Is Caraceni Rome right for me?

[ay329]

Alden I opted for the brunette who gave me two sons...so far.

The more I see from Cifonelli, the more I like. But until I see and feel the product in person, pictures alone are not enough.

Are there any forum members who are current Cifonelli clients who can PM on their personal experiences?

I'm very interested in Ambrosi making my suit trousers and other odd trousers.

I'm aware of the potential risks of doing this (plus I'll need more fabric). But at 350 euros CMT for Ambrosi's trousers (coupled with a one week turnaround assured for fittings), he's very attractive.

Caraceni asks 700 euros CMT or 900 starting if you use their fabric, per trouser. I shudder to think what Cifonelli will ask for.

I traditionally make 2 trousers per suit, thus this whole process can add up to a lot of money really fast if I'm not careful

Now if I can only convince Alden to reissue the LL Limited Edition Triple Overcheck cloth, or possibly a dark grey/charcoal version instead

[alden]

I like the idea of a gray version of the Triple Overcheck. Anyone else on board?

Maybe Ed Hayes will drop by one day and will give you some ideas. He does wear alot of AS styled clothes.

Just make sure your trouser style and coat style match. Trousers across the sea can as easily be a disaster as a saving.

[ay329]

Alden, or anyone else, would a Cifonelli jacket and vest be incompatible with an Ambrosi trouser...all with the same cloth?

How would an owner of Ambrosi's trousers best describe the style?

I've read about the Cifonelli jacket...but never on their style of trouser...any help is welcomed

Can the Italian trouser be defined...or how about by the Neopolitan trouser or the Roman trouser?

Alden, I'm on board for 8-9 yards of the triple overcheck in charcoal with dark grey check or the other way around. If you read the end posts on that thread, a number of late comers were interested. I'm sure they would love to take a bite if its in a different color. Personally I'll take both the old style and the new Charcoal version since its so hard to find an elegant windowpane flannel

[Concordia]

Alden, or anyone else, would a Cifonelli jacket and vest be incompatible with an Ambrosi trouser...all with the same cloth?

Try a sport jacket from one and odd trousers from the other. I doubt you'll be disappointed, and if they happen to work together so much the better.

Why risk a limited-edition fabric on a suit until you have even a slight notion of how they will complement one another?

[ay329]

Concordia, I don't wear odd jackets and trousers. I'm 36 and this is just not my current style

Besides, Alden won't commit to a new limited edition until others speak out in approval

[ay329]

To extroverted to be taken seriously. Alden????
Could you kindly elaborate?

Is there a difference between Cifonelli and Camps De Luca as to their Parisian-Italo style?

[charle22]

Ambrosi styled trousers "does not do it for me." The cut doesn't seem proportional. Of course, this may be an artifact of local or perhaps, regional styles - and that's fine.

One of my goals of dressing is to achieve a Sartorial expression of dress that is appropriate wherever I travel.

Disclaimer:
This is not an attempt to assail the artisan or his clients - don't take it personal

[RWS]

I like the idea of a gray version of the Triple Overcheck. Anyone else on board? . . . .

I'd be interested in, say, seven meters of a gray with maroon overcheck. I've seen something similar in a woman's suit, and the cloth is both muted and beautiful. Gray-on-gray would likely be too subdued for me -- and I'm not flashy.

[ay329]

Since I started this thread, I guess its ok to hijack it

The grey on maroon is just not my cup of tea

The dark grey with charcoal windowpane might just work out and the boss (Alden) is liking it to. But perhaps an alternative, charcoal with a dark grey windowpane triple overcheck might be muted enough yet elegant for members approval

Perhaps its time for Alden to rekindle this idea and gauge members interest whether to move forward with this quickly

On a lighter note, I think I'm just trying to do too much and that using an internationally named tailoring house (note I didn't use tailor) is not in my best interest

One of the benefits of bespoke is style, but paramount to this is fit. Alexander Kabbaz once posted on a thread on AAAC "You can't rush quality". I'm afraid I was going to force this and perhaps without enough fittings.

The idea of Ambrosi in Naples still looks enticing considering I desire multiple odd trousers

My question to members who have used Ambrosi...is his product as good as they say it is? Is it head over heals better than others you have used before?

