Old tailors, old cloth
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:04 pm
Yesterday I met a 75 year old Italian tailor who thinks he is an English one.
When I walked into the door of the atelier and saw the stacks of great cloth I knew I was on to something. “I am passionate about fabrics and I prefer to use vintage English cloth I have collected since the 1960s”, the tailor said. And there it was before my eyes, old 21 ozs Reid & Taylor worsteds (the "Bronze Eagle") from that era, old heavyweight Sportex, thick flannels and assorted traditional cloth from UK mills long since closed down. It was a textile gold mine and museum. “Inferior cloth or even standard cloth will melt under my iron. It doesn't hold up to the work I give it”, he continued, as we went into his atelier and I lifted the heaviest damn iron I have ever seen! "Now you see why I like heavy English cloth! Italian cloth fades away, except for some by Zegna."
The retired tailor makes for a short list of older clients. "I worked most of my life in Milan and studied with many Italian masters, but I think of myself as being an English tailor. The English cutting style I learned as a boy is superior to any other, including our own Italian system", he added. "Of course I can make any kind of clothes, but I prefer to make clothes without any shoulder padding or structure whatsoever.It is much harder to do well and you have to know how to cut it right, but the clothes that result are so very comfortable and elegant." And then I felt a few coats in my hand an frankly have to confess they were naturally inviting. Neapolitan clothing suddenly felt like clunky armor. A coat made for a well known Italian male model was almost my size and I gave the heavy shetland gun club a try on. Nice.
The spalla camicia on display on various coats was the most simple and unaffected I have seen and the quality of the handwork was excellent. "I make the shirt shoulder mainly for odd coats in linen or cotton, and I make a open seam shoulder for suits and formal wear."
To say the least, yesterdays surprise visit was a very pleasant surprise.
Cheers
Michael Alden
When I walked into the door of the atelier and saw the stacks of great cloth I knew I was on to something. “I am passionate about fabrics and I prefer to use vintage English cloth I have collected since the 1960s”, the tailor said. And there it was before my eyes, old 21 ozs Reid & Taylor worsteds (the "Bronze Eagle") from that era, old heavyweight Sportex, thick flannels and assorted traditional cloth from UK mills long since closed down. It was a textile gold mine and museum. “Inferior cloth or even standard cloth will melt under my iron. It doesn't hold up to the work I give it”, he continued, as we went into his atelier and I lifted the heaviest damn iron I have ever seen! "Now you see why I like heavy English cloth! Italian cloth fades away, except for some by Zegna."
The retired tailor makes for a short list of older clients. "I worked most of my life in Milan and studied with many Italian masters, but I think of myself as being an English tailor. The English cutting style I learned as a boy is superior to any other, including our own Italian system", he added. "Of course I can make any kind of clothes, but I prefer to make clothes without any shoulder padding or structure whatsoever.It is much harder to do well and you have to know how to cut it right, but the clothes that result are so very comfortable and elegant." And then I felt a few coats in my hand an frankly have to confess they were naturally inviting. Neapolitan clothing suddenly felt like clunky armor. A coat made for a well known Italian male model was almost my size and I gave the heavy shetland gun club a try on. Nice.
The spalla camicia on display on various coats was the most simple and unaffected I have seen and the quality of the handwork was excellent. "I make the shirt shoulder mainly for odd coats in linen or cotton, and I make a open seam shoulder for suits and formal wear."
To say the least, yesterdays surprise visit was a very pleasant surprise.
Cheers
Michael Alden