First bespoke - visiting Italy's south
Dear Tutumulut,
adding to Michael's excellent comments: you commissioned two suits at once, as a first commission from this tailor, and your request obviously took this tailor out of his comfort zone. They don't know you, you don't know them. As Michael said: they want to please you at all means, so they do what they know to be the right thing in their eyes. It takes repeated commissions with the same tailor for both feeling comfortable with "experiments".
Nice shoes by the way. Excellent for hanging around at a nice place in summer; perhaps less suitable if you have to walk more then 700m
cheers, david
adding to Michael's excellent comments: you commissioned two suits at once, as a first commission from this tailor, and your request obviously took this tailor out of his comfort zone. They don't know you, you don't know them. As Michael said: they want to please you at all means, so they do what they know to be the right thing in their eyes. It takes repeated commissions with the same tailor for both feeling comfortable with "experiments".
Nice shoes by the way. Excellent for hanging around at a nice place in summer; perhaps less suitable if you have to walk more then 700m
cheers, david
The Emperor's Socks, a very well-known brand, Michael - and congratulations on your taste!alden wrote:Hectorm,
If Costi can't remember the name, I know of a good brand of transparent socks for summer wear. They come in white, red and tan. I wear them almost exclusively. They are lightweight, cool, easy to clean, and never seem to wear out. Almost too good to be true. Well there is one catch. The maker has trouble distributing his color assortment. At the beginning of summer he only has white in stock. A few days later he releases a nice shade of red. And for the rest of the summer he carries only two colors, tan and a rich brown. I find the quality of the red socks to be not as good as the other colors, they must have some man made materials in them, they seem a bit more warm. But you can buy a special cream to put on them, like for your shoes, and they suddenly feel better. The tan and brown colors on the other hand are very chic especially with boat shoes or mocs. Your friends will be impressed and envious of their rich shade.
If you want I can email you a pair of the white socks right away. They are on special and are part of the April 1 sale! So hurry and buy some!
Cheers
Now if I could only remember the name of the other before hectorm gets here...
Thank you very much, Michael. I just received the white socks you sent me and I´m trying them on right now. Unfortunately they have some small imperfections, so I rather wait a few more weeks for the issuing of the tan ones. My son and I are planning to buy them in the Yucatan peninsula while on vacation. I´m sure tan socks are available there, as well as the red ones.alden wrote: If you want I can email you a pair of the white socks right away. They are on special and are part of the April 1 sale! So hurry and buy some!
On a related topic, please hurry up and distract Costi with one of your very interesting posts. If you don´t, he might remember the name of the manufacturer and buy more of those sexy stockings.
Dear Friends
Tomorrow I'll be picking up my 2 suits. A week ago I arrived for my second fitting, some larger and some smaller changes. In the mean time I've been doing a small tour to kill time, visiting first the Amalfi coast and then Matera, Alberobello, Locorotondo and Lecce. All were an absolute delight, Puglia is just beautiful and Lecce a pretty city with great baroque architecture, a nice change from the austerity in northern Europe.
Can't wait for tomorrow to come, very curious to see how 'perfect' everything is and what could be done last minute if need be.
I'll keep you posted.
Tomorrow I'll be picking up my 2 suits. A week ago I arrived for my second fitting, some larger and some smaller changes. In the mean time I've been doing a small tour to kill time, visiting first the Amalfi coast and then Matera, Alberobello, Locorotondo and Lecce. All were an absolute delight, Puglia is just beautiful and Lecce a pretty city with great baroque architecture, a nice change from the austerity in northern Europe.
Can't wait for tomorrow to come, very curious to see how 'perfect' everything is and what could be done last minute if need be.
I'll keep you posted.
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I have been recently to Puglia and visited many of the locations you mentioned, Tutumulut, including Matera, in Basilicata. Wonderful place, full of true gems of the south! Hope you are enjoying yourself over there.
Tutumulut - any update?
All
Just came back home after my trip and I'm a very happy owner of 2 bespoke suitings! And of 5 shirts.
The above says it all, really. The suitings are really to my liking, different to what I was used to and really nice. The H&S linen is especially nice, although the fresco will probably provide more comfort in the heat. It was really strange, but when wearing the SB coat for the first time, on the train ride from Napoli to Roma, I had expected to be cooled by a soft but persistent aircon and the constant feeling of ice cubes in arm pits and along the spine. Alas, that is not the case and a warm blooded person will still perspire. But I must say, both feel like a second skin to me. And at home, where people like to dress stylish but more in the black suitings or branded leisure wear variant, having breakfast in the linen suit in the shade of a nice terrace obviously drew a lot of attention. The loafers also may have played a role...
