Is a bespoke suit made entirely by hand? – ...
Dear Simon, I was talking with a local bespoke tailor to sound out what they offer and how much handwork goes into their garments. Obviously everything is struck and cut by hand on premises, but he told me that the main seams are machine-sewn. The la...
Is a bespoke suit made entirely by hand? – ...
Match in comments:
I think you might have misunderstood my tone Roy. I meant stupid purely as a term of hyperbole - that there is a huge amount of it. French suits do have a much larger amount of hand finishing. However, it is also largely...
The bespoke leather jacket: Part 1
There are very few bespoke tailors I would have faith in to explore an entirely new style or new medium. They include Lorenzo Cifonelli, Davide Taub and Rubinacci (Luca plus cutter). Many more, although highly innovative, tend to make within a defini...
The bespoke leather jacket: Part 1
Match in comments:
Simon wrote: "Many more, although highly innovative, tend to make within a definite style: I would put Edward Sexton,(...)" In the BBC series on Savile Row (Style Genius) Edward Sexton himself says: "I have not moved to ...
How to pick buttons for a suit
Simon, I am a loyal fan in San Francisco. Your style, commentary and photos are extremely helpful in navigating the bespoke world, and more importantly, developing my style. Question: my tailor is making a navy three-piece suit, single breasted...
How to pick buttons for a suit
Match in comments:
In my experience it's not normal, no, but I can also see some tailors thinking the customer might not have a particular preference. It's an easy thing to change if you ask them to...
Smalto: bespoke tailor, Paris
c French tailor Smalto is not talked about much by the bespoke enthusiasts of the world. Yet it is the second-biggest bespoke operation in France (after Cifonelli), has a great history – having been established by Francesco Smalto in 1962 whe...
Smalto: bespoke tailor, Paris
Match in comments:
Wow John, that sounds like quite a haul. I'd say it's worth altering them if you think the result will be something that will fit you as well as a regular MTM suit, or very close. Otherwise it's not worth it - fit is mor...
Picking a tailor: Reader question
Dear Mr Crompton My name is Francisco Gomez, from Colombia. I recently stumbled upon your blog and have become an avid reader of it, since I have always loved all things related to clothing, accessories etc. I am currently in the process of having my...
Picking a tailor: Reader question
Match in comments:
Sounds good Will...
My favourite formal combination
The most formal suit combination for a modern man is a navy suit, white shirt and silver tie. When that tie is a woven like a Macclesfield, it is a classic wedding combination and much more suitable to being married in than the tuxedos so favoured in...
My favourite formal combination
Match in comments:
No that could look elegant too. And perhaps a white linen handkerchief...
Reader question: Side straps and chinos
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 424 2417 Euromoney PLC 20 4 2968 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Incotex trousers Dear Simon, I have a couple of questions on trousers which I haven’t seen you address. First, you said in a post a while ago that...
Reader question: Side straps and chinos
Match in comments:
Thanks Simon....
New Cifonelli jackets
No visit to Paris would be complete without dropping in on Lorenzo Cifonelli and seeing what weird and wonderful things his mind has inflicted on tailoring recently. First up was the yak jacket. I wrote about this back in February on The Rake, but I ...
New Cifonelli jackets
Match in comments:
E Sexton, C&M, D Taub,.... are these beloved British tailors not also dandy-ish? Why should design be abandoned to ready to wear? A Tom Ford suit is better cut than most Savile Row’s, and not to dissimilar to E Sex...
Elia Caliendo jacket
Pictured at the MTBA party last week, this is the finished jacket from Neapolitan tailor Elia Caliendo. Readers of The Rake online will have read previous posts on Elia, looking at both the man himself and an analysis of the inside of the jacket. Alt...
Elia Caliendo jacket
Match in comments:
Yes, those are the colours. Dark brown works ok if it is quite dark and not that rich...
Henri Urban pockets, Sartoria Vergallo
These are shots from the inside of an old jacket made by the French bespoke tailor Henri Urban. A customer of Gianni at Sartoria Vergallo brought it in to show him and to see if he could copy the design, particularly the embroidered initials. I photo...
Henri Urban pockets, Sartoria Vergallo
Match in comments:
That kind of hidden detailing is excellent. It's an inner smile, like Wittgenstein writing at a self-designed desk held together by bespoke screws forged to work 'the other way'....
The Rake online
A Stefano Bemer bespoke solePlease remember, loyal readers, that I am now writing every week – indeed, twice a week – for The Rake online, which is expanding into a great source for international artisanal articles. Recently we ha...
The Rake online
Match in comments:
I'm afraid not, though some were published on Permanent Style too, and the same topics are certainly covered on here...
Cifonelli jacket in detail
Cifonelli of Paris makes some of the most beautiful tailoring I’ve ever seen. I thought a post, therefore, on the details of a jacket rather than me rambling on about the technical stuff. Above, the broad lapel of the double-breasted, with ...
