Proportion of lapel, bow tie and collar

Three details around the neck and chest of a tuxedo, the lapel, the bow tie and the shirt collar, should all speak the same scale. The lapel and the bow tie should be of similar width, the collar should suit the face, and all of it should balance with your shoulders and frame. When one of the three drifts far from the others, people sense that something is off before they can say what.

Lapel width and bow tie width should match

The lapel is the largest piece of satin on the front of the jacket, and the bow tie is the small piece at its centre. They repeat the same glossy material, so the eye compares them automatically.

A simple rule to remember: the bow tie at its widest should be about the same as the lapel at its widest, or a little narrower. A tiny bow against a wide lapel looks lost, like a small knot in the middle of the chest. A big bow against a slim lapel steals attention from the whole suit.

A few more points to weigh:

• Style of bow: a butterfly bow has a wider body than a batwing and suits a broader lapel. Our piece on butterfly and batwing bow ties goes into this.
• Material: satin, ribbed grosgrain and velvet all change visual weight. A velvet bow looks heavier than a satin bow of the same width.
• Same finish on lapel and bow: satin lapel with satin bow, grosgrain lapel with grosgrain bow is the safe pairing.

The shirt collar should suit the face

The dress-shirt collar, wing, stand or turndown, frames the face, so choose it with the face in mind:

• Long face, pointed chin: a lower collar with spread points balances the vertical line.
• Round face, short neck: a moderately high collar with slim points; avoid a very wide collar that adds fullness to the face.
• Square face, strong jaw: a collar with softer edges, so you do not add more angles.

The bow tie belongs inside the face too: its width should not go beyond the outer corners of the eyes, and the knot should be no larger than the jaw. This has its own guide in bow tie size for your face shape.

The collar must also fit closely enough for the bow to sit straight against it, and the bow's ends should not bulge past the collar points.

Slim lapels for small frames, wide lapels for broad shoulders

The lapel should also be in scale with the body:

• Small build, narrow shoulders: a slim or medium lapel keeps the front from being overwhelmed. A very wide lapel swallows the chest.
• Broad shoulders, deep chest: a wide lapel gives the chest room to breathe. A narrow lapel on a tall, broad man looks short of cloth.
• Slim, narrow frame: a wide lapel adds width across the shoulders and makes the figure look fuller.
• Peak or shawl: the peak lapel draws the eye upward and out to the shoulders; the shawl rolls softer and rounder. Each comes in wider and narrower cuts, and the choice is covered in choosing a tuxedo lapel.

A common width for a classic tuxedo lapel is around eight to nine centimetres at its widest, but that is only a reference: the tailor adjusts to each man's shoulders and chest.

Examples from real models

TUX-071 is a black tuxedo with a wide satin shawl lapel that opens across most of the chest before narrowing to a single button. It is worn with a medium black bow tie. The wide lapel broadens the shoulder line, which is why this model suits a slender build, and the bow is kept medium so it does not compete with the lapel.

TUX-040 is a black tuxedo with a satin-faced peak lapel, a moderate V opening, a black bow tie and a white shirt. Here the lapel is medium and the bow is medium too, so the whole reads as tidy with no single detail standing alone.

Both show the same principle at two scales: a wide lapel takes a bow one size up; a medium lapel takes a bow of medium size.

Try the proportions at Mon Amie

The simplest way to learn what proportion suits you is to stand at a mirror, put on a jacket and try the lapel and bow in a few sizes. In the showroom the tailor tries all three details on you together, then chooses a lapel, a bow and a collar that balance each other. You can book at the Mon Amie showroom.