Highest Quality Bespoke Ties

[lambert]

Marinella's ties ARE made in Naples. They may use English silk but the tie is folded and sew in Naples and the product is clearly marked as Made in Italy, this is a fact not an Internet legend.

I disagree. The only Marinella tie that I own (bought in Marinella's shop in Naples) is marked "Made by hand" but there is no mention of "made in Italy" (unlike Capelli ties)

[Gruto]

Marinella's ties ARE made in Naples. They may use English silk but the tie is folded and sew in Naples and the product is clearly marked as Made in Italy, this is a fact not an Internet legend.

I disagree. The only Marinella tie that I own (bought in Marinella's shop in Naples) is marked "Made by hand" but there is no mention of "made in Italy" (unlike Capelli ties)

I don't think there is anything special about Marinella RTW. In fact you will find RTW ties better made. If you want a real Marinella tie, you must buy their bespoke ties.

[Costi]

I tend to agree. But many of their designs are exquisite. In a way they embody the ideal of the tie for me: not a thing a beauty in itself, but an excellent capacity of integration.

[pagean]

Reviewing this thread several years on from when I posted it, I am struck by how the rankings have changed. Specifically, David and his team at Sam Hober have moved from 4th place to 1st place-very telling.

David has been working on a bow tie project for me recently and, as ever, his guidance, attention to detail, finished product and customer service have been unsurpassed.

[Mark Seitelman]

I have used and can recommend Sam Hober.

I have bought a RTW tie from Vanda Fine Clothing (www.vandafineclothing.com), but he can make a bespoke tie.

[Frederic Leighton]

I've just received my first order at Sam Hober's, consisting of five bow-ties for the summer cut to my specifications - the quality of the service is outstanding. They really did a great job! The sewing is careful and the shape is neat; four bow-ties are in one piece, one is in two pieces. I asked a light structure and the lining they used works very well with the silk of my choice.The communication with David was prompt and effective. They made the bow-ties in 10 days and the shipping from Thailand to London (DHL) took 4 days. The packaging is well above expectations, with each bow-tie carefully wrapped in a protective paper, then in a plastic envelope and in a neck-tie box (with the reproduction of a 1626 world map on it; nice!). They come with a handwritten thank-you card. Here's a happy customer

[Dr T]

Awaiting my delivery from Sam Hober's. I like my bows quite slim - so the special attention to this detail will be appreciated.

[Dr T]

I fully agree with Frederic's comments. I have just received my bow ties today – everything about this transaction has exceeded my expectations and they were delivered early. 10/10

[alden]

The reports of happy Hober customers are always positive. David Hober has built an excellent service over the years and maintained a consistent level of quality. That is not an easy thing to do. And it is a thing the Italians could learn from. If you send your money out, it good to have your expectations exceeded every time.

Well done David

Cheers

[alden]

As regards Marinella, their RTW ties are (were) made in Drake's factory in London. The bespoke ties however are made in Naples by hand in an atelier there. I have a few dozen Marinella bespoke ties and I consider them real treasures. They are my go to neckties along with my Charvets.

Cheers

[Frederic Leighton]

Below two reviews based on recent purchases.
Regards,
f

*

DRAKE'S

ORDER: 1 tie (wool)
COMMUNICATION: 9 emails, 2 visits to the shop
TIME: 43 days
PRICE: £155/tie (including VAT)

NOTES: The order was originally intended to be larger. I was told they don't have black reppe in stock and was offered midnight blue grenadine instead, or barathea, or the grosgrain silk they use for cummerbunds... I had previously been recommended to visit the shop, see the ties sold there since there isn't a swatch book, and chose. So I did again, but none of the cloths I liked turned out to be available for a bespoke order. I suggested they could take a RTW tie apart and re-cut it to my specifications, but this didn't seem reasonable to them. The price of Drake's ties can hardly persuade me to buy what I don't want, so in the end I rejected all the alternatives suggested by them and moved forward with one tie only. I paid with cash and the clerk, instead of printing a receipt, started doing something else at the counter, so I decided to have another look around in the shop in the meantime. Ten minutes later I was called to the counter and given back my money minus £50. "Excuse me, Sir, are you sure the money is enough? It seems that some is missing. Please could you check?". "I counted it twice before paying and I'm sure it was £5 over." "Are you sure?!" "Yes. Don't worry; have a look around and I'm sure you'll find the rest of the money." "But are you sure?!" "Yes I'm sure." He started looking inside the till and I went back to my walk around the shop. Five minutes later the missing £50 misteriously appeared from inside the till. The same afternoon I was ordering 6 new ties from Sam Hober, in the cloths I liked.