The only difference in the suitings between agreed and final outcome is with regards to the waistband on the trousers, which was supposed to be with a long overlap but is now ending exactly at the end of the left trouser leg. Not a big issue. And I ripped the mid seam of the shoulder lining of the linen suit, when putting it on for the first time. It was only a dart, not a full seam, so again not a major issue.
I had also 4 dress shirts made and 1 linen shirt (shirt collar, but no front buttons and an opening up to where normally the 3rd button - from the top - would be, longer than usual body). After the first and only fitting, using a mock shirt, I reminded them to change the collar and cuffs to have hardly any/no lining and the collar to be long and pointy, to have a sleeve insert that was not 'flat' but 'wrinkled' and to make the body appr. 20cm shorter. That all didn't happen and seems to be a process error. I now have 4 business dresses in shirt style.
Would I do it again, and go back to this particular tailor? Absolutely! The whole process was an absolute joy, the family (tailor, brother/cutter, son shirtmaker and daughter the administrator and translator) are lovely and are keen to please yet are firm in their convictions. That creates a nice tension to provoke and challenge each other, which all happened in a very good nature. And I was really surprised to see that the some of the people that worked on the pieces came out of the workshop rooms and where very eager to see how it all had worked out, with a very critical eye.
The few nice seafood restaurants around the corner may also play a role. And being able to do a morning run along the esplanade in Chiaia with no traffic around because of the America's Cup was also really nice!
Reading all the stories about the profession slowly disappearing and yet also knowing that the global demographic composition has never been more favourable has made me think about ways of getting bespoke to the much larger audience it deserves. But that is for a different topic I guess.
I have tried to take a few pics of the end result, but I'm not sure how they will show up on the interweb. They should show that a signature of the tailor's suiting is the high and very broad lapel and the dart that runs from the chest all the way down to the bottom of the front body. I couldn't attach them yet as 'the board attachment quota has been reached'. The first file size is 103KB. I'll try again later.
Once posted, your comments on anything you see would be much appreciated. Well, stating 'this is the most ugly pair of suitings I have ever seen' would make me cry, so better refrain from that.
Thank you all!
Just came back home after my trip and I'm a very happy owner of 2 bespoke suitings! And of 5 shirts.
The above says it all, really. The suitings are really to my liking, different to what I was used to and really nice. The H&S linen is especially nice, although the fresco will probably provide more comfort in the heat. It was really strange, but when wearing the SB coat for the first time, on the train ride from Napoli to Roma, I had expected to be cooled by a soft but persistent aircon and the constant feeling of ice cubes in arm pits and along the spine. Alas, that is not the case and a warm blooded person will still perspire. But I must say, both feel like a second skin to me. And at home, where people like to dress stylish but more in the black suitings or branded leisure wear variant, having breakfast in the linen suit in the shade of a nice terrace obviously drew a lot of attention. The loafers also may have played a role...
The only difference in the suitings between agreed and final outcome is with regards to the waistband on the trousers, which was supposed to be with a long overlap but is now ending exactly at the end of the left trouser leg. Not a big issue. And I ripped the mid seam of the shoulder lining of the linen suit, when putting it on for the first time. It was only a dart, not a full seam, so again not a major issue.
I had also 4 dress shirts made and 1 linen shirt (shirt collar, but no front buttons and an opening up to where normally the 3rd button - from the top - would be, longer than usual body). After the first and only fitting, using a mock shirt, I reminded them to change the collar and cuffs to have hardly any/no lining and the collar to be long and pointy, to have a sleeve insert that was not 'flat' but 'wrinkled' and to make the body appr. 20cm shorter. That all didn't happen and seems to be a process error. I now have 4 business dresses in shirt style.
Would I do it again, and go back to this particular tailor? Absolutely! The whole process was an absolute joy, the family (tailor, brother/cutter, son shirtmaker and daughter the administrator and translator) are lovely and are keen to please yet are firm in their convictions. That creates a nice tension to provoke and challenge each other, which all happened in a very good nature. And I was really surprised to see that the some of the people that worked on the pieces came out of the workshop rooms and where very eager to see how it all had worked out, with a very critical eye.
The few nice seafood restaurants around the corner may also play a role. And being able to do a morning run along the esplanade in Chiaia with no traffic around because of the America's Cup was also really nice!
Reading all the stories about the profession slowly disappearing and yet also knowing that the global demographic composition has never been more favourable has made me think about ways of getting bespoke to the much larger audience it deserves. But that is for a different topic I guess.
I have tried to take a few pics of the end result, but I'm not sure how they will show up on the interweb. They should show that a signature of the tailor's suiting is the high and very broad lapel and the dart that runs from the chest all the way down to the bottom of the front body. I couldn't attach them yet as 'the board attachment quota has been reached'. The first file size is 103KB. I'll try again later.
