Why Ferdinando Caraceni is closing: An interview ...
Ferdinando Caraceni is one of the world's best-regarded bespoke tailors, based in Milan. It has been run since his death in 2004 by Ferdinando's daughter, Nicoletta, and they have made me three jackets over the past 10 years. You can see them and ot...
Why Ferdinando Caraceni is closing: An interview ...
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That's great. Enjoy! I have a cut of Lumbs to be made up in a spring jacket sometime in the next year or so - I hope it lives up to its reputation...
Why I love my Ferdinando Caraceni blazer
This jacket from Ferdinando Caraceni has become one of my real favourites in the past couple of years, and I think it’s worth exploring why. It says something about where tailoring is today, at least for me. It was made in 2021 by Nicoletta C...
Why I love my Ferdinando Caraceni blazer
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Hi Wu, Nice to hear, thank you. To be honest, a blazer like that is not something I've ever looked into having made, as it's not a style I like so much - perhaps a little too costume-y. If you have specific questions, do...
Nicoletta Caraceni on fitting Silvio Berlusconi
When we went to see Nicoletta Caraceni (above) in Milan recently, she had been approached several times by the Italian media to speak about the death of Silvio Berlusconi, who was a customer for much of his life. She didn’t want to talk on TV...
Nicoletta Caraceni on fitting Silvio Berlusconi
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He never migrated to Kiton. He received some suits as a present ( it happened often in his life even with other brands ) and Kiton made a big marketing operation with press. He ordered suits with us till the end of his l...
Tailoring for travelling: tough, comfortable, plain
In our recent articles on menswear destinations in Rome, a couple of readers asked about the outfit I was wearing for beating around the hot city. The individual pieces should be pretty familiar: cotton double-breasted jacket from Ferdinando Carac...
Tailoring for travelling: tough, comfortable, plain
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Probably a size up, you don't want them to be too tight...
Reader Profile: Andrew
This is the third in our series of articles meeting, and questioning, Permanent Style readers. The first profiled Manish , who enthused about Russian watches and recommended that readers should start building a wardrobe with good trousers. And the s...
Reader Profile: Andrew
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I also used to wear Malle Cologne Indelebile in the summer quite frequently. I liked it because it is light and citrusy which I think it nice for the summer. But I finished the bottle and never got around to replacing it...
The T-shirt under tailoring
I’ve never actively disliked T-shirts under tailoring. I just tend not to wear them myself and, when I have seen them worn, I think it can be done quite badly. Done well, wearing a T-shirt rather than a collared shirt can pleasingly subvert t...
The T-shirt under tailoring
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I think most men look better without an Elizabethan collar, but that's just a personal opinion....
How great things age: Nicoletta’s 50-year-old jacket
In the coming months I will be writing more posts again in our ‘How great things age’ series , which aims to illustrate the beauty of quality clothing over time. Basically, it’s an antidote to the new clothing that it&rs...
How great things age: Nicoletta’s 50-year-old jacket
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I had two Hackett travel suits for work. One gray and one navy They were never fastened at work due to the eqpt we carried underneath but the lining rubbed through Ron my right side where a particular piece of kit sat. I...
Postcard from Milan
When I was young, my family used to play a game on holiday. The question for all of us was: what can you see that tells you you’re in a different country? It could be the types of trees, the style of road signs, the way people gesticulate. It ...
Postcard from Milan
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Quite a burden! But one I'll certainly enjoy trying to carry, if nothing else. Who are the younger Roman tailors by the way? It would be good to get their names out there and help. I have found among the Milanese and Rom...
Jetted pockets: Signs of a good finishing
A reader recently asked about what constituted the ‘finishing’ of a suit - and what indicates quality. I initially planned a response going through every aspect of this, with examples, but that quickly became unwieldy. There are just to...
Jetted pockets: Signs of a good finishing
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I would leave that up to the tailor to decide George, based on the proportions elsewhere. By the way, I assume you mean flapped as well, not just a jett?...
Interview with Michel Barnes – and L’...
I think L'Étiquette is the best menswear magazine in the world at the moment. The main reason is its ability to cover bespoke tailoring and high-street casual - Caraceni and Converse - in a way that feels both easy and relevant. This applies ...
Interview with Michel Barnes – and L’...
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Hi. If someone wants to flaneur, let him flaneur away. I agree that Mr. Barnes is ever seeking his perfect imperfection. All power to him. Everyone has to have their passion or quest. Mine is finding the perfect thifted ...
