Tuxedos for Broad Shoulders and a Full Chest

A man with broad shoulders and a full chest starts with a real advantage in a tuxedo: the jacket stands well without any padding. The tailor's job is to avoid making an already large upper body look larger. Four places matter: the shoulder, the lapel, the waist and the trouser leg.

A soft shoulder, not a thick pad

Your shoulders are wide enough already, so they need no padding to build volume. A soft shoulder, with a thin pad or almost none, lets the line fall naturally over the shoulder bone without forming a hard corner. A thick pad on top of a wide shoulder gives an armoured look that is heavy and loses the ease of formalwear.

At the fitting, raise your arms forward and watch the back. If the cloth pulls tight across the shoulder blades, the back needs more room; if the shoulder seam sticks out beyond your own shoulder bone, the pad is too much. A tailor can adjust either during the trial.

A shawl lapel softens the shoulder block

A peak lapel has two points aimed toward the shoulders, which stresses width. A shawl lapel runs in one continuous curve with no point or notch, so the eye follows the curve from collar to button rather than across the shoulder. The effect is a softer shoulder block and a longer-looking chest.

Real models that suit this:

• TUX-001: a black shawl-lapel tuxedo in a raised woven cloth.
• TUX-071: a black tuxedo with a wide shawl lapel, one large lapel in scale with large shoulders.

For more on the lapel and its cloth, read the black tuxedo with a shawl lapel. Choose a medium to wide lapel in scale with the shoulder; a lapel that is too narrow on a broad shoulder looks like a thread.

A moderate waist, not pinched

A common reflex is to pull the waist in hard to emphasise the V shape. That draws more attention to chest and shoulders, and the jacket strains at the button, with X-shaped creases radiating from it.

• Suppress the waist enough to follow the body, but leave room to breathe.
• The button should not be under strain. If you see cloth pulled at the button, the jacket is a size too small across the chest.
• For a very full chest, a tailor can separate the chest and waist measurements from the pattern stage, instead of taking one size and altering it.

Trouser legs in balance with the shoulders

Large shoulders and chest on a narrow trouser leg look mismatched: heavy above, light below. Keep the leg straight, with enough room at the thigh, neither tight nor sharply tapered. A satin braid (galon) down the side seam adds a vertical line that supports the shoulder block.

Let the hem rest lightly on the instep, or barely touch it, to keep the proportion neat. Patent shoes with a moderate sole, not too slender, balance the upper body.

Other small points

1. The shirt must be generous across chest and shoulder. If you choose shirts by collar size and the chest strains at the buttons, have the shirt made to measure.
2. A bow tie of medium to large size, not a small one, to match the scale of the chest.
3. A single-breasted jacket is usually cleaner for a broad frame; double-breasted adds bulk across the chest.
4. For an athletic build there are extra considerations, covered in tuxedos for athletic builds.

Why off-the-peg is hard to fit

Ready-made size charts usually raise chest and shoulder in step with the waist. A man whose shoulders and chest are larger than average for his waist must take a big size to fit the shoulder, and then the body of the jacket is loose. Take a smaller size to suit the waist and the shoulders strain. Made to measure solves this by separating the measurements: shoulder, chest and waist are taken individually and the pattern is cut to each.

Trying it at Mon Amie

At the fitting, raise your arms forward, to the side, and sit down, so the tailor can see where the jacket pulls. The made-to-measure tuxedo page describes the process, or you can book a fitting and have the adviser adjust on your body.