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There is a scourge upon this land. OK, not really. But, seriously, there is one persistent issue that I see all the damn time when it comes to men’s overcoats, and considering how easy it is to remedy, it’s time we band together and fix it once and for all. What is this fiendish problem? Head outside on a cold day and you’ll almost certainly notice it. Train you’re eyes and you won’t just notice it but become completely overwhelmed by it.
Guys aren’t removing the “X”-shaped tacking stitch holding the coat’s vent together. You know the one I’m talking about:
Yep, that one. It serves a purpose, but only for a time. Brands, especially bigger ones, know better than anyone how important presentation is. Something like a crease in the fabric may be eminently fixable, but when you’re in a store looking at dozens of similar coats, a negative first impression might be all that’s needed to send you on to the next option.
Also, your clothes don’t magically appear on a rack—or at your doorstep when you’re shopping online. They’ve been shipped from where they were made to a store or your home, maybe taking a detour at a local distribution center along the way. And in each step of the journey, they’re handled, folded, hung up, refolded, etc. A vent in a coat is handy to accommodate a full range of movement when you’re walking, but when you’re folding or boxing or hanging, it’s the spot most prone to bunch up, crease, and wrinkle. So enterprising coatmakers decided to stitch the vent closed to prevent all that. It keeps the garment looking clean and presentable as it makes it way from its temporary homes in warehouses and shop floors to its permanent home in your wardrobe. But that’s all it’s there for.
Listen, I get it: You just got a new coat, and you’re eager to show it off (and warm up). Once you’ve purchased the coat, though, the tacking stitch (some folks will call it a basting stitch, and the terms are effectively interchangeable) is no longer necessary. In fact, because the coat was designed for the vent to be open—again, it helps you move and preserves the lines of the garment—leaving it on there is doing both your comfort and your style a disservice.
So, what to do? Simple: Just snip the stitch with a pair of scissors—you can also use a stitch ripper if you have one—pull out the thread, and go on your merry way. It was designed to be removed, so you shouldn’t run into any issues. Oh, and remember that the same principle applies to suit jackets, blazers, and sport coats. Like the brand tag on the exterior of the sleeve, it’s a temporary thing that’s meant for the store—not your life. And unlike the brand tag on the sleeve, you don’t get any cool-guy points for leaving it on there as an ironic nod to in-the-know fashion fans.
Cut the thread. Be free.
Read the full article here
