Dopey
I have seen some nice clothes, including some wonderful soft tailoring, made by Bruno Fiorese:
Bruno Fiorese
via Colonna Antonina, 31
Rome
I plan on going to see him on my next trip to Rome. When are you in Rome?
Michael
Suggestions for Rome
I thought people don't talk pricing on here. Anyway, what do you mean when you quote one price for cut, make and trim and another price for no cut, make and trim?
I will have a suit made at Caraceni for sure one day, it will be a double breasted, seems like all the DB that I see from them are amazing! Which Caraceni, I am not sure, but it seems like there's a bias towards Roma?
On the topic of dogs, might get a bit of ridicule here, but you should get a toy size poodle! I believe the poodle breed often gets misunderstood, if it was good enough for a king, maybe it could be good enough for you? your choice, but if you do get one, you will never regret it.
I will have a suit made at Caraceni for sure one day, it will be a double breasted, seems like all the DB that I see from them are amazing! Which Caraceni, I am not sure, but it seems like there's a bias towards Roma?
On the topic of dogs, might get a bit of ridicule here, but you should get a toy size poodle! I believe the poodle breed often gets misunderstood, if it was good enough for a king, maybe it could be good enough for you? your choice, but if you do get one, you will never regret it.
Michael:alden wrote:Dopey
I have seen some nice clothes, including some wonderful soft tailoring, made by Bruno Fiorese:
Bruno Fiorese
via Colonna Antonina, 31
Rome
I plan on going to see him on my next trip to Rome. When are you in Rome?
Michael
I will be in Rome for the last ten days or so of July and then passing through for a weekend on the way home in early August. The interim will be spent in Florence.
Uppercase was persuasive and I made a visit to Caraceni as soon as I was settled in.
Tommy Caraceni met me at the door and assured me that if I could return for two more fittings during the week they would be able to finish it when they returned from their August holiday and ship it to me in September. I had less free time during normal business hours than I expected, but they were able to accommodate me a little earlier in the morning than usual and I managed to make it to my final fitting on the Friday before they closed up. DB Solaro.
Tommy Caraceni met me at the door and assured me that if I could return for two more fittings during the week they would be able to finish it when they returned from their August holiday and ship it to me in September. I had less free time during normal business hours than I expected, but they were able to accommodate me a little earlier in the morning than usual and I managed to make it to my final fitting on the Friday before they closed up. DB Solaro.
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tteplitzmd
Which Solaro pattern? From Smith's (12 ounce), or Italian variants (lighter weight from Drapers for example)?
When in Rome, do as the Roman's do...
When in Rome, do as the Roman's do...
Dopey please share your detailed throughts when you have time. There is very little to no reports on Caraceni apart from what uppercase did. Are you getting the pants from them also? I assume you do not speak Italian so what was the process like? What details, if any did you specified? Did you decided to go with DB based on their cut or just because the cloth would have truned into a DB not matter where?dopey wrote:Uppercase was persuasive and I made a visit to Caraceni as soon as I was settled in.
I may be visiting Italy for first time in fall and would be very interested in trying them out for a jacket.
Regards
Apologies for the delayed response, but I am still traveling.
TT: The cloth was the Smith Solaro. They referred to it as a broken bone. It is not the twill, parquet or large herringbone, so if the one that is left is called broken bone, that is what is called. Maybe it is a micro broken bone.
Tutee: As uppercase mentioned, they close in August and I was arriving near the end of July. Logistics would clearly be a problem. I called ahead a few weeks earlier and spoke to Tommy Caraceni's nephew, Guido, who seems to run the shop. He told me he simply didn't know whether they could make a suit for me in the time I had, as he didn't know how busy they would be finishing up orders during the last week. I decided not to bother bringing any cloth with me and would instead just visit. My hotel was only a few blocks from Caraceni, so after I settled myself in on Friday morning, I walked over. Tommy Caraceni met me at the door and we chatted for a while and he took me on a tour of the shop. He was especially proud of his "wall of fame" with pictures of politicians, potentates and royalty. I doubt I will make it onto the wall (only because we took no photos, of course). Mr. Caraceni lived in England for some time, working at Kilgour, and we had no trouble conversing in English. Guido speaks English also, but not as well. We went over my schedule and I promised I could make it for two fittings, which they said would make a suit possible.
