Dalcuore brown suit: Style Breakdown
April 19th 2019Having run through the major types of tailoring style in Naples, we’re now onto the smaller variants. For those that might have them, those previous Neapolitan posts were Solito (the modern Neapolitan cut), Ciardi (the traditional cut) an...
The Armoury tailoring: Ring Jacket, Orazio, Liverano
April 8th 2019Given how much readers have liked the posts recently looking at Armoury trousers, and then the Bryceland’s range, I thought a post going through the Armoury’s tailoring would be interesting. If anything this is more needed than the trous...
The Armoury tailoring: Ring Jacket, Orazio, Liverano
Match in comments:
To be honest Darius, if you're going through that kind of change, I would hold off on buying anything that's a real investment. Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear but it is much more sensible...
Video: How to buy a bespoke suit
April 3rd 2019This talk with Tommaso Capozzoli of Sartoria Vestrucci is a useful beginner’s guide for commissioning a suit. Tommaso explains how he would work out what kind of suit a customer wants, how he would direct cloth choices, and how ...
Video: How to buy a bespoke suit
Match in comments:
Thanks so much for your guidance!...
Best-dressed man 2019: @Gusvs9 (or, dressing simp...
February 20th 2019Best-dressed non-professional 2019: @Gusvs9 Runners-up: @urbancomposition, @flannels_and_tweed @Gusvs9 doesn’t like people to know who he is. You never see his face on Instagram, and there is no biography. Such an approach...
Best-dressed man 2019: @Gusvs9 (or, dressing simp...
Match in comments:
Great advice. Thanks for the ideas...
Sartoria Ciardi cotton suit: Style breakdown
February 6th 2019In our last installment in this Tailor Styles series, we looked at the modern incarnation of the Neapolitan jacket: light and soft, but also short with a small shoulder. Today’s suit, from Sartoria Ciardi, is the diametric opposite within Neap...
Sartoria Ciardi cotton suit: Style breakdown
Match in comments:
I think that's along the right lines, yes. The drape is also something you can tweak a little bit at fittings...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
December 28th 2018You know when you think you’re not part of a trend, and then see everyone wearing the same thing? As a clothing snob that likes to think he’s different to everyone else, it’s very annoying. I had admired Michael Hill’s green-...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
Match in comments:
Hi Antoine, Two fittings, though it would have been three if it were my first commission...
Video: Maintaining and caring for your suit
November 9th 2018The Campaign for Wool recently asked me to help them with a series of videos educating people on caring for wool products. Chaired by HRH Prince Charles, the Campaign is a charity that communicates how environmentally friendly and sustainable wool i...
Video: Maintaining and caring for your suit
Match in comments:
Yes it is possible, and it should be OK to do it at home. The only risk is giving them a shine, but if you put a tea towel or other cloth underneath the iron, that won't happen. You might just need a bit of pressure, ste...
White tie and blue shirt: Sunny formal in Sartori...
November 7th 2018Wearing a white tie with a blue shirt is something that makes perfect sense in Naples. To a certain extent, wearing sugary-pink jackets and lapis-blue tailoring makes sense too. It's just sunny so much of the time, even in winter - and that sun is s...
White tie and blue shirt: Sunny formal in Sartori...
Match in comments:
No I haven't, sorry Greg...
George the Presser
November 5th 2018*Note: George has now combined with Celebrity Dry Cleaners and The Jaunty Flaneur shoe care, to form The Valet, offering all three services* There are many unsung heroes of bespoke tailoring, but one of the biggest has to be the presser. Frankly, a ...
George the Presser
Match in comments:
Ah, ok, I think that would be fine then Richard. In any case, nothing that hanging the suit when you get home (with plenty of space around it) wouldn't fix....
Nicola Cornacchia: Bread and murals in Puglia
October 12th 2018It’s easy to draw conclusions about a tailor from their surroundings. The big houses of Savile Row certainly benefit from this, in particular those with wonderful interiors like Huntsman or Anderson & Sheppard. But they can be misleadi...
Nicola Cornacchia: Bread and murals in Puglia
Match in comments:
I don't, no sorry. I will check with them when I get to the post though...
Camps de Luca pick-and-pick suit: Style Breakdown
September 17th 2018We are travelling gradually south in this series covering the styles of the finest tailors in the world. So having covered the major styles of London, we arrive in Paris – which is all close chests, roped shoulders and ornate finishing. Now...
Camps de Luca pick-and-pick suit: Style Breakdown
Match in comments:
I'm afraid I don't know actually Jonny, but it is something I could try and measure at some point. It's an interesting area...
Sartoria Pasinato cavalry-twill suit: Review
August 29th 2018This suit from Vicenza-based Sartoria Pasinato has turned out very smartly, with a clean fit and very sharp line. Part of this is a result of the cloth, which is a cavalry twill from Vitale Barberis Canonico (584, 440g). Twills like this (covert is ...
Sartoria Pasinato cavalry-twill suit: Review
Match in comments:
Sorry to chime in here but as a 'Brompton' commuter (I hope that translates to an international audience), I'd love an article on decent clothes that can be cycled in. It's all too easy to default to jeans which is a sha...
Chittleborough & Morgan twill suit: Style br...
August 24th 2018Of all the tailoring we have looked at it in this Tailor Styles series, this suit has to be the most dramatic and stylised. The lapels are big. Not just wide but rounded, ending with peaks high up the shoulder. The jacket is long, something accentuat...
Chittleborough & Morgan twill suit: Style br...
