Lapels come in three broad categories: shawl lapels, notch lapels, and peak lapels. The most widely accepted origin story of the modern lapel traces it back to functional aspects of military wear.

Designed to allow soldiers to button up their coats for warmth or unbutton them in warmer weather or for ease of movement, the peak lapelthe backhand forms a point upwards most clearly reflects its military roots. Sometimes, the presence of two buttonholes, one on each side, references this functional origin. A defining feature of the modern peak lapel is its upward extension towards the collarbone. When buttoned over to the other side, the lapel would close the jacket up to the wearer’s neck.

Double-breasted suits are often paired with peak lapels, again echoing the military aesthetics of battlefield coats. As functional needs waned, double-breasted suits with notch lapels gained popularity, particularly with the New Wave style in the 1980s.

The notch lapelV-shaped notch in the lapel is characterized by a notch at the “gorge,” the connecting point where the lapel meets the jacket collar. Its origins are less obviously militaristic, but it may have derived from folding down jackets with stand-up collars. The notch creates a small V-shaped or U-shaped incision in the lapel, with the specific shape influenced by local aesthetic preferences. English tailors often craft sharp, angular notches, while some Spanish tailors preferred more rounded, open notches. The precise shape also reflects the tailor’s artistic vision. For example, the Parisian tailor Camps de Luca has become famous for one of the most renowned lapel notches, known as the “Cran Parisien”, i.e., the Parisian lapelvariation of the notch lapel which looks like the mouth of a notch.

Shawl lapels follow a continuous line from the “belly” of the lapel—the curve where it meets the buttoning point—to the wearer’s neck, with no break or notch. The shawl lapel originates from the Persian “jama”. Due to its lack of militaristic functionality, this lapel style became an obvious choice for civilian occasions, which the English later incorporated into formal wear. Shawl lapels are typically made of the same fabric as the jacket for casual settings, or finished in satin or velvetcotton fabric with a complex weave, it is composed of a simp for more formal occasions.

Trends in lapel size often mirror the economic climate: during World War II, lapels initially became smaller due to fabric shortages, setting a trend that continued through the 1950s and 1960s. We can picture the young Beatles in slim suits with slim ties and narrow lapels. The 1970s reversed this trend, broadening lapel widths. In the 2000s, reflecting an overall slimming of menswear proportions, designers like Hedi Slimane re-popularized the slim lapel shape.