The London Lounge

This past Saturday, I visited Alessandro Siniscalschi, a renowned Milanese shirtmaker. I am not an expert on shirt construction or shirting. To date, my non-RTW shirt buying experience has been limited to demi-mesure at Charvet, a one-off "custom" shirt from Poole, and MTM at Paul Stuart in NY. So far, my experience has been less than satisfactory. There is nothing wrong with the demi-mesure shirts from Charvet, except the cost for the type of fit you get. I have explored the various so-called bespoke makers in London. I have been perplexed as to whether they are bespoke or MTM or whether the maker will work with you to get a proper fit. I have not been too concerned about handwork or whether the buttonholes are machine made, etc. since this is not an option with London or NY shirtmakers. Ultimately, I concluded that bespoke shirts in London are overpriced for what is offered and too hit or miss in terms of fit. I know other members of this forum have been happy with Budd, Dege, among others, and I am not detracting from those members' experiences.

Anyway, back to Siniscalchi...Alessandro speaks English and is easy going. No hard sell or pressure to buy. He seems to be very much interested in and dedicated to his craft. He seems to obsess about fit and quality. His process involves getting measured at the first meeting. The exact fabric to be used is not even discussed, but deferred to subsequent fittings. Alessandro then prepares a fitting with spare cloth. Adjustments are made at the first fitting and a secong fitting also with the spare cloth is prepared. Only after the second fitting is the shirt completed with the actual cloth selected. The buttonholes are hand made. If I understood correctly, the sleeve is also attached by hand. The thick, lustrous MOP buttons used are shanked and hand sewn on. Once the shirt is completed, he will send it to you and recommends that you wear it and launder it 4 or 5 times. He then wants you to bring in the shirt for inspection. He then makes any minor modifications necssary. He actually instists on this last step. Contrast this approach to the English shirtmakers.

Alessandro has a minimum requirement of one shirt (not this 4 or 6 shirt minimum, sometimes paid in cash upfront, that others have) and he refused my offer of a deposit. He uses top fabrics, such as Carlo Riva, Bonfanti, Alumo, and SIC Tess (as his basic fabrics), among others. These are offered at no upcharge.

Before leaving the premises, I was measured for my first shirt. I guess now I have a reason to go back to Mian. More to come at a later date....

I have suppressed my envy and am sincere in wishing you the best of luck.

dopey wrote:Your posts only highlights to me that while I am more or less satisfied with what I am getting from a London shirtmaker, it is only because I am accepting of less.

Don't get too gloomy-- a great cut is worth any number of structural refinements. And Bobby cuts really well.

Bry2000,

Did you receive your sample shirt from Siniscalchi.

Thanks.

Sounds like you are dealing with a real artisan. I gave up on London shirtmakers several years ago. I am convinced they are all made by the same people off premises, and you are dealing with salesmen no matter what label the London merchant sews in.

The interesting thing about the process you describe, is that there is not that much difference in the pricing as best I can tell, to have the job done properly vs the London gentlemen merchants. Let us know how the finished, worn sample shirt turns out.

Any Bonfanti cloths at this maker?

Terry Teplitz

Oh yes, I see the Bonfanti reference. Am I to understand that the price of the shirt is not subject to big variations based on the cloth chosen? As you know, the cost of the cloth is highly variable given the several ranges, etc. For example, linen/cotton is usually substantially more than say, standard broadcloths or zephyrs.

I was reprimanded by Dege some time ago when a promotion offered a free shirt with a minimum order or referral or simply like that. They didn't like the (high) quality of the cloth I chose for my 'free' shirt. I reminded them the offer was for a shirt of MY choice, not theirs. (bandits masquerading as gentlemen or something like that comes to mind)

Terry Teplitz

My experiences in Italy have been of the all cloth the same price variety. At my shirtmaker it definitely holds true for Riva cotton/linen and Bonfanti of the same.

As a general rule, Italian shirtmakers do not charge a premium for the use of premium fabrics such as Bonfanti or Riva. So, its a good idea to order these fabrics if the qualities are pleasing to you.

Merolla, Napoli, charged me a premium on Riva 180s. Bastards. Was Euro 230 too much?

uppercase wrote:Merolla, Napoli, charged me a premium on Riva 180s. Bastards. Was Euro 230 too much?

No, if you're happy with the fit and workmanship. The price is average, which is not to say you couldn't have got a better deal. Certainly not on the high side.

Gentleman,

I got another 22 shirts from a retired gentleman. However, half of them are just too tight. Those are 15.5/35. Some of them are barely used, others a little more but still in good condition. So, in case somedboy is interested in acquiring some Siniscalchi shirts please send me a pm.

Regards,

le.gentleman

Here is a youtube video about Siniscalchi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMU5V4uE ... re=related

And their website:

http://www.siniscalchicamiciesumisura.com/

I was in October at Sinischalchi again always a worth to order there shirts.