*

SAM HOBER

ORDER: 6 ties (3 grendine fine, 3 reppe silk)
COMMUNICATION: 3 emails (plus 3 phone calls to the dreadful courier)
TIME: 10 days (5 of which for the delivery)
PRICE: £76/tie (including VAT, fast delivery service... and customs)

NOTES: David emailed me two hours after I placed the order. I had asked to send the ties not before the end of September, as I would be away for a while. He was wondering when I would be leaving as there were chances that I could receive the ties before then. The production started the same day and the ties arrived today

*

CONCLUSIONS

Hober did a wonderful job, which means a lot when you consider that he didn't see the tie I gave to Drake's to use for reference. Hober's cloth is superbe, the reppe silk feels of the heavy quality (50oz) and all my specifications carefully executed. Given the short length of my ties, Hober made the ones in reppe silk with two pieces of cloth and the grenadine ones in one piece. Drake's makes my ties in three pieces, resulting in a less neat look when the tie is not worn. Drake's subcontractors produce slightly finer and probably more elegant hand-rolled edges, but since this review is based on the previous tie that Drake's made for me (the new one is far from being ready), the difference in results could be biased by the difference in cloth weight. Drake's ties have a loop to re-adjust the tension of the stitches that close the tie (after some years of wear) and this seems a smart feature to have. Hober's interlining is slightly heavier than expected, considering I asked to go as light as possible. I'm confident this can be improved in future orders, because quality of the product, quality of the service and price-difference make Sam Hober an extremely valid alternative to Drake's. I guess I'll keep buying from Drake's every now and then, but the only thought of having to go through the chaos resulting from having to deal with both shop and factory, without swatches book and with very little chances that the cloth I see and like will actually be available... the memory of all this doesn't have a good impact on me. Glad there is Sam Hober.

[David Hober]

Frederic,

Thank you for your kind words.

They remind me of the old Rolls Royce advertisement where someone mentions that they can hear the sound of the clock ticking. The Rolls Royce engineer comments - "Darn that clock - we will work on the sound".

With that spirit let me talk about fabric, rolled edges and tie construction:

Our reppe silk is mostly 150 by 150 per inch which is the weft and warp count - (thread width by length). Referring to tie silks as 36oz, 40oz or 50oz is actually an old term which means the weight of silk over a length of say 10 yards. So the true weight for one yard will be much less.

Only Adamley/David Evans use this term for their printed silks as far as I know currently. I say David Evans as after they physically closed down when they were bought by Silk Industries (who also own Vanners) staff and equipment moved over to Adamley and the Adamley design director often worked with the David Evans archives (under license from silk Industries) and sent us invoices from David Evans.

I don't remember how many pieces of silk we used for your order - but interestingly we get a number of comments about only one piece of silk being used and - at times is not correct. Instead we are so careful with our sewing that often you can't see where we join the silk together.

I respect your comments about your rolled edges - but I have a different perspective which is that you need to compare the same fabrics to really understand the rolled edges. I have seen English rolled edges and they are not anywhere near as precise, elegant and balanced as ours.

There is a reason for this first, they contract out labor - we never do and this makes a big difference in quality. Next we work very slowly a pocket square as an example takes around two hours to sew. If something is even slightly off we redo it until perfect - we are passionate about quality control.

The slip stitch that you mention is a good thing and all luxury ties have this construction feature. We go an extra step and adjust the tie tension by hand (as one of our final construction steps) and keep the slip stitch out of sight.

Interlinings are an interesting subject, we have a number of different weights of Italian wool intelinings and some special purpose cotton. And in theory we could go so light that you probably would not feel anything or we could make an unlined tie.

