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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Yes I do...
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 wouldn't say so, no - I outline my favourite knit colours under a jacket here...
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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Er, no? You just take your jacket off...
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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On the height of shirt collars? Yes good idea, definitely...
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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Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it....
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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I wouldn’t say there is anything specific about a cloth that makes it good for a DB SJ rather than an SB. There’s an argument a DB is more formal, but actually it looks just as good in linen, cotton or cord. Perhaps ...
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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Hi, do you know/recommend Carlo Ostellari in Milan?...
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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I would avoid Domenico Caraceni - that's not the original any more, just the name being used for other things. I haven't been to T&G so can't comment on them. And I haven't had anything made by A Caraceni, so my comments...
