Proper bespoke suit shoulder width

[FreeRadical]

Originally Posted by Mark Seitelman

Discuss this with the tailor, but the tailor's opinion should carry the day. Instructing the tailor how to measure and cut is sort of like telling the carpenters how to measure and cut the kitchen cabinets. The tailor is in the business, and he should be trusted to know what to do. I once directed a MTM tailor on the width of the shoulder, and I ended-up with a mess. Generally, the suit shoulder should extend from the natural shoulder so that you can acheive some shaping in the waist. Otherwise, the widest part of the body is at the biceps, and you may look heavier. You may get a pear shape with narrow shoulders and a bulge at the biceps. Therefore, the tailor may be looking to acheive a little wider shoulder so that he can give you a defined waist. Good luck.
I'm looking around for my fourth suit and I've come to the conclusion that the shoulder is a key feature that many suits appear to get wrong. For me the shoulders should always be sharp and structured, not "natural" or rounded. The rounded look just makes a suit look tight. Also, the shoulder should ideally be concave, curving up to meet the neck, rather than a straight line. I'm surprised to see this rounded look present on Savile Row websites; is this what some customers want? These are just my amateur observations so would appreciate any insight on this. e.g. rounded shoulders vs structured:

 

[Despos]

In before the deluge of comments to the above post.

Best not to take a mechanical, by the numbers approach to shoulder width. If you have sloping shoulders, your point to point measure will be greater than someone with high shoulders. Think about it, shortest distance between two points is a straight (square/high shoulders) line. Sloping/curved shoulders would measure longer over the shape of the back shoulder.
Style of shoulder the tailor makes will differ in shoulder width as well.

 

[dragon8]

Originally Posted by FreeRadical

I'm looking around for my fourth suit and I've come to the conclusion that the shoulder is a key feature that many suits appear to get wrong. For me the shoulders should always be sharp and structured, not "natural" or rounded. The rounded look just makes a suit look tight. Also, the shoulder should ideally be concave, curving up to meet the neck, rather than a straight line. I'm surprised to see this rounded look present on Savile Row websites; is this what some customers want? These are just my amateur observations so would appreciate any insight on this.

e.g. rounded shoulders vs structured:

The rounded shoulders seem to have a "cleaner" look to them but either is good to my eyes.

 

[KingOfTheForum]

The numbers aren't as important in this situation. If the shoulders look wide, then have them narrowed. There's no sense in trying to quantify things. Either it has the cut that you want or it doesn't.

 

[sellahi22]

its ultimately subjective etc, but IMHO a structured shoulder looks terrible extended, and a soft shoulder looks terrible when too narrow. either go with a precisely fitted padded shoulder or a soft shoulder that droops pleasantly

 

[amplifiedheat]

Originally Posted by Gong Tao

The shoulders of the jacket should be proportional to the size of your head. Look at your silhouette when you have the jacket on- your head and shoulders should seem well balanced.

This. Apparent head size is the most important variable in shoulder width.