as tailcoats evolved rapidly among the wealthy during the regency period, various styles of closure saw popularity, from fastenings at the top, the middle, or even hanging open. the turn-down collar popular on earlier garments like the frock was succeeded by long lapels folded down to below the waist (fashionably tightly nipped in). invariably, there were long rows of buttons down the front, most of which did not fasten; in fact even into the late victorian era, all frock coats had a long row of button holes on the lapel, long since obsolete. as buttoning styles changed, the loosely folded front of the coat correspondingly shifted shape, and the "v" then formed by the meeting of the fold and the collar continues now in the traditional shape of notched and peaked lapels, both of which originate from that period.