Why the Stitching Matters More Than the Label

A suit's fabric gets all the attention, but the stitching is where a garment quietly declares its intentions. A well-made jacket will hold its shape through a decade of wear; a badly made one will sag at the shoulders within a season. When you buy second-hand, the label tells you very little — factories churn out excellent and dreadful suits under the same name — but the needlework tells you almost everything. Learn to read it and you can walk into any charity shop, vintage fair, or online listing with a calm, appraising eye.

The good news is that quality stitching is visible. You do not need to turn the jacket inside out under a magnifying glass. You need about sixty seconds, decent light, and a rough idea of what you are looking at.

Start with the Lapel Roll

The lapel is the first place to look, and it is where the difference between a fused jacket and a properly constructed one becomes obvious. A quality suit is built with a floating canvas interlining, which allows the lapel to curve gently and three-dimensionally from the collar down to the top button. Run your thumb and forefinger along the lapel edge from the collar downwards. A good lapel rolls softly between your fingers, like a well-worn paperback cover. A cheap, fused lapel feels flat and stiff, almost like cardboard, and tends to crease in a straight, lifeless line.

Then flip the lapel over and examine the pick stitching — the row of tiny, slightly irregular stitches running just inside the edge.

• Hand-stitched lapels show small, slightly uneven stitches with a gentle rhythm, often with a slight diagonal lean.
• Machine-stitched lapels are perfectly uniform and often sit so close to the edge that they look pressed in rather than sewn.
• On a working buttonhole on the lapel, look for a raised, slightly irregular shape with dense silk thread — then check whether the hole is actually cut open. A sewn-shut buttonhole is purely decorative, which is fine on a cheaper jacket but worth knowing.

None of this is about snobbery. A fused jacket can serve you well for years. But if you are paying a premium for a second-hand suit described as "tailored", the lapel roll is your first reality check.

Buttonholes: The Quiet Signature

Working cuffs — buttonholes on the sleeve that are genuinely cut and can be unfastened — are one of the clearest signs of a jacket made with care. Count them. Four is traditional on a well-made jacket; three is common on Italian styles. More than four is usually affectation.

Now look closely at each buttonhole. On a handmade jacket, the thread is fine, tightly packed, and sits slightly proud of the fabric, with a small knot visible at one end. The stitches should look almost like a row of tiny beads, and a little irregularity is a good thing. Machine-made buttonholes are flatter, more uniform, and often have a slightly fuzzy or melted appearance at the edges where the synthetic thread has been heat-sealed.

Test one gently with your fingernail. If it is genuinely cut, you will feel the opening. If it is only decorative, you will feel only a sewn groove. Both are acceptable, but only one commands a higher price.

Seam Finishes and Interior Clues

Turn the jacket inside out. This is where the maker's budget really shows. Look along the inside of the side seams and the armhole. On a quality garment, raw edges are neatly finished, often with a French seam or a bound edge, and the lining is attached with generous, evenly spaced stitches rather than tight, puckered ones.

Then examine the armhole itself. A hand-set sleeve — increasingly rare and expensive — is slightly puckered and irregular where it meets the body, because a person sewed it in stages. A machine-set sleeve is perfectly smooth, which is not a fault in itself, but combined with other shortcuts, it tells a story.

• Check the lining at the underarm for sweat stains, thinning, or a rough patch where a tailor has already made repairs.
• Look at the trouser waistband — a curtained waistband with a split and a visible inner lining is a sign of proper construction.
• Inspect the trouser hem for a hand-sewn finish with tiny, nearly invisible stitches, and check whether there is enough turn-up allowance to let the legs down.
• Look for loose threads and skipped stitches along the seat seam — these tend to fail first.

What Wear and Tear Can Tell You

Second-hand suits wear their history on their sleeves, and that is useful. A jacket that has been worn hard but still holds its shape, with no shine at the elbows, no fraying at the cuffs, and a lining that has not split, is a quiet endorsement of how it was made. Conversely, a jacket that looks lightly worn but already sags at the shoulders or has a puckered chest suggests the interlining has given up early.

Pay attention to the buttons, too. A suit with horn buttons — warm to the touch, subtly uneven in colour, with visible grain — is usually a suit that was made with pride. Plastic buttons that feel cool and look flat are not a deal-breaker, but they rarely appear alone; where they do, the stitching is often equally forgettable.

A Practical Routine Before You Buy

Put it all together into a short, repeatable inspection. Hold the jacket up to the light and check the lapel roll. Count and finger the cuff buttonholes. Turn it inside out and follow one side seam from armpit to hem. Run your hand along the inside of the armhole. Look at the trouser waistband and hem. Squeeze the fabric and let it spring back.

If the stitching is tight, even, and purposeful, you are holding a suit that was made to last, and it will serve you far better than anything new at twice the price. If it feels loose, flat, and hurried, walk away — there is always another suit, and usually a better one, a few racks along.