Much has been said, written and many diagrams drawn on the topic, so rather than post yet another essay, we thought we would share a quick photo comparison to illustrate the differences.

Showing here side by side, two beautiful examples from the master tailors at Sartoria Formosa in Napoli :

• Spalla cadente morbida (regular soft construction) : First two pictures of the navy birdseye suit. The shoulder is still very soft with minimal padding but the seam allowances inside the sleevehead are pressed open to give a slight bit of volume. The shoulder is “cleaner” than the second example.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Spalla manica a camicia (shirt sleeve construction) : second set of pictures of the blue nailhead flannel. Constructed like a shirt with a lapped seam along the shoulder line, and seam allowances are folded up and pressed up inside the shoulder. The sleeve is also cut a tad fuller at the sleevehead to create the shirring seen here when inserted into the armscye, which gives a little bit of extra freedom of movement.