I chose DB for lots of reasons, primarily that I like wearing them, but also that I think it looks particularly nice in their cut. I looked through their fabrics and found a very nice gray birdseye that I though unusual in that it was flecked with bits of color like a Donegal tweed (the selvege said "Barclays"). I was then introduced to Carlo, who would be my cutter (Carlo does not speak English, Tutee), and taken to a fitting room. After the usual measurements and discussion, the phone rang and I was left alone. While rummaging through some of the jackets in process hanging on a rack, I saw one Solaro and remembered that I had been meaning to get one. I had seen a DB Solaro on someone (maybe Elkann) that I thought looked really good and Caraceni would be the choice perfect for making one. Impatient, I left the fitting room and roamed the halls looking for Guido to tell him I changed my mind. I found Tommy Cacraceni instead and explained that I had changed my mind. He seemed excited at the idea and we began hunting for suit lengths of Solaro. We found one lenth that was too short. Then he thought he had an extra piece, but it wasn't the identical shading. Finally, we found a good length.
While I still wanted DB, and asked for sufficient fullness rather than a lean look, I left most of the details to them, e.g., they like besom pockets for a suit, do Solaro unlined and prefer corazzo buttons to horn or perla. Trousers will be pleated with belt loops.
Following the initial Friday visit, I arranged for my first fitting for Monday evening. As it turned out, I couldn't get back to central Rome in time on Monday and called to reschedule for Tuesday morning. That fitting was a typical basted fitting that was rapidly pulled apart. The second fitting on Friday morning looked very good, the one shoulder needed adjustment and the length was a bit long. The trousers also needed to be shortened a touch, with a slight adjustment in the thigh. Since they closed up for the summer on Saturday, all the final changes will be done and shipped to me in early September.
As uppercase took pains to point out, they are very busy in July, working to finish everything before closing for August. For my two morning fittings, I arrived well before opening hours and strolling around the block, saw through the open windows rooms full of tailors sewing and pressing. I am fairly certain that if my first visit were a Monday rather than a Friday, fitting a suit in a week would have been very difficult.
Obviously, until I receive and evaluate the final product, I can't recommend them, Tutee, but I can say that they were very professional and pleasant to deal with. They are the real thing.
Back to the OP: to date, I have bought nothing else of note in Rome. In Florence, a belt (to replace one lost on the trip) and a key case in Pineider and some gloves at Madova. My wife had two beautiful dresses made in Florence. Tie-Your-Tie was closed for August. I did visit the Japanese bespoke shoemaker up the street. His work was exquisite though the last shapes on display a bit too stylized for my taste. In any event, I certainly hadn't enough time for bespoke shoes (and didn't return to Mannina to meet the father and shoemaker, Genarro (?) as intended for that reason). I have some more time in Rome and will perhaps stop into Battistoni to have a look. I am looking forward to trying a Florentine tailor on my next visit as the dressmaker had an enthusiastic recommendation (which I will have to get again as I didn't write it down).
TT: The cloth was the Smith Solaro. They referred to it as a broken bone. It is not the twill, parquet or large herringbone, so if the one that is left is called broken bone, that is what is called. Maybe it is a micro broken bone.
Tutee: As uppercase mentioned, they close in August and I was arriving near the end of July. Logistics would clearly be a problem. I called ahead a few weeks earlier and spoke to Tommy Caraceni's nephew, Guido, who seems to run the shop. He told me he simply didn't know whether they could make a suit for me in the time I had, as he didn't know how busy they would be finishing up orders during the last week. I decided not to bother bringing any cloth with me and would instead just visit. My hotel was only a few blocks from Caraceni, so after I settled myself in on Friday morning, I walked over. Tommy Caraceni met me at the door and we chatted for a while and he took me on a tour of the shop. He was especially proud of his "wall of fame" with pictures of politicians, potentates and royalty. I doubt I will make it onto the wall (only because we took no photos, of course). Mr. Caraceni lived in England for some time, working at Kilgour, and we had no trouble conversing in English. Guido speaks English also, but not as well. We went over my schedule and I promised I could make it for two fittings, which they said would make a suit possible.
I chose DB for lots of reasons, primarily that I like wearing them, but also that I think it looks particularly nice in their cut. I looked through their fabrics and found a very nice gray birdseye that I though unusual in that it was flecked with bits of color like a Donegal tweed (the selvege said "Barclays"). I was then introduced to Carlo, who would be my cutter (Carlo does not speak English, Tutee), and taken to a fitting room. After the usual measurements and discussion, the phone rang and I was left alone. While rummaging through some of the jackets in process hanging on a rack, I saw one Solaro and remembered that I had been meaning to get one. I had seen a DB Solaro on someone (maybe Elkann) that I thought looked really good and Caraceni would be the choice perfect for making one. Impatient, I left the fitting room and roamed the halls looking for Guido to tell him I changed my mind. I found Tommy Cacraceni instead and explained that I had changed my mind. He seemed excited at the idea and we began hunting for suit lengths of Solaro. We found one lenth that was too short. Then he thought he had an extra piece, but it wasn't the identical shading. Finally, we found a good length.
