on this project. I am liking how things are turning out so far, even though I didn't achieve as beautiful of results as you've shown here! But practice makes perfect right?

How do people sew Peter-Pan collars in the industry? I sewed one myself the other day and there seemed to be a lot of fabric what with the shell, undercollar, interfacing, top-collar and neckline facing. It was a bit much for my sewing machine. I just wondered if there was a way to do it that wouldn't require sewing through so many layers at once?

(By the way, thank you for the post on bagging the hem lining. Once I had a go it came together quite well. My shop-bought coat has a horizontal pleat the hem. I was just wondering how to alter the pattern to allow this _and_ bagging the lining?)

And just like that! A newbie to tailoring, such as myself understands what to do just by the pictures on their own ??????. I am clearly going to be reading too but this is the first thing I have found that has made any sense on how to sew notched edge collars (and that includes YouTube videos). I feel I can start my blazer with assurance now, so thank you so very much for your well written, well photographed article.???

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Ahhhh yes, the belt back. Most people have the misconception that vintage suits were baggy and ill fitting; that could not be further from the truth. Instead of mainly utilizing the side seams and darts on a jacket to create waist suppression, tailors would often employ the use of a half-belt on the back of the jacket to take in the extra fabric. In most cases, the extra fabric was then turned into pleats in order to allow for more movement without sacrificing waist suppression. It then erupted into a novelty, with brands advertising crazy action backs to set them apart from their competitors.

As all the other details, brands would differ on how they approached these collegiate trousers but the common detail was that the waistband was unusually wide and featured crazy buttoning, extended closure, or some combination of all of it. The crazier the better, it seemed.

Like my love for wide lapels, a wide buttonstance on a double breasted jacket tends to emphasize a slim waist (coupled with waist supression) and create a longer lapel line to point to the shoulders. I think it creates a pretty bold, masculine look that looks dope, especially if you have a bigger frame.

The swelled edge definitely draws attention to the lapels, which emphasizes its width at least to me. Like the lazy peak and bellow pocket, it definitely creates a 3D effect on the jacket. And like I said earlier, it looks killer with heavier fabrics.

Modern meets an 1890's Victorian/Prohibition/Depression era look. These trousers feature one piped watch pocket in front, slanted side pockets, 2 back pockets with a notched back and suspender buttons on the inside. If you don't have any button-hole suspenders yet, peruse our fantastic Suspender selection (under Accessories in the Menu) to compliment your trousers.

Bykowski Tailor & Garb pants are exquisitely designed and hand crafted from some of the highest quality fabrics on the market and we pay extreme attention to detail. Be sure to check the measuring guide and have a friend or family member measure you according to our directions for best results.

Okay, let's start out by getting the various elephants in the room out of the way. Yes, Harry Styles is very popular. Yes, he has worn a dress, and often wears pearls. Yes, he has a team of stylists working on most of his outfits. Yes, Gucci gives him money.

I'm here to describe the common threads in the ways Harry wears tailoring. Although they are consistent with, and heavily influenced by, the approaches of Alessandro Michele, friend of Styles and Creative Director of Gucci from 2015-2022, and Harry Lambert, Styles' main stylist since 2015, these common threads are consistent across brands and stylists, and seem to indicate a deeply personal style proper to Harry himself. I'll also share some photos I like of him in more casual attire, which I think are contextually relevant to his language.

You'll notice obvious features like bright colors and bold, feminine accessories. Some of his suits are embroidered. But I'll invite you to consider the silhouettes. His trousers are often flared or wide. His jackets often have bellied peak lapels. Like most men with taste, he loves a double breasted jacket. He often wears sleek white boots. His suits come from not only Alessandro Michele's Gucci, but Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, and Edward Sexton. Focus on the commonalities in all of these cuts, and you'll see that there's more to his style than initially meets the eye.

Through reading this, I hope that you'll learn to read tailoring, and what different pieces and elements might represent. I hope that this process will help you refine your own personal style, even if it's nothing like his. I hope you gain practical insight from seeing the spirit of his style.

For context, shawl lapels are always cut concave up, so a "bellied" shawl is a shawl that is more bellied than usual, creating a different, bottom-heavy shape. But you won't see many shawls here, that's really a different ball game.

Left: A single breasted jacket with a bellied peak lapel from the HA HA HA collection. Center: a reverse-bellied lapel. I believe this one is from Prologue Hong Kong. Right: George Frazier in a straight lapel.

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