Advice wanted: re-building a wardrobe

[belimad]

Wrt to shoes, I am a big believer in the barefoot movement, and since I adopted barefoot shoes my stance has improved considerably and back pain has dissapeared. Thus, I have decided I am not going back to regular shoes. I’ve looked at several barefoot brands, and the only one I found that has decent formal leather shoes is vivobarefoot, a UK brand which I really like. I’m trying to get in touch with the founder to see if I could order something more elegant, but for the time being their Lisbon model will have to do.

I understand your appreciation of and commitment to the type of shoe you wear but would it be possible in a formal context to occasionally wear regular shoes. The shapeless ones you are wearing may be OK with a sports coat and trousers but let down the great work of the tailors you have shown with a suit.

Perhaps another adventure in bespoke shoes though as the turnaround is much slower for shoes than suits it may be a long term project.

I won’t trade health for looks , but I’m working to find someone who can produce a high end shoe following a barefoot design!

[uppercase]

Greetings and salutations Mariano!!

It is fair to say that many here are galvanized by your backstory, generosity in publishing your photos, and humbled by your solicitation of our advice.

Certainly, I know that all here at LL wish you the best in your bespoke journey.

You ask for advice.

I personally will not presume to offer you advice on the principle that you do not know me nor I know you, and my view is that if I do not have skin in the game, if I don’t put my money where my mouth is, i.e., if I don’t post photos of my personal bespoke experiences to allow you to judge my taste, my expression, my suits, well.....why in hell should you pay attention??

A few here on LL do post photos regularly: Alden, davidhuh, styleafter50, yialbis, screaminmarlon, and a few others.... and we can all certainly learn from their verified experiences.

Yet the individual tailoring experiences, expectations and satisfaction is for you, not us, to determine and decide. We are passing bystanders in your life.

Here’s my general view: you are currently working with 5 tailors by my count : Frank Shuttuck, John Kent, Steed, Graham Browne, and Langa Madrid.

You will certainly get first class tailoring among these firms.

A good tailor in my view will not only make you an honest suit but also guide you on what works, and what does not, for your physical build, your purpose, etc etc. ...lots of subtle things.

But fulfilling your expectations is up to you. The best tailor cannot do that for you. It is in your head.

What do you want and what do you expect?

You need to know and be able to express this to your tailors.

Do you have an image in mind? A picture of someone perhaps? Pictures are a great guide, provide a tailor insight. Clear and define your own mind.

Bespoke is a very individual path.

Everybody has their own views, can throw in their 2 cents, some traditional, some modernist, some sitting at home in their pajamas (ahem). You really don’t know who is who here on LL, do you?, where all the advice you are seeking is coming from??

Really, it’s all up to you Mariano. You’ve got to put in the sweat capital, do some research on photos and images of suits you would like for yourself, and search for a tailor who can deliver that to you, etc etc.

All the well meaning commentators here and elsewhere will only get you so far. You understand that, don’t you? You are an international man of the world, in a tough and cold industry. I don’t need to say more. Apply what you know to your bespoke choices and bespoke business affairs. It is no different. Know what you want and be clear.

I would just add:
- you’ve got to get top notch cloth which is going to drape nicely on you and in a color and pattern which flatters you.
- my personal preference is for a looser, drapey, softer silhouette. It looks good on a lot of people and is classy and elegant and comfortable as well.
- make conservative choices in your bespoke design
- listen to your tailor if you trust and respect his taste. There is craftsmanship. And then there is taste. Know him. But maintain your own view.
- after you receive your suits, wear them all conservatively, with gravitas, choosing rich, elegant tones and textures in shirt, tie, square, shoe, socks. Disappear to the world in your confident, understated choices.
-smile. You’re on the journey, in good hands. But it’s up to you.

Easier said than done.
-
My 2 cents. Take them for whatever you think they may be worth to you.

Sorry to intrude in your space if I have done so....

Cheers, my friend !! Wishing you all the best.

BTW, Alden wrote a nice blurb today on individuality in dress over on the Great Photos section under ‘the king of cool’. Always worth referring to these philosophical commentaries as they are really the basis of individuality and style and our personalities , as expressed through bespoke tailoring. This is what it’s all about. Our individual lives and creative expressions of such through clothing. Not centimeters and sleeve length.