While I still wanted DB, and asked for sufficient fullness rather than a lean look, I left most of the details to them, e.g., they like besom pockets for a suit, do Solaro unlined and prefer corazzo buttons to horn or perla. Trousers will be pleated with belt loops.
Following the initial Friday visit, I arranged for my first fitting for Monday evening. As it turned out, I couldn't get back to central Rome in time on Monday and called to reschedule for Tuesday morning. That fitting was a typical basted fitting that was rapidly pulled apart. The second fitting on Friday morning looked very good, the one shoulder needed adjustment and the length was a bit long. The trousers also needed to be shortened a touch, with a slight adjustment in the thigh. Since they closed up for the summer on Saturday, all the final changes will be done and shipped to me in early September.
As uppercase took pains to point out, they are very busy in July, working to finish everything before closing for August. For my two morning fittings, I arrived well before opening hours and strolling around the block, saw through the open windows rooms full of tailors sewing and pressing. I am fairly certain that if my first visit were a Monday rather than a Friday, fitting a suit in a week would have been very difficult.
Obviously, until I receive and evaluate the final product, I can't recommend them, Tutee, but I can say that they were very professional and pleasant to deal with. They are the real thing.
Back to the OP: to date, I have bought nothing else of note in Rome. In Florence, a belt (to replace one lost on the trip) and a key case in Pineider and some gloves at Madova. My wife had two beautiful dresses made in Florence. Tie-Your-Tie was closed for August. I did visit the Japanese bespoke shoemaker up the street. His work was exquisite though the last shapes on display a bit too stylized for my taste. In any event, I certainly hadn't enough time for bespoke shoes (and didn't return to Mannina to meet the father and shoemaker, Genarro (?) as intended for that reason). I have some more time in Rome and will perhaps stop into Battistoni to have a look. I am looking forward to trying a Florentine tailor on my next visit as the dressmaker had an enthusiastic recommendation (which I will have to get again as I didn't write it down).
Dopey,
An excellent story!
Andrey
An excellent story!
I wonder how many tailors work for them? How big they are compared to "big" SR houses?dopey wrote:For my two morning fittings, I arrived well before opening hours and strolling around the block, saw through the open windows rooms full of tailors sewing and pressing.
That's fascinating! It seems that Italians really are the biggest anglophiles in Europe.dopey wrote:Mr. Caraceni lived in England for some time, working at Kilgour, and we had no trouble conversing in English.
Andrey
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Yale Cameron
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Great to know that Caraceni can do a suit in a week. I really want to get something made there at some point, so it looks like a 7-10 day trip to Roma will need to occur in the near future. Dopey or Uppercase, do they have a lot of cloth on hand? If I were to do it, I would not want to have the cloth ordered ahead, because I enjoy the process of choosing cloth with the tailor.
thank you for your report dopey. please share your thoughts once the garment is finished.dopey wrote: Obviously, until I receive and evaluate the final product, I can't recommend them, Tutee, but I can say that they were very professional and pleasant to deal with. They are the real thing.
regards
Yale Cameron:Yale Cameron wrote:Great to know that Caraceni can do a suit in a week. I really want to get something made there at some point, so it looks like a 7-10 day trip to Roma will need to occur in the near future. Dopey or Uppercase, do they have a lot of cloth on hand? If I were to do it, I would not want to have the cloth ordered ahead, because I enjoy the process of choosing cloth with the tailor.
They do have cloth on hand. How much , I cannot say as I didn't see all of it. Certainly, they have most of the basics covered and also lots of one off interesting cloths. What I saw is roughly equivalent to what Raphael had in his NY shop, plus a little, if that means anything to you. But the Caraceni space is pretty large and there are lots of rooms and cabinets that I didn't see.
Andrey: I only noticed what I saw when I walked around the block, but I saw two or three male tailors pressing and working and a lady, presumably doing buttonholes. But I can't say anything definitive about the size of the workrooms since I really didn't have time for a leisurely tour at my fittings because I was rushing to get back to my hotel in the morning.
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Last edited by m-lan on Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
For Old Henry: Note the "T" shape to the dart under the lapel. I forget what you called it - "a Sicilian Dart" maybe?
Last edited by dopey on Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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