With spring and summer on the horizon, lighter weight suits and jackets in more casual forms come to the fore along with the desire for a less structured feel. Integral to this is the the soft shoulder – a lightly padded shoulder construction, giving a softer, more casual silhouette to a tailored jacket. Soft shoulders have little padding and follow the contour of the individual’s shoulder to accentuate the wearer’s natural features.
Traditionally favoured by Europeans, particularly Italian tailors, and further afield with American tailors, the soft shoulder is becoming more popular with British tailors, especially among our younger customers.
UK tailors have traditionally favoured a built up shoulder, with heavy roping to give a larger sleeve head that extends upward at the shoulder seam. This type of shoulder has thicker internal padding and a thicker sleeve head, resulting in a more pronounced sleeve head roll. A soft shoulder is the opposite of this.
In general, our business suit customers tend to opt for a more structured shoulder choice, with padding to hold the shape of the fabric and create a stronger silhouette. The soft shoulder option is more commonly selected for casual wear – in sports jackets and blazers for example – with the natural sleeve head roll, less structure and less padding all combining to create a more relaxed overall look.