Match in comments:
Thanks Phong. I'd say they're pretty similar...
Suit Style 5: Selecting colour and pattern
August 10th 2018This is part of a long-running series of articles known as the Guide to Suit Style, covering everything from the number of buttons on a suit to the difference between made-to-measure and bespoke. It will continue to be added to over the next few ...
Suit Style 5: Selecting colour and pattern
Match in comments:
Thank you so much!...
Sartoria Panico grey-flannel suit: Review
August 8th 2018Apologies to those that had been waiting a while for coverage of this suit. It was finished in the Spring, but Japanese magazine Men’s Precious asked me to wait until it had been shot as part of a feature before publishing. The photographs her...
Sartoria Panico grey-flannel suit: Review
Match in comments:
Thanks Simon, that's helpful. There's no burning need, it's mostly a nice to have - so I think I'll hold off until inspiration strikes. In terms of style, I increasingly prefer wider lapels and I think I prefer a soft ma...
Prologue: China-made sartorial-style tailoring
July 16th 2018One of the most interesting things about the growth in tailoring in recent years has been the way models have changed, split or evolved. We have bespoke suits being cut in London but made in India (eg Whitcomb & Shaftesbury); we have tailors...
Prologue: China-made sartorial-style tailoring
Match in comments:
I haven't picked up my jacket yet, I'm afraid, so I just have the summer jacket pictured here, and my comments on it to go on. I'd still recommend it on the basis set out above, and those qualifications, but others might...
The first fitting process – with Sartoria P...
July 6th 2018First, there must be coffee. With the Italians, always coffee. Being English I find it hard to relax and chat. I want to get straight to the fitting, rather than sit down and exchange niceties. But it is a nice social ritual, and does build relation...
The first fitting process – with Sartoria P...
Match in comments:
A few thoughts from a tailor’s point of view. When looking for a tailor I would suggest that research is key. Put the time into looking for someone who you feel you can talk to. If the company has sales people, ask to ...
Henry Poole double-breasted suit: Style Breakdown
June 8th 2018A nice thing about our Finest Tailors series is that, as we add more tailors to it, each becomes a reference for the next, making comparisons easier. This Henry Poole suit, then, makes an interesting comparison to the Richard Anderson tuxedo we fea...
Henry Poole double-breasted suit: Style Breakdown
Match in comments:
Hi Andrew, Unfortunately a polo knit would be too casual for the material I think. It's too fine a worsted, rather than anything more casual. I've also tried navy as a shirt against and (although obviously different in t...
Eduardo de Simone (Edesim) – The factory an...
June 4th 2018I always enjoy visiting factories, and seeing Eduardo de Simone’s tailoring factory last month outside Naples was no exception. Indeed, it is right next to the first such tailoring factory I visited - Kiton back in 2011. Such factories do star...
Eduardo de Simone (Edesim) – The factory an...
Match in comments:
No, it has some light structure in there. Yes, there is pick stitching...
The Tailor Styles series
May 24th 2018The reviews of bespoke suits I’ve written over the years haven’t always been the same. Some included more on the experience (particularly when it was bad); some focused on the fit; others were more about style or make. Their length and ...
The Tailor Styles series
Match in comments:
Did you look at the linked article Franco? It depends on what style you want, but I list who my favourites are for different styles in there...
Dealing with losing and gaining weight
April 13th 2018I've been on holiday for the past two weeks, swimming every day, and have noticeably lost weight. I'm tightening the side adjustors on my trousers where I didn't before. It reminds me how frequently readers ask about such fluctuations in weight, and...
Dealing with losing and gaining weight
Match in comments:
Hey Ryan They may give a little over time but won’t stretch in the same way a t-shirt or piece of knitwear might. Depending on the type of cloth, you might experience a little give there - it’s one of the reasons Sim...
Sartoria Panico fitting (and a roll neck for a lo...
March 30th 2018One of the less-discussed sides of Pitti Uomo is the number of tailors that set up in a hotel or appartment at the same time as the fair, in order to see customers. Although most visitors to Pitti are buyers from around the world, those buyers are o...
Sartoria Panico fitting (and a roll neck for a lo...
Match in comments:
Not really. Bear in mind no one really wore T-shirts until after WW2....
Sartoria Vestrucci charcoal-flannel suit: Review
March 28th 2018Right. Let’s do this by first running through the Vestrucci style and cut, and then going into the more subjective areas of reaction and experience. The suit being discussed is a Holland & Sherry charcoal flannel that I had made over...
Sartoria Vestrucci charcoal-flannel suit: Review
Match in comments:
Well, they're different styles in some ways - did you get a sense of that from reading both reviews, and perhaps looking at the Style Breakdown pieces on each as well?...
Ring Jacket, Japan – Factory visit
March 5th 2018Given Japan’s reputation for quality and craft - particularly in denim and bespoke menswear - it would be natural to assume its suit manufacturing was of the same level. But until recently, most factories in Japan produced at a fairly low qual...
Ring Jacket, Japan – Factory visit
Match in comments:
The Armoury was never exactly the agent for RJ in Europe, as it was done by Taiwa, which no longer exists....
Sartoria Ciardi Neapolitan bespoke suit: Review
February 23rd 2018A friend used to say that he knew whether a suit was going to be good at the first, basted fitting. I’m not sure I entirely agree. The first fitting is largely for the tailor, to make sure the fundamentals of balance etc are correct. It is at ...
Sartoria Ciardi Neapolitan bespoke suit: Review
Match in comments:
Thank you Simon....