Once posted, your comments on anything you see would be much appreciated. Well, stating 'this is the most ugly pair of suitings I have ever seen' would make me cry, so better refrain from that.
Thank you all!
Very much looking forward to seeing pictures, although your stories are so charming that I feel tempted to ask you to describe, rather than show
You can avoid the "attachment quota" thing by uploading the pictures on an image hosting site and posting the links here. Imageshack is one, others swear by other sites - take your pick.
You can avoid the "attachment quota" thing by uploading the pictures on an image hosting site and posting the links here. Imageshack is one, others swear by other sites - take your pick.
Costi, thank you very much for the excellent advice and the kind words. I may describe them for you if you really don't want to see the pics.
And I made a mistake in my previous posting. The linen is from Huddersfield, much better than the Italian linen according to the tailor. What I really like is the light construction combined with the sturdy cloth. Would it be right to assume SR might like the Italian, softer linen for their more constructed suitings? Both would find a balance: soft lines with hard cloth and hard lines with soft cloth. Or is this thinking too simplistic?
I'm now thinking of participating in one of the CC offerings, for an odd jacket, but where to start. I have recently discovered green and light blue for my more leisurely clothing and wouldn't mind something of similar colour. But spring/summer cloth only, I'm afraid. I'm already too warm as I am.
As you can see, the virus seems to settle itself. But as usual, when ill, I try to avoid medicine and wait until the body heals itself. Whether that will happen in this case, I'm not sure...
Oh yes, and the pics:
http://imageshack.us/g/515/l1030708.jpg/
And I made a mistake in my previous posting. The linen is from Huddersfield, much better than the Italian linen according to the tailor. What I really like is the light construction combined with the sturdy cloth. Would it be right to assume SR might like the Italian, softer linen for their more constructed suitings? Both would find a balance: soft lines with hard cloth and hard lines with soft cloth. Or is this thinking too simplistic?
I'm now thinking of participating in one of the CC offerings, for an odd jacket, but where to start. I have recently discovered green and light blue for my more leisurely clothing and wouldn't mind something of similar colour. But spring/summer cloth only, I'm afraid. I'm already too warm as I am.
As you can see, the virus seems to settle itself. But as usual, when ill, I try to avoid medicine and wait until the body heals itself. Whether that will happen in this case, I'm not sure...
Oh yes, and the pics:
http://imageshack.us/g/515/l1030708.jpg/
- culverwood
- Posts: 402
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- Contact:
I really like the brown linen DB suit. It is unusual and very effective.
Dear Rick,
it is such a pleasure to read your postings! I can almost smell the fun you had in Napoli
Thank you also for the pictures. From what I can see, they did a very good job both on the SB and the DB.
I have a rather high body temperature by nature, too. My biggest surprise with my first suit was how well I could wear it even when it was warmer (I am talking 400g worsted from Huddersfield). Hand made suits wear differently than glued RTW...
cheers, david
it is such a pleasure to read your postings! I can almost smell the fun you had in Napoli
Thank you also for the pictures. From what I can see, they did a very good job both on the SB and the DB.
I would rather say that your athletic body cries for soft tailoring, no matter what kind of cloth you are using.Tutumulut wrote:What I really like is the light construction combined with the sturdy cloth. Would it be right to assume SR might like the Italian, softer linen for their more constructed suitings? Both would find a balance: soft lines with hard cloth and hard lines with soft cloth. Or is this thinking too simplistic?
I understand you live in the Netherlands. So you will have plenty of use for the tweeds on offer. I think it would be a mistake limiting yourself to spring/summer cloth. Although we wear different cloth when it is cold, the weight of cloth is only one element. The suit's construction is as or even more important. With minimal padding and light interlining as they do things in Napoli, you are safe. The first three in the current offer http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... =2&t=10590 would be great for a try in my eyes.Tutumulut wrote: I'm now thinking of participating in one of the CC offerings, for an odd jacket, but where to start. I have recently discovered green and light blue for my more leisurely clothing and wouldn't mind something of similar colour. But spring/summer cloth only, I'm afraid. I'm already too warm as I am.
I have a rather high body temperature by nature, too. My biggest surprise with my first suit was how well I could wear it even when it was warmer (I am talking 400g worsted from Huddersfield). Hand made suits wear differently than glued RTW...
cheers, david
culverwood, thank you for your kind words, I have to agree with you, haha!
David, you made me laugh quite loud in a noise restricted area (think library) when I read about my physical shape. I come from quite far and am now almost like the rowing student I was 20 years ago, so yes, I did consider to change my first name to Apollo, after the modern, young Greek god: handsome, slim, athletic and broke.
