Suits: Harvey Specter's peak lapel, and whether you can wear one to work

Suits is a legal drama in which nobody spends much time in court and everybody spends a great deal of time being dressed. Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter is the firm’s best closer, and the show makes that visible through one detail more than any other: the lapel.

That lapel is why most men look up Harvey’s suits. They like the look, and they are not sure they can carry it on a real Monday: whether a peak lapel on an ordinary business suit will read as confidence, or as a man who has watched too much television.

What does Harvey actually wear?

The costume designer was Jolie Andreatta. She has explained that the team used Tom Ford suits and also made its own versions inspired by them, on its own patterns: cut slimmer, sometimes with the lapel made smaller or set lower, but always keeping the Tom Ford peak.

• Single-breasted, slim and dark: charcoal, navy and grey.
• Wide peak lapels, the points sweeping up and out toward the shoulders.
• Sober underneath: plain shirts and dark ties, so the lapel carries the whole statement.

Is a peak lapel on a single-breasted suit actually correct?

Yes. A lot of men assume peaks belong only on double-breasted jackets and dinner jackets. Single-breasted peak lapels have been cut for generations and were common on business suits in the 1930s. They are simply less common now than notches, which is why they get noticed. Notch, peak and shawl lapels draws all three on the same suit.

Will it look like too much at work?

That depends on the room.

• It helps where being noticed is part of the job: litigation, sales, the front of a room, a pitch, a client dinner, your own wedding.
• A notch is safer for a first interview, your first weeks somewhere new, a conservative firm, a funeral, or any room where you want to be judged on what you say. The interview suit covers that.
• It reads louder on a lighter suit. A peak on charcoal or navy looks like authority. On a light grey or a bold pattern it starts to look like costume.

Real courtrooms reward something quieter than television does; the lawyer’s suit covers what actually works there.

What should you tone down from the show?

The lapel has aged well. The rest of the 2010s cut has not. Harvey’s era meant narrow trousers ending above the shoe, short jackets and chests cut close. For 2026:

• trousers with a little more room in the leg and a slight break on the shoe;
• a jacket long enough to cover your seat;
• a chest that lies flat with room to reach forward;
• a lapel that is medium-wide rather than as wide as it will go, unless your frame carries it.

How should a peak lapel fit?

Here is the part few people are told: a peak lapel exposes a tight jacket faster than a notch does. When the chest is too small and the button pulls, the lapels lift off the shirt and bow outward, and the peaks splay toward the arms instead of pointing up at the shoulders. On a notch lapel the same fault is easy to miss. On a peak it is the first thing anyone sees. So the chest and the button position are settled at the fitting with the jacket fastened and your arms reaching forward, not just standing still in front of the mirror.

Three more points:

• Width follows the chest. A wide peak on a narrow chest swamps it; a narrow one on a broad chest looks pinned on. The tie should match the lapel’s width, as the tie: width, knot and length explains.
• A peak widens a slim man. The points pull the eye out toward the shoulders, which is the logic of a wide lapel on a slim jacket. If you are already broad through the chest and shoulders, a medium peak is plenty; suits for athletic builds has more on cutting for that shape.
• The lapel should roll, not lie flat. A canvassed front lets the lapel curve softly from the collar down to the button; a glued, fused front tends to press flat, and a flat peak looks like cardboard. Sam’s jackets are half canvas by default and full canvas on the dearer cloths, never fused; fully canvassed or fused explains the difference.

Getting it made

Sam makes business suits with notch or peak lapels to your measurements, taken at the Vaughan studio just north of Steeles or at your office on request, in three to four weeks with one fitting on the finished suit. The lapel width is set to your frame at the first appointment, so bring a screenshot of the lapel you like and Sam will tell you how far your build can take it. Sketch Harvey’s charcoal first: draw the Specter suit. If you work downtown, custom suits for the Financial District covers measuring at your office.

Where the details come from: TV Insider’s interview with Jolie Andreatta and the Television Academy.