Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Double-breasted \Dou"ble-breast`ed\, a. Folding or lapping over on the breast, with a row of buttons and buttonholes on each side; as, a double-breasted coat.
Wiktionary
a. (context of a jacket or coat English) Closing with a double row of buttons that form a wide overlap.
WordNet
adj. (of clothing) fastened by lapping one edge of the front well over the other usually with a double row of buttons; "double-breasted jacket"; "double-breasted suit" [ant: single-breasted]
Wikipedia
In clothing, the term double-breasted refers to a coat or jacket with wide, overlapping front flaps and two parallel columns of buttons or snaps; by contrast, a single-breasted coat has a narrow overlap and only one column of buttons. In most modern double-breasted coats, one column of buttons is decorative, while the other is functional. The other buttons, placed on the outside edge of the coat breast, allow the overlap to fasten reversibly, right lapel over left lapel. To strengthen the fastening, a functional inner-button, called the jigger (or anchor button), is usually added to parallel-fasten the over-lapped layers together from the inside.
Suit jackets and blazers typically have one to four rows of buttons (each row containing two buttons), one or two of the rows functional. Each fastening method is identified using "number-on-number" terminology; the first number is the total number of front buttons, the second is the number of fastening buttons below the lapels (i.e. the second number also is the number of corresponding buttonholes). Six-on-two and six-on-one (as shown in the picture on the right) are the common button stances, but others exist. Stylistically, double-breasted suit jackets usually have peaked lapels, and fasten left lapel over right lapel as usual for men's jackets.
The original double-breasted jacket has six buttons, with three to close. This originated from the naval reefer jacket. Because shorter men may find that six buttons overwhelms their shorter torso, a four or six button configuration in which only the bottom one fastens may be a better option. The four-button double-breasted jacket that buttons at the lower button is often called the "Kent", after the man who made it popular—the Duke of Kent.
Double-breasted suit jackets were popular from the mid-1930s until the late 1950s, and again from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. Today, double-breasted jackets are not as popular in the USA, and it is difficult to find them at many retail clothing stores; however, they continue to be popular in the United Kingdom, and in America are produced for and advocated by the high-end menswear lines of Joseph Abboud and Ralph Lauren, as well as by bespoke tailors such as Thomas Mahon; they have also seen a small comeback in European and American youth fashion, albeit in a slimmer, more modern cut.
Moreover, the overcoats— Pea coat and trench coat—are traditionally double-breasted; the single-breasted versions being civilian interpretations of a military fashion. Due to the double-breasted jacket's construction, it is usually not recommended to wear a double-breasted lounge suit unbuttoned, unlike the single-breasted jacket, which can be left open or unbuttoned. This is because the large amounts of overlapping fabric on a double-breasted jacket tend to gather at the sides when unbuttoned. There are, however, formal jackets which are designed to be worn unbuttoned, with a vest: These are designed to avoid the perceived unsightly gathering (see Tailcoat).
Usage examples of "double-breasted".
Out of curiosity Erast Fandorin glanced into the former refreshment room, and, true enough, standing there on the table in place of the samovar and the cups was a Baudot apparatus, and a telegrapher in a double-breasted uniform jacket glanced up at the intruder with a strict, interrogatory glance.
He dressed in ankle boots and slacks, a thick roll-neck pullover, and his double-breasted blue duffel overjacket, a German winter garment called a Joppe, halfway between a jacket and a coat.
He wore a gray business suit, double-breasted, with enormous sagging lapels.
A large balding white man who wore striped shirts and double-breasted suits with big lapels.
She settled on a snappy black silk dress and a loose black double-breasted leather jacket Heaven took a seat at the back of the family-member side so she could get a better look at the barbeque side.
You know, all the men wearing those big drapey double-breasted suits and have their hair slicked back.
One bent grayhead wore a yellow pith helmet and a double-breasted blue suit.
Then he examined the rest of his travelling wardrobe, the breeches and buckled shoes to be worn on an occasion of ceremony, the six fine cravats Mrs McKelvie had hemmed for him, the six cambric shirts which were the work of the same needlewoman, the double-breasted waistcoat of wool and buckram to be worn if the weather grew chilly.
They were double-breasted, a style that, on Mauds sturdy figure, made her a force to be reckoned with at Stark Security Systems.
Not present at that lunch in the past were the white Egyptian cotton shirt from Turnbull and Asser, the dark-blue silk tie, the white crepe de Chine monogrammed handkerchief, or the forty-five-year-old double-breasted pin-stripe suit, teamed with a pair of black brogues that I had bought from Shoe Express in Northampton the year before for nineteen pounds and ninety-nine pence.
Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined with flame-colored silk and secured at the neck with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming beryl.
For more formal wear he laid out on the bed a pin-striped, blue-black, double-breasted suit, suspenders, wide floral necktie and white shirt with celluloid collar.
His shoes were of patent leather, his cutaway coat was of very rough black cheviot, his double-breasted waistcoat of tan covered cloth with buttons of smoked pearl.
He had on a well-cut but old-fashioned double-breasted blue serge suit, starched white shirt, linen pocket square, Windsor-knotted navy tie, and mirror-bright black bluchers with extra heel.
He wore a double-breasted blue coatee, bright with chevrons, brass buttons, and gold-braided epaulets.