Ferdinando Caraceni herringbone suit: Style break...
Following on from French bespoke style with Camps de Luca, we now arrive in Milan with Ferdinando Caraceni. Milanese tailoring has quite a distinct style, with light structure overall but a strong shoulder. So while tailors from Milan will talk about...
Ferdinando Caraceni herringbone suit: Style break...
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If it helps, I find the opposite of square much more intuitive, and a helpful reference in contrast. The opposite of square shouldered are sloping shoulders: when the shoulders slope relatively more downwards from the he...
Double-breasted cotton jacket and striped shirt
When I first had this cotton jacket made, I noted that it was a tricky one to work into an outfit. The vintage cotton cloth ( more details here) is rather rough and casual, yet the cut and style are quite smart. Having it as a double-breasted jacket...
Double-breasted cotton jacket and striped shirt
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Good question. I think probably because that colour doesn't really look like part of a suit. Also helps that it's a DB, and the more texture the cotton has, the easier it is too...
Ferdinando Caraceni double-breasted cotton jacket
This is my final cotton jacket from Ferdinando Caraceni - which fortunately I received a few weeks ago and was therefore able to wear a fair bit before the weather turned. It is obvious even now that this is a piece that will wear in beautifully. As...
Ferdinando Caraceni double-breasted cotton jacket
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Perhaps in the autumn, yes, though not sure I'd wear it into the winter. A heavy cord might be better, easier to have that in a heavier weight and not be too stiff...
Five double-breasted styles compared
Last month we talked about how small changes in the proportions of a double-breasted jacket can have a radical effect on its style - and therefore on the people or situations it suits. This week I've used five of my own jackets to demonstrate these...
Five double-breasted styles compared
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Yes they are. If you want to see how the measurements are taken, see the Style Breakdown intro article...
Coarse vs fine cottons in tailoring
We covered the appeal of cotton as a tailoring material generally last week, but didn't talk about the different types of cottons. There are corduroys and moleskins of course, gabardines and seersucker. But a difference I find particularly interesti...
Coarse vs fine cottons in tailoring
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I still think the finer cottons here are good, but they're definitely a different aesthetic - they're not shiny, but they are finer, not as tough...
Ferdinando Caraceni bespoke cashmere jacket
My final jacket from Ferdinando Caraceni in Milan is superb in many ways, including fit, make and finish. The style, however, is interesting and not necessarily what I expected. I started this project last year with Nicoletta Caraceni, the daughte...
Ferdinando Caraceni bespoke cashmere jacket
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Caraceni has a bigger, squarer shoulder. Personally I didn't like the single breasted style anywhere near as much as the double, so I'd probably opt for Poole there...
Grey cashmere and brown flannel: Caraceni and Abb...
Last week’s explanation of how I put an outfit together seemed to be popular, so let’s try that again. This outfit is simpler than last week’s. There are fewer colours, there’s no tie to worry about, the handkerchief is pla...
Grey cashmere and brown flannel: Caraceni and Abb...
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Yes, I'd start with brown as the safest, then try something that is similar, like olive, and only occasionally look for something with more contrast that was a harmonious colour...
Herringbone jacket fitting – Ferdinando Car...
At the Milan event last month I had my final fitting on the cashmere herringbone jacket being made by Ferdinando Caraceni. The more I get to know Nicoletta – Ferdinando’s daughter, although not a cutter unlike her father ...
Herringbone jacket fitting – Ferdinando Car...
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If it's MTM then it could be to do with the house style, but also that issue of whether you lean forward or back should be adjustable with MTM...
Ferdinando Caraceni: jacket fitting
When I was in Milan two weeks ago I had a first and second fitting with Ferdinando Caraceni in a day. This isn’t something that all tailors are happy doing, but for some such as Caraceni – which has a lot of foreign clients hoping to ha...
Ferdinando Caraceni: jacket fitting
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Hey Matthew, I just checked the video. That's actually my green tweed Anthology shown here, but the video edit makes it look a very different colour!...
Ferdinando Caraceni: central Italian tailoring
Back in February I began working on a jacket project with Nicoletta Caraceni, of Ferdinando Caraceni in Milan. There are, as you know, several tailors with the name Caraceni in Italy. They all stem from Domenico Caraceni, the founding father, and h...
Ferdinando Caraceni: central Italian tailoring
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All comments are read Bob! Most tailors would do this by default, yes, but it makes a big difference how much belly that lapel has. If it has a lot, as some SB Caraceni jackets do, it takes a lot of ironwork to basically...