However, - we are purely a custom/bespoke tie maker and our job is to make our customers happy.

There is a reason that lined ties are far more popular than unlined ties - they are a better construction in terms of drape, wrinkeling and keeping their shape over time.

Our construction policy is to always listen to the customers request, but we lean toward lined ties with interlinings which match the fabric weight and texture. I am always happy to have an extended discussion on construction choices but I won't agree with a customer if I think they won't be happy at the end of the day and occasionally turn down orders.

We keep patterns and notes on file and can make future adjustments upon request. Keeping in mind that with a heaavy silk the interlining weight will not change the tie weight very much so in the end the silk and construction that you pick will be the most important factors for your tie's weight.

Being able to talk to your tie maker, not a clerk is a very important part of a bespoke tie. In our case I am the tie maker as in the person who listens and helps you with fabric and construction decisions. My wife Noi is our production director who works with the women who sew our ties. Samantha (Sam) hopefully will be taking over with her brother Benjamin in the future.

[Frederic Leighton]

Frederic, Thank you for your kind words. [...] With that spirit let me talk about fabric, rolled edges and tie construction: [...]

Dear David,
Thank you for your comments and notes. They talk of how much you care about what you do, if someone didn't notice it already from the ties they receive or the excellent customer service at Sam Hober's. I really appreciate all these things. Now few last notes based on yours:

Our reppe silk is mostly 150 by 150 per inch which is the weft and warp count - (thread width by length).

I particularly liked the quality of this reppe. It's a nice, substantial weight. And you have it in stock in a large number of colours, which is great.

I don't remember how many pieces of silk we used for your order - but interestingly we get a number of comments about only one piece of silk being used and - at times is not correct. Instead we are so careful with our sewing that often you can't see where we join the silk together.

Yes - two pieces for the reppe silk, one piece for the grenadine. All nice and tidy

I respect your comments about your rolled edges - but I have a different perspective which is that you need to compare the same fabrics to really understand the rolled edges. I have seen English rolled edges and they are not anywhere near as precise, elegant and balanced as ours.

I seriously doubt Drake's rolled edges come from England At the factory they told me that's why orders take 5-6 weeks to deliver. I guess a very old lady in my home-country, Italy, is making them I remember being impressed by the quality of the very thin and precise edge of the grenadines in the shop. I'm sure it's very subjective, David, and, to be honest with you, it's enough for me to know how much you care about and believe in the way you do things the way you do, to be totally happy.

There is a reason that lined ties are far more popular than unlined ties - they are a better construction in terms of drape, wrinkeling and keeping their shape over time.

I've been wearing vintage ties for some decades now and got used to the wonderful 'flexibility' and soft hand of the ties made between 1920's and 1950's. The interlining is always extremely light. On the other hand, last year I bought 4 new ties, the only non-vintage ones in my wardrobe. Three are from Gieves & Hawkes (don't know who makes them for them). Average, 'modern' interlining. They all wrinkle so badly that I have to wait about one month before wearing them again. Down to poor construction, probably, but it certainly didn't help me to change my mind about interlinings. I can wear my vintage ties, most of which are over 70 years old, three days in a row without looking scruffy. But here as well I trust your experience; that's why I wrote "as light as the cloth allows" when sending my order - I'm sure you know your cloth and your trade enough to make the best possible choice for me.

Thank you again and best wishes for Sam Hober ties.

[davidhuh]

Dear Mr Hober,
dear Federico,

very interesting exchange - I just got a very nice lesson in tie construction

Cheers, David

[hectorm]

Three are from Gieves & Hawkes (don't know who makes them for them). Average, 'modern' interlining. They all wrinkle so badly that I have to wait about one month before wearing them again.

Dear Federico,
G&H neckties are hopeless by now. Sorry you were caught in the trap.
There was a time, at least until around the mid 90´s, in which their ties were splendid, particularly repp ones. Also, they used to carry the most wonderful 7-fold unlined ties handmade in Italy. Not any more.
The last time I checked their ties were 2 for £ 95 !!! In any case, given their current quality, a rip-off at any price.