Shoulder shape/width

What sort of shoulder fit do the members here prefer. I personally prefer a very soft shoulder with a touch of extension that produces a sort of dropped shoulder look. What do you guys like?

No padding, no wadding, no extension for me. I can live with wadding, if necessary or if the tailor is just a stubborn old cuss, but I hate padding. I prefer the drape effect with no extension. Not that I don't see the virtues of extension, but it doesn't work for me. I'm hardly built like a truck, but my shoulders are wide enough with respect to the rest of my telephone pole body that extention ends up looking really contrived on me.

Not sure what you mean by "a bit of drop." Do you mean that there is a pretty clear indication where your own shoulder ends, with the jacket shoulder sort of extending beyond that, but dropping down a little at that point?

Tight to the shoulder, sweater-like.

Tight, tight, tight. I want the shoulder to end at my shoulder. Nothing looks worse than a saggy padded shoulder that shows where the wearer's real shoulder ends. So phony, so aesthetically displeasing. Makes me shudder. Brrr.

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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Nothing looks worse than a saggy padded shoulder that shows where the wearer's real shoulder ends.

Generally speaking, padded extended shoulders don't sag. That said, I still don't like the way they look. I do however like saggy unpadded, a la A&S or Rubinacci, just not on me.

If one has bulky natural shoulders and has the padding removed from a say, Canali or Brioni, will the jacket also look longer because it is sitting further down on the torso?

Originally Posted by Manton

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Generally speaking, padded extended shoulders don't sag. That said, I still don't like the way they look. I do however like saggy unpadded, a la A&S or Rubinacci, just not on me.

Oh but they can, and boy, do they look awful. I think you're thinking of well-done examples, but many older OTR jackets manage exactly this look. I see it all the time on the street -- sometimes it's because the shoulder is way too large, sometimes it's because the jacket is ill-sized, sometimes it's because the wearer has abused his poor coat, sometimes it's just time taking its toll. I noticed a fellow on the subway yesterday wearing an extended shoulder that he would crush whenever he leaned his shoulder against the wall/door, which he did frequently. Looked like a mountain range. A saggy, ghastly mountain range. Of awfulness.

(Also, my use of "padded" was to distinguish this unfortunate, unintended look from the A&S style you mention. Personally, I don't like that either, but different strokes for different folks.)

Originally Posted by Tomasso

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Another useful contribution from the king of emoticons.

Here's a pic for you. No padding, wadding at the sleevehead, no extension, moderate drape:

This is what I would consider soft with a touch of extension: also this,

Pretty much in between edmorel and drizzt3117; with little padding.

I can't look at that pic with that tie so damn askew.