Do Lapel Pins Damage Suits?

Wearing a non-magnetic lapel pin will almost certainly leave a hole in your suit. It may be a shallow hole that is hardly apparent to the human eye, but you will notice it.

It should not prevent you from adorning your suits with lapel pins. Pins can be worn without causing holes. You only need to understand how particular materials react to being pricked, which sorts of lapel pins are likely to leave holes, and how to repair lapel pin holes. Let's get started!

Which types of lapel pin backings can leave holes?

If you're particular about how you care for your suits and are terrified of even the smallest, hardly noticeable hole, consider only wearing magnetic-backed lapel pins. These pins, like magnetic earrings, attach to the front of lapels using a magnetic backing that will not harm the fabric in any way.

But, limiting yourself to simply the magnetic variety excludes you from a wide range of styles and designs. Is there a middle ground? Yes. The suit's fabric and the sort of pin backing are the two elements to consider when these accessories poke a hole in your suit.

Learning how to pair the right fabric with the proper backing will free you from the stress of Swiss cheese suits.

Which fabrics are more prone to displaying pinholes?

Thread count is essential when it comes to cloth. It's also intricate enough to be considered science. High-thread-count textiles are used to make the greatest suits; the quality is richer and more appealing to the touch.

Unfortunately, the finer and more densely woven the threads, the greater the damage caused by a pinhole. Fabrics with a high thread count include the following:

Bamboo

Satin and sateen

Egyptian cotton

Beyond thread count, tightly woven fabrics are likelier to show holes than loosely woven fabrics. Examples of tightly woven fabrics include:

Denim

Cotton

Sateen

Percale

Poplin

The dispute over thread count and tightly vs. loosely woven fabric, as well as which is preferable for wearing and sleeping, continues. Consider how people dispute cotton vs. Egyptian cotton! But one thing is certain: the greater the thread count and the tighter the weave of the cloth, the more careful you must be with your pin backings.