Italian Bespoke Shirtmakers

[tteplitzmd]

I received my Bugelli shirt this week, ordered when I visited his workshop in early July. It is of a very, very light weight Bonfanti cloth, thin pencil stripes, green on white ground. Yes, the stripes on the pocket do match the body.

I do not pretend much knowledge of shirts, having used Bowring & Arundel, Dege, Geneva, and early on Seewaldt & Bowman (who went berserk, and I am a Professional), when I supplied my own Italian broadcloth!

The Bugelli shirt is far and away the nicest detailed, and fitting shirt I have seen.

[uppercase]

That was a very fast turn around.
Bugelli must like you!
Enjoy your shirt.

[uppercase]

I am guessing that a softer shirt collar is appropriately worn with a less structured suit and vice versa.
Hence, the Jermyn St. shirts, with their stiffer collars, are appropriate for the military silhouette of SR. And the softer Italian collars, appropriate for the more louche Italian silhouette.

Is it correct to match the stiffness of shirt collars in this way to the suit silhouette?

And just how much interlining in the collar should one specify in a bespoke shirt?
Any interlining in the cuffs and front plackett?

With the amount of interlining ranging from none in a Brooks Bros. type button down to very stiff, what guidelines would members suggest?

[alden]

Uppercase,

I do prefer a soft collar in a shirt combined with a softer jacket style. If you want to have both then you might think to have a soft collar made with the possibility of adding collar stays should you have the need.

tteplitzmd

I am glad to hear of your successful work with Bugelli. Since you have made shirts from a variety of excellent bespoke sources, you do indeed have experience that makes your judgement of great interest.

[tteplitzmd]

I had the advantage (and privilege) of visiting Mr.Bugelli in July, at which time he was wearing a shirt with cuffs, collar, and interlining, all of which appealed to me. The collar and cuffs have a similar stiffness, not too much, not too little: difficult to articulate, but just right for me. You can see Mr. Bugelli's shirt on the two photos in the photojournal shirting section.

I have had shirts made in London, NYC, Hong Kong, and Florence. Possibly it is partly the featherweight Bonfanti cloth, but the Bugelli shirt is far and away superior in appearance, "feel" and workmanship. The comfort of the shirt is rather suprising to me, exceeding any expectations I had.

That being said, the shirt is going back, having been hand washed twice, only to have the cuffs made less snug. The hardest part is procuring swatches of more Bonfanti cloths:
I have specified an interest only in lighter weight Bonfanti cottons, with orange, peach, or brown colorings (arancia, pesca, bruno?). The Bonfanti range was quite large, on Mr. Bugelli's sample box, so I would love to receive some cuttings.