The London Lounge

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mariano in London on my recent visit to Europe. A member of the LL and client of Mr. Rubinacci was kind enough to help me set up the appointment and while the first fitting is still a time away the experience was wonderful.

My first order consisted of the following:

- Gray DB (Harrisons Premier Cru) 6x2, welted pockets, side vents. Pleated trousers with cuffs. No spalla camicia.

- Navy herringbone SB sportcoat (Porter & Harding 13 oz.), patch pockets, welted breast pocket, side vents. Spalla camicia and half lined.

- Multi-colored overcheck on a greenish / brown background SB sportcoat (Porter & Harding 13 oz.), patch pockets, welted breast pocket, side vents. Spalla camicia and half lined.

And to top it off...in most part because I couldn't resist...4 ties. Two cashmere, one knit, and one seven fold.

My first fitting hopefully will occur in NYC this following month, if not, its on to Naples or back to London. I'll be sure to follow up this post with subsequent pictures from the fittings and hopefully later this year the final product. Thanks to many on this forum including Alden, Uppercase, iammatt, and others who were instrumental, whether they knew it or not, in making my decision to use Mariano.

Where's Bryan?

I like your coat more than Mariano's one.

Or is it the overall simplicity and clarity of your outfit that makes such impression?

Andrey

Thanks Andrey. His overall look does set a pleasing impression. The coat he is wearing in the pic was from 1974, older than me!

i think MR likes this coat as it is the one he is picture with mafoofan on his blog too, whnay did you take any more picture or just this one??

Very nice,

I popped in the Rome store over the holidays but he was not in Rome at the time.
It must have been an interesting visit.

I also stopped by his sister's shop in Rome, a little more over the top than MR.

Fabulous!

One of the main pleasures of working with Rubinacci is having access to Mariano who is a tremendous resource of knowledge, advice on men's style and philosophy of dress; this, to me, is more valuable than the actual clothes that he makes.

I would try to spend as much casual time with Mariano as possible; he is probably most accessible when you catch in one of his shops rather than in NYC on a business trip.

I would always recommend, if your time permits, a trip to Naples to visit him in his sartoria on Via Filangieri; the Rubinacci experience is not complete without visiting London House, Naples and understanding the history and provenance of the clothing he is making for you; this will add inestimable value and pleasure when you wear your new items and will continue to do so for many years.

Mariano's style is eclectic and not about the cut of his jacket or the propriety of his dress; nothing he wears ever looks new, contrived or dressed up; indeed, he always looks so comfortable in his clothes that they are like, for us, wearing an old pair of jeans. It is an object lesson in spezzatura just to hang with him and observe.

Again, try to make the time to spend with the master because he will certainly welcome that and he is most relaxed at home in Naples.

Good luck!

luk-cha wrote:i think MR likes this coat as it is the one he is picture with mafoofan on his blog too, whnay did you take any more picture or just this one??

When I was visiting London House in Naples, Mariano spent a great deal of time discussing cloth choices with me. Touching on your observation, he joked about how his wife doesn't understand why he insists on having so many brown jackets that look about the same. As he explained to me, he sees no reason why a man should have to change between different colors and styles when something in particular works well for him.

Whnay, it looks like you had a great time. Mariano seems happy to have met you too! He's a champ when it comes to stealing a photo op. I felt really geeky asking to take pictures, but he was more than thrilled by the idea.

mafoofan wrote:

luk-cha wrote:i think MR likes this coat as it is the one he is picture with mafoofan on his blog too, whnay did you take any more picture or just this one??

When I was visiting London House in Naples, Mariano spent a great deal of time discussing cloth choices with me. Touching on your observation, he joked about how his wife doesn't understand why he insists on having so many brown jackets that look about the same. As he explained to me, he sees no reason why a man should have to change between different colors and styles when something in particular works well for him.quote]

this is a very good point and "if it aint broke" comes to mind, it is just a bit of a journy to find what works and what does not and we are lucky to have the LL to refer to for guidance and assistance and constructive feed back.

///

Sorry luk this was the only pose we took together but to confirm it is the same jacket he was wearing when he visited with Mr. Foo.

Its funny uppercase my favorite part of my initial visit was discussing dressing with him...he has a way of making people feel very welcomed. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of the Row tailors unfortunately. Frankly it was quite depressing walking down the Row on my way to see Sig. Rubinacci...it seems every year to be a fraction of what it once was.

His ties are also very special. The shape is very different from the norm and gives them a much more relaxed look and feel. It took me awhile to notice the difference, but it is there.

He does have a great philosophy on dress, and that extends to his point of view on almost all other things. He is quite an enjoyable man, and takes very, very good care of his clients. As Uppercase said, the access to Mariano is a very important part of the overall experience.

As a person grown and educated in Naples, I would like to spend some additional comments on Mariano Rubinacci. In my opinion he should not be considered as an exception but as a paradigm of the superb taste and elegance largely diffused in Naples among well educated people. Indeed his understated and relaxed elegance is common to many persons of the same generation and stands as a great example of what everyone should try to reach. As far as Rubinacci's ties I completely agree with Iammatt. Rubinacci's ties , because of their very light construction ,are an arrival and not a starting point along the pathway which brings to the true elagance and differently from Marinella 's ones are not immediately loved by everyone. I love them as they seem to fly and I still wear,, with great pleasure some buyed in the early '70.
I have already published one of these , a totally unlined seven fold Macclesfield silk from 1973 ,at the following URL address
http://www.noveporte.it/taccuino/tau/gr ... dfoto=2700

Angelo

whnay. wrote:Sorry luk this was the only pose we took together but to confirm it is the same jacket he was wearing when he visited with Mr. Foo.

Its funny uppercase my favorite part of my initial visit was discussing dressing with him...he has a way of making people feel very welcomed. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of the Row tailors unfortunately. Frankly it was quite depressing walking down the Row on my way to see Sig. Rubinacci...it seems every year to be a fraction of what it once was.

bummer do me a favor and dont be shy take plenty to share the enjoiment

A that is a nice tie also to add R knitted tie are the best i have come across too

In the sartorial world, surely Naples is Rome and Mr. Rubinacci's space the Vatican... figuratively speaking, of course, as there is nothing Roman about the look.

Look at that coat! And looking forward to seeing yours whnay.

As for the age of Mr. Rubinacci's coat ... that's not unusual. Sadly, I have no coats made for me by Mr. Ribinacci, but I do have Anderson & Sheppard coats which were bespoke for me in the 70s. I wear them with more fondness than many new ones.

EDIT: Sorry about the extra "b."