Nicola Cornacchia grey summer suit: Review
June 1st 2020This summer suit from Sartoria Cornacchia was made for me last year, and I would like to apologise for the delay in covering it. I didn’t get around to shooting the suit until the end of the Summer; events and the pop-up then got in the way; a...
Nicola Cornacchia grey summer suit: Review
Match in comments:
I agree. Hope it goes well Alan...
Jean-Manuel Moreau, Paris
May 15th 2020Perhaps the most striking thing about Jean-Manuel Moreau’s operation in Paris is how long it’s been around. Most shops we cover track their origins back 10 or 12 years. It’s in this period that stores like Trunk, The Armoury, Ander...
Jean-Manuel Moreau, Paris
Match in comments:
The biggest difference with Cad is that the work is done in India, not Europe. And I don't know the details of the work, but I don't think that is a full bespoke offering....
The French style of Kenjiro Suzuki (and mute cutt...
May 8th 2020How do you make sure your best cutter doesn’t leave, taking customers with him? Simple: never let him meet the customers. I’ve always been aware that Smalto, the Parisian tailor, had an unusual system in its cutting room. Unlike most t...
The French style of Kenjiro Suzuki (and mute cutt...
Match in comments:
Well, best to judge trousers on where they sit standing up I think. Have a look at my various suit reviews and you'll get a better sense of the trouser length I like - eg the review of Suzuki's suit is here I'm not sure ...
Panico flannel suit: Style breakdown
May 1st 2020(The book version of this series is going to press now, and will be out in a couple of months. It will feature extra content and tailors not included online. More on that soon.) Sartoria Panico is known as one of the more tradit...
Benson & Clegg bespoke – and George VI...
April 27th 2020Benson & Clegg is not a button shop. I didn’t realise until I went in, earlier this year, quite how much it has gained that reputation. It's partly a result of their own good promotion over the years, but perhaps more significantly be...
Benson & Clegg bespoke – and George VI...
Match in comments:
Interesting to see non-flapped pockets on these old DB overcoats...
Video: Comfort vs style in the fit of a suit
April 24th 2020Here is the final video in our series on how a jacket should fit. The first looked at the basics of fit, while the second was on the length of a suit jacket. In this third one, we look at how much the fit of a suit is a matter of comfort. So arguing...
Video: Comfort vs style in the fit of a suit
Match in comments:
Hey Jack, I really don't know I'm afraid - I would have guessed the material, but if that's the same then I have no idea...
Video: How long should a jacket be?
March 30th 2020This is the second in a series of videos in which we're looking at how a jacket should fit. The first one, here, was a summary of the basics on fit. In this second one, we look at the length of a jacket. This is the kind of thing that can seem like ...
Video: How long should a jacket be?
Match in comments:
You can see how all the tailors I've used vary in length in the Style Breakdown section...
Video: How a jacket should fit
March 9th 2020This is the first in a series of three videos in which I look at how a jacket should fit. In this first one, we cover the basics around the jacket - front, back and side. It's a useful summary of the main points, and applies as much to a high-street...
Video: How a jacket should fit
Match in comments:
Ah, ok. One of the advantages of bespoke always, having that inlay...
Video: What ‘spalla camicia’ really m...
December 30th 2019As soft Neapolitan jackets have become popular in the past 10 years or so, the phrase 'spalla camicia' has been more and more frequently used. However if it means anything consistently, this Italian phrase for 'shirt sleeve' refers to a pretty narro...
Video: What ‘spalla camicia’ really m...
Match in comments:
They aren't necessarily different. Camicia just says something about the way the shoulder material and the sleeve connect. Mappina is about how much material is gathered at the top - the shirring. You can have one, both,...
Vestrucci charcoal suit: Style Breakdown
November 25th 2019I’m very fond of the cut of this Vestrucci suit, and it is more unusual than I realised when I first received it. Although many aspects are similar to Liverano and other related Florentine tailors, there are small and large differences. So th...
Vestrucci charcoal suit: Style Breakdown
Match in comments:
I'd be absolutely fine in it indoors, but I guess it depends a little on how hot you run generally. No, those other suitings would be sharper and feel a little different....
The Anthology bespoke tailoring: Review
November 20th 2019This is my first suit from Hong Kong and Taipei-based tailor The Anthology. Launched in 2018, The Anthology was created by the combination of London-educated Buzz Tang (below) and Hong Kong tailor Andy Chong, using a workshop in mainland China. Th...
The Anthology bespoke tailoring: Review
Match in comments:
The tension, for me at least, would be between something to wear with jeans and something for the evening. The first leans casual, the second smarter. But then I guess the evening attire is very personal. I would go for ...
Gaetano Aloisio – by Bruce Boyer
November 1st 2019I do not know Roman tailor Gaetano Aloisio. But I've heard good things, and seen one or two as well. So when Bruce Boyer told me he was having a suit made by Gaetano, I asked whether he would write something brief about his experiences. It's not a ...
