Whats a Dress Shirt Placket and why is it important to know the different types

A placket is the long panel down the front of a shirt through which the button holes are placed. It is an integral part of the shirt which gives it more structure, allowing for a cleaner more tailored look. There are several types of plackets, but the three main styles most commonly used for classic dress shirts are the Standard Front Placket, the French Front and the Hidden Button or Covered Placket.

 

The Standard Front Placket

This is one of the plackets that you would find on most traditional dress shirts. This placket is folded back over and stitched, making it the most visible of the three. A fused interfacing is always used inside for dress shirts, however, a softer interfacing can be used for a more casual look.

 

The French Front

The French Front is fast becoming the most popular placket option, as it shows no seams and gives a clean modern look. It has no fold over stitch, instead it folds to the underside around a fused interlining. It looks especially great with a no-pocket option.

 

The Hidden Button or Covered Placket

This placket is most often used for a formal tuxedo shirt, but can be used as an option on a classic dress shirt as well. It features a solid panel of fabric folded over to cover the buttons and placket behind, giving it a cleaner more sophisticated look. It is the perfect choice for any formal event, an elegant bow tie completes the look.

 

While we are on the topic of Tuxedo Shirts, there are three other placket options that would give you that debonair sophisticated look, one would be the Tuxedo Plain Front, the Tuxedo Pleated Front and the Tuxedo Bib Front.

 

The Tuxedo Plain Front

This is a clean elegant option, similar in look to French Front mentioned above, however, the top four buttons below the collar are removable, and can be replaced with a set of tuxedo studs. A pair of matching cuff-links would complete that dapper look, a style favoured by Mr. Bond himself.

 

The Tuxedo Pleated Front

The most traditional of all tuxedo shirts, it features the same option of removal buttons as the Plain Front, except there is a ten inch wide pleated panels split on either side of it's fused placket. These panels are made up of stitched folds of fabric from the front of the shirt, that run from the shoulder seam all the way down to the bottom of the shirt.

 

The Tuxedo Bib Front

This elegant classic tuxedo shirt features a ten inch wide white Marcella piqué panel stitched to the front of the shirt on either side of it's French Front placket. The panel starts at the shoulder seam and ends just below the fifth buttonhole. It also has the removable buttons the collar which can be replaced with tuxedo studs.