Also, refer to a photo on this site of the New York tailor - Leonard Logsdale - which I was browsing through today and came across this photo which may be of interest to you.

https://www.google.com/search?q=leonard ... fkpvVix2VM:

[old henry]

Lenny, I knew I should have become a stone mason.
Stunning, masterful craft. Look at the pant. Wow. Thanks for the great post Upper.

[Jimmy9lives]

You poor guys are in a pickle. To blame a suit on the cloth is like saying my used Bentley won't start because of the paint. And should you really have to "take the boys by the ears" Why should you have to do that ?

AND....."made in India by a Savile Row tailor" ???? Seriously guys. You buy this stuff ? ""Cut in the basement" ? You guys have to learn what "a cutter" is. ( or was )

And drape has nothing to do with the armhole. Nothing. Drape just adds a 1/2" or so to the chest along with a soft canvas.

I still cannot get over once great grand Henry Poole padding by machine. For 6000£

The heat has been off in my shop and it makes it difficult to work but this post has opened my eyes and kept me entertained. As I say You guys are in a pickle. Somewhere on Facebook I posted what a " CUTTER" WAS. Has nothing to do with scissors. I'll try to repost it.

I have an entire wardrobe made by Caraceni in Rome and they also have been padding the lapels with machines(for the last 30 years) but they were pretty honest about it and told me they would gladly show me why they switched to machine. Granted their pricing is nowhere near 6k GBP.

[alden]

Jimmy

Ask them to do your next lapels by hand, just for the fun of it. "Just so you can see and feel the difference."

It takes them fifteen minutes to do it by machine and three hours by hand. That is the reason they do it by machine.

I don't think it is an end of the world deal breaker if they do it by machine, but the lapels react, sit and feel better when done by hand.

Cheers

[old henry]

Jimmy, it is no deal breaker. But a tailor , or an experienced customer , can see the roll of a hand rolled lapel a mile away. When a tailor ( I'm thinking of Raphael) would meet a new customer in his shop the first thing he would do ,after sizing up the customer from head to toe, is feel the lapel. This would send curious information to his brain. It's like reading Brail to a tailor. There is nothing like the feel of a hand rolled lapel. The charm and richness of a hand rolled lapel can never be done by a machine. Please do not buy from anyone that it is as good or close. One is antica old world charm and craft and soul and the other is not. But it does take years for the hands to learn to work the cloth to coax it to roll just so. And many man hours to do. As Michael says. Just ask for it on one coat.

[Jimmy9lives]

Jimmy, it is no deal breaker. But a tailor , or an experienced customer , can see the roll of a hand rolled lapel a mile away. When a tailor ( I'm thinking of Raphael) would meet a new customer in his shop the first thing he would do ,after sizing up the customer from head to toe, is feel the lapel. This would send curious information to his brain. It's like reading Brail to a tailor. There is nothing like the feel of a hand rolled lapel. The charm and richness of a hand rolled lapel can never be done by a machine. Please do not buy from anyone that it is as good or close. One is antica old world charm and craft and soul and the other is not. But it does take years for the hands to learn to work the cloth to coax it to roll just so. And many man hours to do. As Michael says. Just ask for it on one coat.

No the lapels are hand-rolled, the effect is stunning but the inside stitching is from a strobel. They said they've been doing that for over 30 years now and the longevity is much higher. They were willing to show me the differences of why they think its better to do it with the strobel now. I didn't feel they were being dishonest about it. From what they told me 80% of the suit is handmade.

The workforce is tiny and its a very rooted workforce(almost impossible to find these days) without a high turnover so some people have been there for over 50 years so I don't think its a question of experience here.

That Bespoke Dudes guy visited them a few years ago:
http://www.thebespokedudes.com/en/artis ... o-caraceni

[alden]

Jimmy

I would not hesitate for a second to have clothing made by Caraceni. They are the real thing. I just have never gotten around to ordering from them...yet.

But you might give a hand stitched lapel a try.

Cheers

[old henry]

.....

