Every man should own a suit, and should know anything and everything about suits/blazers/coats depending on the depth of his interest in fashion and style. well, today this article is about a certain part of a suit/blazer/coat called the lapel. The lapel is the part of the suit(blazer/coat) that runs from the collar bone to the top button on the inside seam where the suits meets itself- you can easily just call it the collar of the outerwear. Most times people who aren’t in depth with fashion will not notice the difference in lapels but that is why lapel broaches and pins exist! 
The three types of lapel styles are the Notch, the Peak, and Shawl style’s lapel’s. My personal favourite is the Peak styled lapel but below is a description of each lapel style accompanied with illustrative photos. After going through it i’m sure you’d be able to pick a favourite too!
The Notch
The notch lapel to me is the most common type, its the “typical” lapel type, you are likely to find on suit-like outerwear or a suit itself.
the red lines illustrate the notch style lapel, you’d notice that the edges of the top and bottom lapel are parallel to each other. This lapel form is less dressy, it would be best for extremely formal occasions, for example if you were to wear a suit/coat/blazer to your job interview, it would be very appropriate to where one with a notch style lapel, its simple and neat.
Notch style lapel on a checkered blazer
it looks something like this when worn,
The Peak
The peak lapel is more pronounced, its usually has this unconstructed, rugged but stylish and casual yet formal look. The yellow lines on the picture below illustrate the shape and style 0f the peak lapel .
In this case you’d see that the edge of the bottom lapel extends all the way up to form a sharp end hence the name “peak lapel”. This lapel style is unique, I particularly love this kind, its nice for people who aren’t afraid to go outside the norm. It gives the formal look a little casual aura because the style is a little playful, like i said rugged yet stylish and casual yet formal.
the peak lapel on a suit
It looks something like this when worn
The Shawl
This lapel is mostly seen on tuxedos but now a days contemporary fashion has inculcated it into their collections, adding the shawl lapel to dressy blazers and coats. In terms of tailoring, this is the simplest kind of lapel, in that it doesn’t have any cuts and looks like the front of a smoking jacket or bath robe, unlike the notch and peak lapels which makes it easier for tailors to construct the suits.
This lapel style is the i’m-simple-but-i’m-still-a-boss kinda style, the oo7 stars got away with this look so perfectly. Its the classiest of them all, its perfect for special black tie occasions, ball room events, gambling and the likes.
Daniel craig in a tuxedo
the shawl lapel on an orange patterned blazer
It looks something like this
Now that we have gone through the types, I know you all will have one which you particularly prefer, you can also use this as a shopping guide whenever you shop for suits/coats/blazers.