Wow, I covered 3 issues with this reply

[Concordia]

My question to members who have used Ambrosi...is his product as good as they say it is? Is it head over heels better than others you have used before?

:

His workmanship is extraordinary.

The actual cut-- and this is even after I'd worked to be extra-sure there was enough room-- always leaves me dubious. The trousers fit, and fit well. This is especially remarkable because he doesn't use pins or chalk during the fitting process. He just nods and smiles and waits until I've gone before making notes. But the rise is not high, and the leg is not wide. Mafoofan's are more extreme than what I was able to talk him into, but those are clearly the style he prefers to make. I always doubt that they will fit before I put them on, and there never seems to be a margin for error.

The exception so far is a pair of wide-wale corduroys. I've been trying a pair a year in this fabric from good tailors, and I find that the guys who do my suits-- and who make very good trousers, BTW-- have a cut that doesn't work so well in this application. A rise up to the natural waist plus decent room through the seat, etc., produces a modicum of excess fabric. No problem with 9oz tropicals, or even medium flannels. With 22oz corduroy, however, the result is a ridiculously heavy garment that doesn't want to stay belted at the proper level. Ambrosi's, with its shorter rise, buttons for braces-- at my request-- and narrower leg, seems to nail it about right. If he ever gets back to the US I shall order a few extras of same with belt loops or side adjusters.

[alden]

To extroverted to be taken seriously. Alden????
Could you kindly elaborate?

OK , let’s look at this problem from another point of view and I ask the participation of the members in this matter. Which person would you seek out for legal advice, or defense if your life depended on it?













Now its been going on 60 years since I was in a LA courtroom, so I don’t expect to have much insight as to what goes on in such a place, but I have a personal favorite from the above. He was pre-law at USC before going on to follow other interests. The one I surely would not pick is the slick looking Anita Ekberg predator in the first image. Capisce?

[Jordan Marc]

Micheal:

Not exactly a group that instills confidence. You should have put up pictures of Jimmy Stewart from ANATOMY OF A MURDER, or Charles Laughton from WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, or Gregory Peck from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, or SPENCER TRACY from INHERIT THE WIND and/or JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG. Any of those simple or erudite characters could get you off, unlike this gallery of lunkheads.

JMB

[ay329]

The second to last actor, his name fails me, with the 3 piece suit. This is the type of elegance I like and wear.

Modern suit styles with, very high buttons, long coat, more than 3 buttons, with lightweight, non-durable, flashy (not classy) stripes/patterns, wool/poly blends is the "Nice Suit" L.A. men are exposed to these days.

I use to get them up until 6 years ago when I didn't know better.

Now a I rarely here comments on my suits and this is exactly what I want.

Sometimes a complement is welcomed. Other times the compliment suggests to me that I should consider being a bit more subtle. Other times a suggestion on how to make the look better is headed (or outright ignored).

Now, at most a Judge or fellow lawyer just starts rubbing my flannel or worsted wool cloth and smiles.

I am slowly learning this is the understated elegance a man needs to refine throughout his life in order to maintain a respectable wardrobe that fits well, whose style is appropriate for the setting and in a subtle manner is recognized by other people who understand the principles of good dress because my clothes are...to quote a Sicilian tailor who spoke with Alden a while ago..."To be seen...but not seen."

[Jordan Marc]

By the way, Marcello Mastrionni did not read law. He studied architecture. And he fathered a lovely daughter with Catherine Deneuve. Great taste in a mate!

By the way, the part played by Anita Eckberg in LA DOLCE VITA was based on a real incident in Rome that involved Ava Gardner, who had had too much to drink and decided to romp around the Trevi Fountain at night. Fellini wanted Ava to repeat the incident for the film but she was uninterested, so he got the buxom Eckberg to do it.

JMB

[alden]

Not exactly a group that instills confidence. You should have put up pictures of Jimmy Stewart from ANATOMY OF A MURDER, or Charles Laughton from WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, or Gregory Peck from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, or SPENCER TRACY from INHERIT THE WIND and/or JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG. Any of those simple or erudite characters could get you off, unlike this gallery of lunkheads.

JMB

I'd have to go with Charles Laughton out of that group.

Cheers