Check If a Suit Jacket Has a Floating Canvas

A lot of RTW suit jackets use a fused canvas instead of a floating canvas. A floating canvas is stitched to the inside of the jacket, whereas a fused canvas is glued—this is quicker and cheaper to do—but the jacket doesn’t mould to your body and can bubble-up when dry-cleaned. How can you tell the difference?

Place your forefinger and thumb between the buttons on the jacket and slide the fabric back-and-forth. If the jacket features a floating canvas you should feel the layer of canvas between the outer fabric. If the jacket is fused, the canvas is fused to the outer fabric of the jacket.