English Cloth vs. Italian

[Guest]

What do your tailors say?

And what do you prefer?

Obviously, the overwhelming body of experience here in LL veers toward the English.

But what about the Italian mills?

[Guest]

The answer is to pick and choose the fabrics from a knowledge of their handling ability.

Being (originally) a Brit I only used English fabrics. They were the best. when I was first introduced to Italian fabric I di not like htem at all. They tailored horrendously, even if the designs were good. They reminded me of the famous swimming pool 200 yards wide, 200 yards lond, but only 2" deep. Now, I have to say, I ampurchasing more and more Italian fabrics. the reason being they have greatly improved the tailorablility of their fabrics and they have, absoltley, more interesting designs. if you like the classics, and I know many do who visit tehse sites, then stick to English.

As many of you know, I have been self-employed for 35 years and have, up until recently, used English fabrics exclusively. But the UK mills are old whereas the Italians have had moeny poured into them from their government. Given the money and the Italian flare it is not surprising they have risen to te ocassion.

leonard

[Guest]

My tailor is in Italy and only uses English cloth for himself. I imagine that iIf somebody wants an Italian cloth, he resists for awhile, but eventualy relents. He does seem to have a liking for one particular Italian cloth from VBC, but only in one color and one pattern. I really do not know why.

[Guest]

Leonaard's take on this is very informative.

Not only does he assess that the Italian cloth has more interesting designs but they now also tailor well.

That's a pretty strong recommendation.

What are some of the Italian mills that we should be looking at?

[Guest]

very very good, excellent italian fabrics do exist, but it's difficult to buy. I Can find it in small shops in Milano. It's strange because the most they make is for fashion, but they Still do little bit vintage-like. the best one is Without Doubt Zegna. I recently found outstanding 500gr flannl nd Cheviot, and a 450gr shrkskin bettr than smiths. Also the old Guabello could compete with Fo for flannls, before being bought by Marzotto.

Jona.

[Guest]

You know, I have never seen a bolt of Zegna cloth anywhere.

Yes, I have seen samples of Zegna cloth from their made to measure program; the Couture cloth is quite great.

But I have never seen a Zegna book offered at a tailor shop.

Apart from Zegna and Loro Piana, what other Italian mills should one look for?

I think that the Carlo Barbera line with Lesser is discontinued.

How about Carlo Barbera? Anyone have experience withthis Italian mill? Or others?

http://www.carlobarbera.it/english/home_eng.html

[Guest]

I saw some Zegna in a book here about a year ago. It wasn't a swatch book per se, it was more like a book with little bits of wool stuck on a card, like something you'd see in a shirting book.

[Guest]

Some of the Zegna cloth is quite nice. I have a length that seems soft but OK. I have a Brioni RTW suit made with some Super 150s cloth, which remarkably drapes well and hold a crease nicely.

Vitale Barberis has garnered good comments from people on the diiferent message boards.

LP cashmere seems nice, but seems soft.

Can anyone comment on Guabello. Is that a merchant or a mill. I have seen some very nice Guabello cloths.

[Guest]

Of the two fabrics I adore - Loro Piana and H.Lesser - both are well liked as a fabric to work with by my tailor. I have tended to Loro Piana 8oz for "light weight" in our hot Australian summers and H.Lesser 11 oz for "medium weight" in our mild Australian winters.

[Guest]

My tailor doesn't like Zegna at all. his opinion is that it is much overrated. He is the artisan. I trust him. If he doesn't want me to use Zegna, I won't use Zegna.

[Guest]

Italian, hands-down. The English fabrics are excellent but they simply don't compare. The weaving is entirely different, which is why Italian mills are known to create the finest fabrics in the world. When it comes to tailoring, nothing is superior to English however the fabrics from Italy are far superior.

The following is where I purchase the majority of my bedding and textiles, and the two areas are closely linked. If you read the article regarding thread count, it addresses the Italian mills and superority of weave, better than anything else.



http://www.venusrisinglimited.com/

[Guest]

When it comes to tailoring, nothing is superior to English however the fabrics from Italy are far superior.

I've not followed this thread very closely as it seems based on assertion and preference as opposed to information and preference. However, were I to capture the zeitgeist here, I'd posit that the English style in the hands of Italian tailors working English cloth is the ideal.

Not being long in the bespoke world I can't say that i've ever seen Italian fabric books other than LP. What are we missing and where do we find it? Perhaps I'll ask it this way, what Italian books of interest have those who've ventured to Naples discovered?

DDM

[Guest]

When I say "ideal" I mean the ideal utilization of Itialian artisans and don't assert any heirarchy between Italian, English, and US tailoring

DDM