There are many tailors in Naples, most of them cutting too Neapolitan a style for my taste (too tight and too short). There is fine work coming out of Rubinacci of course, but, to paraphrase the late Arnold Gingrich, founder of Esquire magazine, I like to order too many things each year to pay those prices. And then there is Gennaro Solito, open collared on a Saturday in the photo, whose tailoring combines a moderate version of the informal Neapolitan look, excellent quality and moderate pricing. It is no coincidence that necktie makers Maurizio Marinella and Michael Drake are both clients.
The Solito workrooms are in a separate apartment. In the public showroom he cuts his conservative, soft shouldered coats at the table in the photo. He will make jacket and trousers, or only the jacket, collaborating with the trousermaking Ambrosis who are perhaps 200 yards (180 meters) away.
Jacket and trousers are about 1,800 Euros ($2,400) plus cloth.
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5 comments:
Do you find that these Italian prefer British or Italian cloth?
Will, any feel on Solito's turnaround time for jackets, fittings work. I wonder if a single trip to Italy would be enough. On the other hand, it would be a nice excuse to make several trips to Italy to accomplish the necessary fittings.
Hmmm, from the picture it looks like one has to go to Rubinacci for service with a smile...
Biorabbi, I am certain that somewhere there is a perfect bespoke suit that was made during a one week trip, but I have never seen one. Bespoke cutting and sewing alone requires forty hours, and that assumes that the tailor has no-one ahead of you.
You could call ahead to enssure that he has the cloth on hand so there is no delay in getting started but I would still plan on trips for fittings.
Worst case is that you won't need them.
JC, it is less about preference and more about distribution. Solito does not get Lesser or Smith's for example, though he is happy to have you bring him a length. Minnis is available there but under a different name that isn't coming to me at the moment.
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