felt in collar

[Guest]

What is the purpose of the felt beneath the collar of a jacket? My tailor makes my coats without any felt. WHat does THAT mean?

[Mark Seitelman]

The felt is called "collarmelton." It gives shape and some stiffness to the collar.

I have a sportscoat with a contrasting cloth under the collar.

Where the collarmelton is not present, does the tailor place it under the cloth? Or does he compensate with a stiffer collar?

[Guest]

Thanks. That is an interesting question.

[manton]

David, the collar is the most "stressed" part of the coat. It is subject to pressures that the rest of the coat either does not endure, or not to the same degree. The collar is also the part of the coat that is most "bent out of shape" in the tailoring process, by necessity. That thick, sturdy felt helps the collar retain its shape, stay anchored to the neck during wear, and withstand stress.

Light cloths are not strong or resilient enough to make good undercollars. Heavier flannels and tweeds can, which is why on some coats made from heavier cloth, the tailor skips the melton altogether and uses a self undercollar. This is Frank Shattuck's preferred method of making undercollars for tweed coats, for instance. One reason he likes it is so that the wearer can flip up the collar in adverse weather and not feel like he is exposing some "underbelly."

[Guest]

That is interesting. I bet that it is for pure decoration then, on many of my RTW coats, because the felt is so delicate.

[tteplitzmd]

I have been advised that on linen and silk jackets that the felt lining is not used by purists.
I have seen this on several of my two of my own bespoke jackets.

[bengal-stripe]

The collar is also the part of the coat that is most "bent out of shape" in the tailoring process, by necessity.

Apart from being easily manipulated and shaped, felt as under collar material has another advantage. Felt does not fray, so the edges do not have to turned under, which will add bulk and makes the collar less crisp and sharp.