[Jimmy9lives]

I would not hesitate for a second to have clothing made by Caraceni. They are the real thing. I just have never gotten around to ordering from them...yet.

But you might give a hand stitched lapel a try.

Cheers

Yes I will request it on the LL cloth Ive ordered. I had a suit made there with LL fox flannel and everyone was the most curious about it because it reminded them of how fabrics used to be back in the day and yes the difference is huge vs whats available now.

Here is a photo of this suit:

https://imgur.com/C0BXn7y

https://imgur.com/DbEIyeY

I tried some tailors before them in Italy based on some of that pitti uomo shilling and everything was always too narrow and too tight and seem to give off a 'effeminite' look. I guess its a sign of our degenerate times. After that disappointment I decided to try the roman Caraceni even though alot of the pitti uomo style tailors kept telling me they are 'old fashioned'. and have stuck with them since. Their cut has drape and the nicest shoulder line Ive ever seen but its not a stiff jacket at all and the comfort level is very high compared to the skinny suits everyone was shilling in Italy. What I liked was the rooted workforce and it didn't feel like a sales shop like half the other places Ive been too.

[Screaminmarlon]

I would not hesitate for a second to have clothing made by Caraceni. They are the real thing. I just have never gotten around to ordering from them...yet.

But you might give a hand stitched lapel a try.

Cheers

Yes I will request it on the LL cloth Ive ordered. I had a suit made there with LL fox flannel and everyone was the most curious about it because it reminded them of how fabrics used to be back in the day and yes the difference is huge vs whats available now.

Here is a photo of this suit:

https://unsee.cc/63e2507a/

https://unsee.cc/9f5dde93/

alot of the pitti uomo style tailors kept telling me they are 'old fashioned'. and have stuck with them since. Their cut has drape and the nicest shoulder line Ive ever seen but its not a stiff jacket at all and the comfort level is very high compared to the skinny suits everyone was shilling in Italy. What I liked was the rooted workforce and it didn't feel like a sales shop like half the other places Ive been too.

They told you the truth, they’re old fashioned but in the best sense.
The coat is beautiful!
Caraceni (Rome) is a classic: if you like timeless suit, at least once in a lifetime, I think you should have them make a suit for you.

[belimad]

Perhaps another adventure in bespoke shoes though as the turnaround is much slower for shoes than suits it may be a long term project.

So I've found two shoemakers (in Greece, of all places) that are committed to barefoot principles for shoe design, yet seem to craft higher end products. May I ask the sanedrin in the forum which style and colors would they recommend to get a first test of a formal-yet- barefoot bespoke shoe going?

Options seems to be the typical oxford, double monk, plain top derby and wingtip brogues in the normal range of leather colors. I am sure I could suggest other ideas, but I'd rather start with one of their usual models and go from there.

I'm thinking a black monk and a dark brown oxford to get things started. Thoughts?

[Jimmy9lives]

Perhaps another adventure in bespoke shoes though as the turnaround is much slower for shoes than suits it may be a long term project.

So I've found two shoemakers (in Greece, of all places) that are committed to barefoot principles for shoe design, yet seem to craft higher end products. May I ask the sanedrin in the forum which style and colors would they recommend to get a first test of a formal-yet- barefoot bespoke shoe going?

Options seems to be the typical oxford, double monk, plain top derby and wingtip brogues in the normal range of leather colors. I am sure I could suggest other ideas, but I'd rather start with one of their usual models and go from there.

I'm thinking a black monk and a dark brown oxford to get things started. Thoughts?

What do you mean by barefoot principles for shoe design?

[belimad]

What do you mean by barefoot principles for shoe design?

Zero-drop heel, minimalistic sole (usually no more than 3-4mm), wide shoe design, allowing the foot to step flat, and the toes to expand, which provides better stability and overall posture.

Vivo barefoot is possibly the best example of it.
https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/science

[culverwood]

Given that I suggest you would be wearing these shoes with your more formal suits then what you have suggested seems sensible although I would reverse the colours and get a black oxford and a dark brown monk.

Welcome to another set of experiences. From my own past given that getting the fit right first time is even more difficult for shoes than clothes I would even suggest getting a smart derby as you very first shoe as there is more room for adjustment on such a shoe.