After months of indecision, I finally decided to have my length of Permanent Style tweed made up by Elia Caliendo in Naples. Every time I have been to Graham Browne recently, I see another length being made up for a reader. It looks beautiful, such a nice pale grey from a distance but with subtle colour up close. I finally cracked and gave the cloth to Elia when he was in London recently (he visits at least once a month).
Interestingly, Elia thought it was cloth for a woman’s jacket, as it was made on a single-width loom up in Lewis and was therefore half the width of regular jacketings. He says only women’s jacketing is ever made at that width in Italy. For men, only the Riva cotton shirting is made single width, as it too uses old-style looms.
I reassured him that this was a manly material. Given where it was woven, looking out onto the Arctic Ocean, it has to be.
I’m hoping that the softness of the Neapolitan construction and having the jacket half lined will enable me to appreciate the weave of the Permanent Style tweed. On the first fitting, pictured, in Naples, it certainly looked great, with the overlapping seams on the shoulder and down the back emphasising the texture of the material.
It will be made up, as with my first jacket, with three patch pockets and the ‘spalla camicia’ shoulder. I was a big fan of that first jacket and have recommended Elia to everyone I know since. It is the best fitting and among the best-made Neapolitan jackets I have seen. In particular, the collar hugs the neck very well, something I have seen other Neapolitan makers fall down on.
A search on Permanent Style and The Rake online will give more background information on Elia. I should say as well, by way of recommendation, that Elia’s English and age mean he is someone I can see myself establishing a relationship with over the years – something I only see with Luca Rubinacci elsewhere in Naples.
Beautiful. That collar roll and the shoulder line!
I’m looking forward to seeing this completed.
Very nice cloth indeed, Simon!
For a man with your build that stands 5 feet 11 in., how much cloth would you reckon is necessary for a jacket like this?
Much obliged for your blog and tip.
I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product as well. Just stumbled across your blog and it is great. I’m in the men’s fashion industry and am a grand admirer of tweed.
How much does a suit start at with caliendo?
£2800 for a jacket
2800 means you have to be ill, i can get that done at cazzaniga for 160, same thing
Superchick, I think it you that’s ill if you think you can get a quality jacket for 160.
Do you have any pictures of the finished jacket ?
Not yet. Coming soon
Dear Simon,
Some Harris tweed cloth has recently been donated to me, and I would love to have a casual blazer made. Whilst I clearly have an excuse to visit Naples, would you be able to recommend someone in the UK?
Best wishes
Hi,
Absolutely. A lot depends on price and desired style, but try Anderson & Sheppard or Steven Hitchcock. If you want someone a lot cheaper, maybe Graham Browne.
Simon
Simon, do you have photos of the finished jacket? As with the other Caliendo jacket you have posted about, I am particularly interested in the shape of the patch pockets. Do the hip pockets have a curved top or straight?
I’ve never posted on just that, no, but there are shots of me wearing it – see recent Globe-Trotter factory visit for example. The style is exactly the same as the heavier tweed, but I can still post something of people want
Why is the jacket double, and not single vented?
I don’t have any single-vented jackets, and few tailors would recommend one. A double vent is much more elegant, and avoids flashing your bum whenever you put your hands in your pockets.
They are used far more in RTW because they’re cheaper and easier to do
Hi Simon, did you come across a similar fabric ? Is there something similar in P&H or W Bill?
Thanks
No sorry, but we are reweaving the PS Tweed with Breanish now – should be available in a few weeks, so good timing on the question!
Did you end up reweaving the PS tweed last year, as per your comment? I must have somehow missed that release, but I’d be pleased if it had just been delayed. Also have you had any other jackets made in Breanish tweed cloth or just the one from 2011? (Wow, that does seem really long ago.) Do you think it’s too niche and small batch a cloth to regularly seek out for jackets?
Unfortunately, Breanish just stopped responding to emails, having initially agreed to reweave the cloth. I did try a few times to get in contact again, so I hope it’s not unfair to mention that publicly. It was a shame.
No, I had no other jackets made in Breanish cloth. And yes probably, you’re unlikely to find much of a range from them
Which would be the more versatile Breanish tweed cloth for a jacket, a mid-grey herringbone or a darker grey, possibly charcoal-ish, herringbone? (I can provide a picture of the cloths together if that’s helpful.)
Relatedly, although both cloths are 10 oz Shetland, the mid-grey was machine woven on a double width loom, while the darker grey was hand woven on a single width loom. Apart from their likely difference in price, which I don’t yet know, what are some of your thoughts on having a jacket made in the machine woven versus the hand woven tweed? Is the hand woven intrinsically better?
I think they’d both be quite versatile, but of the two I’d pick the mid-grey, as it’s more likely to look well with casual trousers like jeans for example.
The hand-woven isn’t necessarily better, but it will likely feel different – softer, more pliable (all other things being equal in the yarn, weave etc)
Hey Simon-
These pics of the unfinished Caliendo jacket nicely reveal the neopolitan style. I can appreciate the high armholes often referred to as hallmark of bespoke. How is this measured?
Also, searched to no avail for pics of finished jacket at Globe Trotter factory visit. No luck. Link?
The more I read the archives the more I realize the value my tailor has provided for 25 years. Without realizing it, as I go back and examine more than two dozen suits and overcoats, he has included many of the finishes you cover. And I never fully appreciated it. The craftsmanship is really incredible. It is unfortunate to read the occasional post calling into question the value of this handiwork in our age of machine production. Thank you again.
Thanks Robert.
The height of the armhole is best measured on the individual really – the amount of clearance underneath. So hard to do that on a garment on its own.
You can see the finished jacket here
Thanks for the link. Saw the finished jacket. Love the 3 patch pockets. Hoping to have same on a W Bill tweed currently in the works.
Nice. If in doubt at all, I would forego the chest patch pocket. I prefer them with just a normal patch pocket there, generally
Hi Simon,
I hadn’t really noticed until a final fitting with C how small the shirt area is above the buttoning point. Initially I thought it was a higher buttoning point, but I can now see it’s how it curves his lapels to the middle button. Looking at your trailer comparisons, the buttoning point confirms what I am saying (that it isn’t high].
Does this shape to the lapel stay true to the design, or does it open up a bit over time? I guess I will need to wear the jacket open if I find the shirt area to small when I get my hands on the finished article. I notice how his jackets almost looked buttoned when they are now with how it hangs so closely.
It will soften a little bit over time, and open, but not that much. No more than an inch or so