Soft-shouldered suit recommendations

Originally Posted by luk-cha

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and raise your arms latrally too to see if the scye is cut high enough, also a side veiw to check balance also!

Are you kidding me?

You are based in HK - More GA is sold there than any where else!

Trouble with Armani INMO is nice jackets but terrible too baggy pants.

Originally Posted by il vecchio

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Trouble with Armani INMO is nice jackets but terrible too baggy pants.

The new stye pants are actually quite good - in fact the cut is very similar to my classic suits.

The other day whilst in the GA store they mentioned that there will be a new style which is quite slim - will have to wait & see - either way, I am very happy with the GA pants I have purchased to date.

Originally Posted by el Guapo WOngO!

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Are you kidding me?

You are based in HK - More GA is sold there than any where else!

yup and if it aint fake then it is only AX

el GWo, Pic #2 is my favorite. Well done. Nicely coordinated without looking show-room perfect. The shoulder looks good; it's not a big, extended shoulder that I have associated with Armani. If it were my jacket, I would consider taking more in the waist.; perhaps that's just the style.

One concern I've had with my wardrobe is looking like I'm wearing variations of a uniform. Having the odd hacking jacket or draped coat helps me mix it up. Do you still wear your other brand suits?

Originally Posted by bcate3

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el GWo, Pic #2 is my favorite. Well done. Nicely coordinated without looking show-room perfect. The shoulder looks good; it's not a big, extended shoulder that I have associated with Armani. If it were my jacket, I would consider taking more in the waist.; perhaps that's just the style.

One concern I've had with my wardrobe is looking like I'm wearing variations of a uniform. Having the odd hacking jacket or draped coat helps me mix it up. Do you still wear your other brand suits?

@ bcat
- thank you for your feedback/compliment
- regarding the suppressed waist, the lighter hued jackets are fabrics of combinations with linen, ramie or silk so there is only so much one can take in. The other factor is that GA's suits & jackets tend to be ventless
- funny comment about uniform, as it can be very easy to fall into a repeat cycle - which I do with my 4 navy wool crepe GA suits. I am trying to make an effort to wear seperates for work when not having to be in a b/room style meeting or first meetings with potential clients
- as for my other suits, no.. I have given some away to friends that are similar in size as well. The balance are achived for now. What will be interesting is when I do choose to wear them, will they still be considered classics..

Originally Posted by luk-cha

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yup and if it aint fake then it is only AX

Oh yeah.. As well as fake Rolex's..

Will try & take other pics for you then.

Never found a GA that fit me well OTR (not that I've tried on that many). Obviously they're in different price ranges but how does the GA shoulder compare to a PRL Blue Label (the softest OTR shoulder I've found)?

Originally Posted by Hard2Fit

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Never found a GA that fit me well OTR (not that I've tried on that many). Obviously they're different price ranges but how does the GA shoulder compare to a PRL Blue Label (the softest OTR shoulder I've found)?

The GA is far softer, PRL Blue Label is made by Corneliani - the softest shoulder by Corneliani I found was the Grant cut (which was what I chose for all my MTM Corneliani suits).

& yes there are different ranges - but their classic range with he soft shoulder never changes (they also have a squarer shoulder, but that to me was not Armani).

Originally Posted by muskypicker

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I'm looking to increase my suit inventory and would really like to purchase some soft-shouldered, high-gorge suits. What are the general OTR recommendations? I've seen a few Oxxford Radcliffe suits that looked nice (doesn't seem boxy like other Oxxfords)...never tried them on. How about Zegna or Isaia? Two or three button...doesn't matter, but I do enjoy the higher gorge and softer shoulders.

Thank you for any opinions.

Oxxford's Mason jacket, which is basically a Radcliffe with wider lapels, is also non boxy. Oxxford's Crest jacket (which is only available by special order) as well as Oxxford's Couture jacket (which is completely discontinued) is even farther from boxy than Oxxford's Radcliffe and Mason jackets.

FWIW, the Crest and Couture jackets from Oxxford were designed by a man named Jack Simpson, who left Oxxford sometime in the early or mid 2000s.

Also, Oxxford's Salvatore jacket is also non boxy. Oxxford has another jacket with an Italian name that I cannot remember that is basically the Salvatore jacket with wider lapels that is also non boxy.

Originally Posted by luk-cha

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and raise your arms latrally too to see if the scye is cut high enough, also a side veiw to check balance also!

lol.... It seems to fit you very well! The chest pockets seem very high on GA suits!

I have to throw my 2 cents in for Caruso.
The suits I have from them are not the shirt style shoulder, but the Con Rollino. No padding what soever, but do have the roll, as opposed to the puff.

Also, the rest of the workmanship is very high.

The pants are lovely and slim, the jackets are full canvass, with some very delicate pick stitching that is the least obvious I have seen (Except on a MTM Gieves and Hawkes, which you need a microscope to see the edge treatment, the shoulders are far from soft).

Point being, a soft shoulder is wonderful, but so it the rest of the piece.

So, Isaia and the other Neopolitan makers (Borelli, Attolini, Rubinacci) are usually the go to for what you are looking for. Armani, Corneliani, and others in the other regions are soft in a way that doesnt really come close to the real deal. Caruso is from Parma.

I find Armani too soft everywhere else. I say that with the caveat that I have not looked at Armani in 4 years, based on a dislike of the image and most of the fabrics.

I agree with antirabbit on Caruso (which I consider one of the best value for money suits). Also my Borrelli´s and Attolini have very soft shoulders, no padding whatsoever.

Originally Posted by antirabbit

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I have to throw my 2 cents in for Caruso.
The suits I have from them are not the shirt style shoulder, but the Con Rollino. No padding what soever, but do have the roll, as opposed to the puff.


Caruso


Also, the current Gibbons is not as boxy as you would think. I quick trip to a good tailor to reduce the pads would make a very good jacket even better:


RL Black label by Caruso:


Isaia roped shoulder and no padding shoulder:



kiton shoulder:


Borrelli's "camicia" shoulder


Partenopea's soft and wide shoulder:

Originally Posted by muskypicker

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I'm looking to increase my suit inventory and would really like to purchase some soft-shouldered, high-gorge suits. What are the general OTR recommendations? I've seen a few Oxxford Radcliffe suits that looked nice (doesn't seem boxy like other Oxxfords)...never tried them on. How about Zegna or Isaia? Two or three button...doesn't matter, but I do enjoy the higher gorge and softer shoulders.

Thank you for any opinions.


Despite being slim cut in the body my recollection of trying on a Radcliffe was the shoulders are overpadded. On my MTM Oxxfords I do a Gibbons body which has a high gorge and high armholes and use a Manhattan shoulder which is the most natural shoulder Oxxford does.

A much cheaper choice which is the best value for full retail I have found is the Samuelsohn Greenwich model. Fully canvased, soft shoulder, high gorge, high armholes, and the best lapel role I have ever seen on a machine-made suit.

If you know your size in RLPL that is also a good choice if you are patient and pick up a suit at deep discount on Ebay.