Cifonelli jacket in detail
Match in comments:
Just another name for a half lining....
Cifonelli Japanese jacket
I love Lorenzo Cifonelli’s constant innovation in his menswear designs. Some I like more than others, but I love the embroidery of the Japanese symbol for love on the lapel of this grey jacket. I’d go for a bit of subtle embroider...
Cifonelli Japanese jacket
Match in comments:
Hey Certainly some good tailors and a bit cheaper, though I haven't tried any personally so can't really recommend directly...
Welcome Hugo Jacomet, Parisian gentleman
At last, after many rounds of correspondence by email, Hugo and I had a chance to meet at Anderson & Sheppard last week. Hugo was over in London for a couple of days, touring the Savile Row houses for the purposes of his own excellent blog P...
Welcome Hugo Jacomet, Parisian gentleman
Match in comments:
Give me the A&S shoulders and silhouette any day....
Cifonelli – Parisian powerhouse
Cifonelli Parisian tailors tend to be located on the first floor of big mansion blocks. Savile Row tailors are more likely to be on the ground floor of a terraced house, with workrooms underneath. Though certainly a generalisation, this is not an emp...
Cifonelli – Parisian powerhouse
Match in comments:
Cifonelli's tuxedos are superb - have you seen my velvet jacket from them here? It's beautiful. The only thing I'd say is they do fit close. Aloisio I have seen the work of but not tried in person. I like that strong-sho...
PEN magazine: Permanent Style big in Japan
You could never refer to yourself as a style icon. But if someone else gives you the title, it’s alright to pass it on, right? Seriously, I was highly flattered to be asked to appear in the latest issue of PEN magazine, which I am told by...
PEN magazine: Permanent Style big in Japan
Match in comments:
Thanks, I certainly will. It will hopefully also be the topic of my third book, which I'm talking to publishers abou at the moment...
The restless Lorenzo Cifonelli
I was in Paris last week visiting Cifonelli for an article to appear in The Rake. It was good to spend some more time with Lorenzo hearing about the history of the firm and his grandfather’s move to Paris (below). But what impresses me every ti...
The restless Lorenzo Cifonelli
Match in comments:
As much as I hugely admired the Miltary precision, (bottom of 3 Cifonelli images) of lapped seams and leather trim, I have been noticing an increased use of peaked lapels on single breasted jackets. Am feeling conflicted...
Different ways to pad the chest of a suit
A reader commented that the way he spots a good bespoke suit is to look under the lapel and look for the little pinpricks that betray hand padding. This does indeed show where the tailor has come through the suit cloth as he sews the parts of the che...
Different ways to pad the chest of a suit
Match in comments:
It's the actual act of pad stitching the chest piece of a jacket....
GQ: French tailoring
A column this week on GQ by Permanent Style compares the structure and styles of British and French tailors. Full article here. Also, see separate comment piece on GQ, this time on the Golden Shears, here. A previous piece, on the forgotten rule of b...
GQ: French tailoring
Match in comments:
No problem Rosie, I thought that was a gorgeous piece. It felt like the most fashion-driven piece of the show, yet retained all the elements of good tailoring. Simon...
Final tweed jacket from Cifonelli
I’m seriously impressed with this tweed jacket from Cifonelli. The style is nice, with a mix of traditional and original detailing. But having put that together with Lorenzo, it was what I expected. Perhaps more surprising, and certainly more i...
Final tweed jacket from Cifonelli
Match in comments:
Hi there, Any update perhaps on what the prices for bespoke Cifonelli garments are now in 2023? Two piece, three piece and an overcoat? Thanks Simon, Byron...
Tweed jacket from Cifonelli
As you might have sensed in a recent post on Parisian tailors Cifonelli, I was rather taken with Lorenzo’s stylistic details. That led to a commission for a Harris tweed jacket including his slash pockets, five-button front up to the throat...
Tweed jacket from Cifonelli
Match in comments:
It was from the Holland & Sherry Harris Tweed bunch. But it was years ago so the precise shade won't be available any more......
An interview with Lorenzo Cifonelli
This is a guest post from the friends of Permanent Style, parisiangentleman.com In 2003, you and your cousin Massimo took control of the family business after starting in the workshop in 1993. Have your customers changed over the years? Of course. Wh...
An interview with Lorenzo Cifonelli
Match in comments:
Wow, this commitment to detail alone makes Cifonelli worth checking out: "Our suits have a rather small chest, and the jackets are cut smaller at the front than at the back. The line is always our ultimate priority." The...
The story of Cifonelli
This is a guest post from the friends of Permanent Style, parisiangentleman.com Legendary tailors Cifonelli have an exceptional story to tell. Unlike most of their peers around the world, the house was founded in 1880 yet remains entirely in the hand...
The story of Cifonelli
Match in comments:
Thanks Simon. Good call on Edward Sexton - I'm seeing Dominic there next week....
