Every Scarborough commission starts with the person, but Christian Gardner does have a house style. A soft shoulder with no padding, a wider lapel, a button set a little low, a jacket that covers the seat and a fuller trouser that falls over the shoe: each choice is there to make the whole figure look longer, easier and better proportioned.
Most guides take those details one at a time. This is why Christian puts them together, in his own words, and how he adjusts them for the person in front of him. The short version lives on Custom Tailoring.
One line,
shoulder to shoe
Christian Gardner at the Post Street showroom. A soft, unpadded shoulder, a wider lapel, a jacket that covers the seat and a fuller trouser that breaks over the shoe.
Where it comes from
Christian grew up a James Bond fan, and the Bond of those years was Roger Moore.
"I went to all the James Bond movies and loved them," he says. "The type of suits he wore always stuck with me."
What stayed with him from the 1970s and early '80s was the wider lapel, the longer jacket and the longer vents, on suits that were properly tailored and very elegant. What he left behind was the heavily padded shoulder of the period. "I prefer a softer, more natural shoulder."
For how lapels and shoulders have moved over the last century, see Trends in Men's Suits Through the Decades.
The shoulder: soft, with no padding
Scarborough jackets are cut with the spalla camicia, Italian for "shirt shoulder": a soft shoulder with no padding.
"I love the feel of a jacket hugging the shoulder with no padding," Christian says. "It looks more at ease and natural, and it adds a bit of casualness to a formal garment."
That ease is the reason for the whole style. A suit can be formal without looking stiff.
THE SOFT SHOULDER
No padding, so the sport coat follows the natural line of the shoulder. Worn here with an open collar: tailored, and still at ease.
The button: a little lower
On a Scarborough jacket the button sits slightly lower than on most suits.
"It elongates the lapel area," Christian says, "which creates a more tapered look and fit."
The longer opening gives the wider lapel room to run, and the jacket narrows more gradually to the waist.
The length: always covering the seat
The slim suits of the 2000s and 2010s often came with short jackets. Christian won't cut one.
"A jacket should never fail to cover the seat," he says. "It's just not correct, and it makes you look like you're wearing an ill-fitting jacket. A jacket needs to be proportional, and covering the seat and the front is important for that."
The longer double vents follow from the longer jacket and keep it in proportion, which to Christian's eye is simply better looking. "It's a timeless look," he says. "It's not trendy."
The trouser: higher, fuller, with a break
Scarborough trousers sit higher on the waist, drape through the leg and finish wider at the hem. "I like a break," Christian says, though how much depends on the client. The current house style finishes at 10¼ inches across the hem, fuller, with a touch of '70s flare.
The width isn't there for show. It lets the leg hang in a straight line. "You see the press down the back of the leg in a straight line, and there's no pulling on the leg," he says. "It's much more aesthetically pleasing, and also more comfortable to wear."
The hem falls over the shoe rather than stopping on top of it, so the line runs unbroken to the floor.
How the pieces work together
Read together, each choice lengthens the line. The lower button draws the lapels longer. The jacket covers the seat, so the body stays in proportion. The fuller trouser falls over the shoe, so the leg reads longer. The soft shoulder keeps the whole thing at ease rather than armored.
None of it works as well alone. A wide lapel on a short jacket looks top-heavy; a full trouser that stops above the shoe looks short. Cut together, they make one long line from shoulder to shoe.
Adapting the cut: a tuxedo commission
The house style is a starting point, not a uniform, and Christian adjusts it to the person and the occasion.
A client came in recently for a tuxedo. He was used to wearing skinny trousers. Because the tuxedo was meant to last for years, Christian talked him into a more classic fit with a longer leg, at least two inches longer than he was used to.
"It goes over your shoe instead of sitting on the top of your shoe, so it creates a longer leg," Christian says. "It fits over the shoe much better and looks much more elegant. He was very happy with it."
More on formal commissions is on Weddings & Formal.
See it on you
The Scarborough Cut is easiest to understand in the mirror. Begin a commission and Christian will walk you through it at the Post Street showroom.