Gaetano Aloisio – by Bruce Boyer
Match in comments:
Great! Cannot wait to read It. I’ll be going there in late July. Hopefully it’s done before!...
Suit style 6: Buttons
September 23rd 2019This is the sixth article in our Guide to Suit Style. You can see the full contents so far, and browse between them, on the right-hand side of this post or on the dedicated guide page here. God, I love a good button. Some are ...
Suit style 6: Buttons
Match in comments:
Thanks. Bernstein & Banley's are my favourite...
The dark shirt
August 26th 2019Wearing a dark shirt with a tie is an easy style to get wrong, I think. It used to be quite widespread in the 1990s: dark maroon or navy shirts with a strongly coloured tie. It seemed to be worn by a certain kind of salesman. If done right, though...
The dark shirt
Match in comments:
Dark blue, but no not as strong as some dark shirts...
Cifonelli navy suit: Style breakdown
August 5th 2019Cifonelli is one of the three best-known tailors in Paris – the others being Camps de Luca and Smalto. (Though Smalto’s influence has rather waned in recent years, as the others’ has waxed.) It is best known for the style of its...
Cifonelli navy suit: Style breakdown
Match in comments:
There are details on this original piece on the suit Henry. But I'm afraid I don't have the original reference, I just know it was a 9oz plain weave. I'd go for something more like 11oz at least today...
Gieves & Hawkes bespoke linen suit: Review
July 17th 2019This dark, muted green linen was a risk. I had never had anything like it before, let alone seen it on anyone else. But I think it’s worked out very well. I’m pleased as well as relieved. The colour is unusual yet subtle. Indoors, it l...
Gieves & Hawkes bespoke linen suit: Review
Match in comments:
Not off the top of my head, no, but if you can't find it in bunches like W Bill, Holland & Sherry or others than stock Irish linens, try Ulster Weavers or Baird McNutt, which are the mills they buy from (not everyone has...
If you only had five casual suits: A capsule coll...
July 10th 2019I found it very interesting in our recent capsule suit collection article how many readers mentioned wearing suits casually. It’s natural to assume that suits are for business. It is how they have been most commonly used in recent d...
If you only had five casual suits: A capsule coll...
Match in comments:
Haha, that’s an excellent point, Simon! I guess I can’t really answer that reasonably or rationally so I think the answer is that I don’t need it. Cheers!...
The Wedding Style Guide: It’s not about you
June 28th 2019One of the lovely things about the questions and comments we get on Permanent Style is the trends they highlight. In the past two weeks there have been dozens of questions on old posts about wedding attire. So I know everyone is thinking about what ...
The Wedding Style Guide: It’s not about you
Match in comments:
A pocket watch actually should not be part of a wedding morning dress ensemble as a wedding is a church event followed by a private party. In neither occasion is it appropriate to have a watch. This is obviously extremel...
A Pitti diary: The experience, the brands, the pa...
June 19th 2019Pitti is a long trade show: four full days, when most are usually three. As a result, by Friday everyone is exhausted, with selling, talking, and late dinners. Although it does depend on why you’re there. Most people fall into one of three gro...
A Pitti diary: The experience, the brands, the pa...
Match in comments:
Thanks. De Bonne Facture are lovely - not always my kind of style, but they make great pieces...
Musella-Dembech cotton suit: Style Breakdown
June 14th 2019Musella-Dembech is a tiny tailor. They’re still based in the family home, even though recently they’ve expanded to make the whole appartment a working sartoria. Their reputation, however, is rather larger. That̵...
Musella-Dembech cotton suit: Style Breakdown
Match in comments:
I really like this style...
Green/black linen suit, with Davide Taub at Gieve...
May 27th 2019Relief, and relaxation. Those are my abiding memories of this, my fitting at Gieves on a new suit. Readers commented on a previous post that it was nice to know what I was thinking and feeling during a fitting. That it felt more immediate and person...
Green/black linen suit, with Davide Taub at Gieve...
Match in comments:
Thank you for your thoughts on this, Simon and I agree. Now on to find a nice trouser to pair it with as an alternative....
If you only had five business suits: A capsule co...
April 29th 2019These ‘Building a Wardrobe’ pieces have now been collected into a Guide, which will expand over time. You can see the list at the right (on desktop), at the bottom of this post (on mobile) or simply on its own page here. &nbs...
If you only had five business suits: A capsule co...
Match in comments:
No problem at all. These kind of propriety questions are usually best answered by the individuals involved, by looking around and observing their environment. I'm sure it would be fine though, I can't imagine other peopl...
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:
What do you mean by grabby in this instance? I am thinking of potentially sizing down from my normal size for the model 7, so any clarification you can offer would be great...
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!...
