The London Lounge

Hello, I've been lurking on this forum for a while and only recently received approval of my registration. Not much to say about myself, but that I'm 25 and a law student in Chicago.

I returned from a vacation to Italy with my girlfriend yesterday. We stayed in Rome but made a couple of day trips to Naples where I had fittings at Ambrosi, Matuozzo, and Rubinacci. I also stopped by Marinella to get some ties made.

Thanks to my girlfriend, I have hundreds of photos documenting the experience. It will take me some time to sort through everything, but I thought I'd start with a few samples.

I have personally received permission to post these photos; please refrain from re-distributing them. Thanks!

Withour further ado:

Antonio and Salvatore Ambrosi checking my new pants for fit. They finished them in less than a week after my first fitting!


I got to take many pictures of Antonio and Salvatore's workroom as well as the rest of their atelier. Here is a photo of Antonio taking in the waist of my pants.


Mariano Rubinacci and his head tailor Genarro observing the fit of my new jacket at my first fitting. Genarro is asking if the armholes are too tight.


Here's a close up of the preliminary shoulder. The final version will be done spalla camicia style. If you notice, Genarro is doing something very quickly and dramatically in the background.


Anna Matuozzo pinning up my shirt at the first fitting. The final collar will have a little more roll to it and be a bit higher--the former at my request, the latter at Anna's suggestion.


Here, you can see some of the pleating under the yoke. Anna wants to shorten the shirt a couple of inches, bring in the shoulders a bit, and dart the back.


Finally, at Marinella, picking out tie fabrics with Gigi.


That's it for now. There are many more, but I have to figure out the best way to post them. In the mean time, what does everyone think so far? Any input is appreciated.


Matt

Said it on AA, and I'll say it here. The Rubinacci coat is going to be splendid. I can already tell they have the "bones" of it dead right.

Thanks Manton. I have nothing but the highest confidence in Mariano and Genarro. Watching them interact with each other in such an involved and meticulous manner made me feel very well taken care of.

The high gorge was at my request but Mariano seemed to think it was a good idea on me. I am tempted to ask for slightly wider lapels, but I'm not sure I want to mess with what Mariano and Genarro worked out.

Hi Matt!

Nice to have another law student at the LL. The pics are great provide us with many more of them!

Raphael

Are you fluent in Italian? If not, how was getting around?

I'm definitely not fluent in Italian. I know maybe three words and I can't pronounce even those particularly well. We relied on the fact that almost every Roman speaks some English. Naples was more difficult. Mariano speaks excellent English. We used Google and third party translators with Matuozzo and Ambrosi. There was no problem with English at Marinella.

First off, welcome to the Lounge! I'll be vacationing in Naples a bit this summer and this thread is further fuel to the fire of my anticipation to go. Thank you for sharing the photos.

Great photos. What is the time from first measurement to first fitting at each establishment? Thanks, Robert

manton wrote:Said it on AA, and I'll say it here. The Rubinacci coat is going to be splendid. I can already tell they have the "bones" of it dead right.

Just seeing this for the first time, are you ever right. It's making me think that a trip to Naples is going to be more than about pizza research.

That's a good gunclub, is it out of the Hardy Riviera bunch?

DDM

http://www.mfanblog.blogspot.com/

Very nice report Matthew. Nice pictures of a great father and son team. They are not easy to find in the Naples Spanish quarter, but its well worth the trouble to seek them out. Their previous laboratorio was even more difficult to find, many years and many wonderful trousers ago!

Cheers

PS Looks like Mariano is working his magic...very nice

M Alden