best dressed in Italy

[alden]

A few members asked me to read a series of posts on another board where our Manton, JCusey and Etutee were locked in mortal combat with a decidedly repugnant troll. The whole thing seemed to me to be an utter waste of time and ink but it seems to be entertaining to some of you gents. In any case, it led me to think of posting a "best dressed" list of our Italian friends by city.

So I spent a few minutes this morning polling some Italian colleagues and came up with the following list of Italian cities ranked by the quality of dressing one would expect to find there. Have fun.

1. Naples
2. Florence
3. Turin
4. Piacenza
5. Modena
6. Mantova
7. Reggio Emilia
8. Bologna
9. Parma
10. Roma
11. Palermo
12. Milan

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that Milan does not even finish in the top ten. The Milanese are, by in large, RTW and fashion dressers. The bespoke dressers in Milan tend to be dedicated Anglophiles and do everything within their means to ape the SR look including using heavyweight fabrics. The Neapolitans, while having a deep esteem for SR, developed their own identity and style over the course of the last century. Milan never did. It has no identity whatsoever in sartorial terms and except for Caraceni there are few truly great tailors there. In fact, the latest trend is Neapolitan tailors doing trunk shows or setting up ateliers in Milan to fill the void.

The constant effluent of dubious expertise I read on the net these days is simply frightening and reassures me that thelondonlounge is headed in the right direction after all.

[Cruz Diez]

Dear Michael,

Thank you for putting us back on track; posts like the one you alluded to can be confusing to us neophytes.

I find very interesting the high rank you have given to Modena in the "best dressed" list of Italian cities. Modena is one of my favorite towns in Italy, for the scaled-down and relaxed atmosphere, the food, the cars, and the incredible hospitality. I've only had the pleasure to visit Modena on weekends during the hot season; understandably so, I didn't have the opportunity to see the Modenenses' sartorial arsenal in its full potential. Nevertheless, for such a small town, I can say the class that the Modenenses exude by the way they dress rivals that of men from any large Italian metropoli.

Best regards,

Miguel

[Guest]

I agree with this; in fact Modenese taste is linked to great craftmanship and engineering ability; some of the best sportcars and motorbikes come from here. This can be said of Emilia Romagna in general.

I want to add, about best dressing men in Italy, that Agnelli's Family, is one with a great taste and dressing tradition; they always went to Caraceni, and a less known tailor in Turin (where is placed a great tailors school). Today the last heir of the family, is going to A&S to get his suits.

[manton]

I have only been to Italy as a tourist, and not so many times at that, but I have personally been quite impressed at the way the Milanese dress. I thought, for instance, that they dress better than the Romans, who indulge in a lot of questionalbe practices. And they seemed to be "English" in the best sense: not boring, but taking the best from London, doing it a little better, and leaving out the rest.

A question: I assume that, like anywhere else, the really well dressed are a sub-culture and a minority. That's certainly true in New York. Is it possible that at the top of the scale, the well-dressed subculture in Milan dresses better than anyone else? And that my eye instinctively focused on them and ignored the others? I would certainly not have been so interested in guys wearing designer suits, no matter how well made.

[Guest]

Milano is much like a New York for Italy: most people is more commited to money than to dressing. This city maybe a fashion capital for foreigners, but for us is a business, finance and industrial capital.

I'm sorry to say this, as a Milanese miself, but this city never developed an own style and craftmanship, but borrowed from everyone else, specifically south Italy craftmanship, and british style. I think we can say something similar of NY.

I do not know very much well dressed people here, in my very strict term of bespoke dressed. If I think to well dressed North italians, I think to Torino and Emilia Romagna, and Toscana.

You may have acquainted a small circle of people in Milan that is well dressed; there is a nimority (that do not make a trend in my opinion), and the difference from Romans or Neapolitans is that they are less flashy, and borrow more from british style, leaving out what is not appropriate/usual for italians (loud patterns, braces, etc.).

I'm saying that there are not craftsmans? No, there are a lot of shirtmakers, tailors, shoemakers. I'm saying there are not well-dressed people? No, there are. I'm saying they do not make "system", so to define an own style.

PS
Well, many people from every part of Italy comes regularly to Milano for business, so we can say there is well dressed people.

PS
I think people on AA are crazy ... what are they talking about? Milanese style and American Trad ?? Pink cashmere sweaters ... ? What a waste of time

[iammatt]

I think the reason that the Milanese get so much credit for their dress is twofold...

First, the residents of Milan are an especially attractive group. It is the equivalent of Los Angeles in that the fashion and design industries attract beautiful people like the film industry does. Good looking people tend to look good in clothes.

Second, whether or not the Milanese are the best dressed in Italy is certainly up for debate. What is not up for debate is that the Milanese dress much better than the inhabitants of any American city. They may wear fashin brands only, but they like to dress and they put things together very well.

I think the the style in Milan is, as has been stated, slightly more compatible to the American eye. The fit is a bit fuller, the pants are a bit longer, and the fabrics are a bit more subdued. The Romans have a bit more flash and the Neapolitans wear cuts that are far from the American standard. I am not so familiar with other cities that I can compare them.

One thing is for sure, for me the Milanese women are the best dressed in the world.

[isakuhyogo]

I wonder.. 15 years later....how did the landscape change ? and if one is up to a bespoke trip.. where one should aim for subtle Italian flare ?

[davidhuh]

I wonder.. 15 years later....how did the landscape change ? and if one is up to a bespoke trip.. where one should aim for subtle Italian flare ?

Dear Isakuyogo,

on your first question, I would say not a lot of change. The most obvious perhaps: a lot more Italian tailors started travelling after clients in Europe, North America and Asia - pre-Covid of course.

There is no easy answer to your second question. To me, there is little "Italian" flair, but Naples, Sicily, Rome, Florence and Milanese tailoring traditions that are still alive. You need to inform yourself a little about the differences by reading through the archives here, and probably visit a few tailors. If you don't speak Italian and to avoid misunderstandings, you should stick to a tailor who is comfortable speaking English.

Cheers, David

[andreyb]

It brought so much joy to me this morning to re-read the initial post... why we don't have posts like this anymore?

Andrey

[Melcombe]

I'm presently assisting in relocating a friend's business from the UK to Italy - specifically Turin.

It's very sad that a successful business sees little future here, but that's no reason not to take the chance to access some Torinese tailoring.

I'm impressed by their high ranking in the "Alden Scala di Realizzazione Sartoriale" - and it's a lovely city with charming inhabitants (or at least the ones I've met so far).

Any experiences anyone can share on who does proper tailoring there ?