I'm still optimistic of making it to the Olympics this year. No sport has picked me out yet and the opening event is coming closer and closer, so I may have to volunteer as spectator, but given the number of Londoners fleeing their city, I may have a chance at that. Still looking for a sponsor, though, like all true amateur sport professionals have nowadays. For any athlete, self knowledge is vital to reaching peak performance and I am no exception in that regard.
Actually, I live in Kazakhstan, and although there are similarities with the Netherlands, like the number of inhabitants, the differences are larger, such as larger climate extremes, endless skies over the steppes, beautiful mountains reaching 7,000 meters and beautiful pieces of female art, to be appreciated both in their natural habitat (shops, bars and restaurants) and elsewhere (in the streets, in their convertible cars).
Because in winter there is no outside time, unless a deliberate hike is organised and appropriate hiking gear is donned, it is just a simple moving from building to car to building, which renders the need for warm suitings rather limited.
I've been wearing flannel suitings and odd jackets in worsted and tweed indoors here, but especially at public events I literally float out of my jacket. So I'm a little bit reluctant to follow the route you propose. The only thing I could indeed see is that the weave of my jackets is tighter than you propose and the lining and padding is also something that can be limited on.
On that subject, the 2 suitings have no sleeve lining and I'm somewhat surprised how not noticeable it is when putting arm in sleeve or actually wearing the jackets. There still seems to be a natural 'flow' when the arm moves, something that with the Irish linen especially should not be taken for granted.
All in all, with some previous RTW suitings, I had a very strong feeling of wearing a second skin. For me, those came from La Vera and to a lesser extent Caruso; Attolini and Kiton somehow never gave that same comfort. These first bespoke projects have made me realise that in fact those suitings should be more compared to neoprene diving suits: anaemic, but following the body closely (I exaggerate here to make the point, obviously). Now I know what a real second skin feels like: it is alive, has its own character, but is willing to work with you to help you do whatever you want to do. Almost like a good work horse or dog with a strong personality.
Finally, a tall body needing soft tailoring I can agree with, but I may consider a change of profession. As security guard or bouncer, I will need a hard silhouette, don't you agree?
I need to thank you for bringing me to such wonderful thoughts.
And here endeth my morning thoughts...
David, you made me laugh quite loud in a noise restricted area (think library) when I read about my physical shape. I come from quite far and am now almost like the rowing student I was 20 years ago, so yes, I did consider to change my first name to Apollo, after the modern, young Greek god: handsome, slim, athletic and broke.
I'm still optimistic of making it to the Olympics this year. No sport has picked me out yet and the opening event is coming closer and closer, so I may have to volunteer as spectator, but given the number of Londoners fleeing their city, I may have a chance at that. Still looking for a sponsor, though, like all true amateur sport professionals have nowadays. For any athlete, self knowledge is vital to reaching peak performance and I am no exception in that regard.
Actually, I live in Kazakhstan, and although there are similarities with the Netherlands, like the number of inhabitants, the differences are larger, such as larger climate extremes, endless skies over the steppes, beautiful mountains reaching 7,000 meters and beautiful pieces of female art, to be appreciated both in their natural habitat (shops, bars and restaurants) and elsewhere (in the streets, in their convertible cars).
Because in winter there is no outside time, unless a deliberate hike is organised and appropriate hiking gear is donned, it is just a simple moving from building to car to building, which renders the need for warm suitings rather limited.
I've been wearing flannel suitings and odd jackets in worsted and tweed indoors here, but especially at public events I literally float out of my jacket. So I'm a little bit reluctant to follow the route you propose. The only thing I could indeed see is that the weave of my jackets is tighter than you propose and the lining and padding is also something that can be limited on.
On that subject, the 2 suitings have no sleeve lining and I'm somewhat surprised how not noticeable it is when putting arm in sleeve or actually wearing the jackets. There still seems to be a natural 'flow' when the arm moves, something that with the Irish linen especially should not be taken for granted.
All in all, with some previous RTW suitings, I had a very strong feeling of wearing a second skin. For me, those came from La Vera and to a lesser extent Caruso; Attolini and Kiton somehow never gave that same comfort. These first bespoke projects have made me realise that in fact those suitings should be more compared to neoprene diving suits: anaemic, but following the body closely (I exaggerate here to make the point, obviously). Now I know what a real second skin feels like: it is alive, has its own character, but is willing to work with you to help you do whatever you want to do. Almost like a good work horse or dog with a strong personality.
Finally, a tall body needing soft tailoring I can agree with, but I may consider a change of profession. As security guard or bouncer, I will need a hard silhouette, don't you agree?
I need to thank you for bringing me to such wonderful thoughts.
And here endeth my morning thoughts...
Most noble profession, if you feel the calling...
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