The London Lounge

Dear Gentlemen,

During a short visit to Florence yesterday, I chanced upon the Casa dei Tessuti,a stone's throw from the Duomo. The experience was so delightful that I thought I should share this little gem with you. Upon entering the shop I was immediately warmly greeted by Mr. Alessandro Romano, a young man full of enthusiasm for the cloths he was selling. I told him I needed a cloth for a blue blazer. Immediately bolts and bolts were thrust before me from the finest Loro Piana cashmeres to the more sturdy Carlo Barbera worsteds. The most pleasant aspect of the process was the appearance of Alessandro’s older uncle, Romolo. He began tottering around, looking through dusty old books of swatches and urging his nephew to show me yet more treasures just for enjoyment’s sake. I ended up purchasing two Barbera cloths: one a 14 ounce plain blue twill, with the handle of cashmere, and the second a medium grey flannel of about 13 ounces, for a pair of trousers.
I have never had a Barbera cloth made up and was wondering what the other member’s experience of the maker is like? I can only full-heartedly recommend popping down to the Casa dei Tessuti the next time you are in Florence, if not to buy some cloth then just to chat to the knowledgeable and gracious gentlemen who run it.

I have one suit from Barbera worsted, which tailored beautifully. I have 3 Barbera summer jacketings from the H. Lesser book. Again very nice. It is not easy to find Barbera cloths with the markings on the selvage. A lot of their cloth is made for others to use in fine tailored RTW clothing. There are some lovely heavier jacketings still left by Barbera from an old range that H. lesser did. I don't think the books are still circulating since many of the cloths were sold out, and made in small quantity. I'm sorry I missed this shop when I was in Florence 2 years ago!

Blogger Paolo from the photoblog Suitorial made some pictures during his visit to the shop:
http://suitorial.blogspot.com/2010/07/f ... ssvti.html

Giuseppi, the Carlo Barbera cloths are truly beautiful and are used by a number of well-known menswear designers. Recently there was an interesting article in The New York Times about Barbera that may
be of interest to you. Google The New York Times and enter Barbera in the search window.

Regarding Casa dei Tessuti, what a find! But, then, Firenze is filled with one discovery after another, wonderful food, and beautiful people.

JMB

Jordan Marc, I completely agree with you on Florence - it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful city in Italy. I will be sure to post some pictures of the Barbera cloths when they are made up into a blazer and trousers by my tailor in Rome.