Rowly wrote: I would suggest that a high button stance without raising the gorge ( notch height) will make the lapel look short. On the other hand, if the button stance is on the high side raising the notch ( gorge) will give the illusion of a longer more elegant lapel...would you agree?
Your suggestions are on the dot.
In the first case -high stance, relative low gorge- the look will (quoting Alden) "add 30 pounds to a scarecrow".
In the second case, raising the gorge not only will give the
illusion of a longer lapel, in fact it will
make it longer (and probably more elegant overall).
Rowly wrote: ...does the term Gorge refer the finished level of the notch or, does it relate with more emphasis on the distance between the highest button and the notch?
Gorge does not refer to the finished
level of the notch but to the notch itself. The terms
gorge level and
notch level are the interchangeable ones.
The distance between the highest button and the notch is not the gorge but (assuming no roll to the second highest button) just a measure of the lapel length. The height of your gorge level is measured in relation to the shoulder seam and not to the stance (i.e. you could have a very highly placed gorge even with a very high stance and short lapel).