A beautiful film about tailoring in Naples

O'MAST from Kid Dandy on Vimeo.


It’s taken as read – certainly in this country at least – that the world’s finest suits come from London’s Savile Row – and it would be hard to argue with it. Firms like Huntsman, Gieves and Hawkes, and Richard James represent a tradition of tailoring that goes back hundreds of years. And yet… for someone like me, whose main inspiration is the exquisitely fitted mod look of the 1960s, the Savile Row feels just a little, well… English?

My ideal of chic formality comes not from London W1, but Naples, a city that often hits the headlines for the wrong reason these days, but whose cultural tradition is near-unrivalled in southern Europe. Naples is especially famous for its tailors and shirtmakers, who produce the sort of garments that bring out the very best in the men who wear them. Flashy, brash Milan doesn’t even come close.

Suits from Naples tend to be more fitted than British efforts, with softer shoulders and more eye catching fabrics. Seeing a Neopolitan gentleman in his 70s or 80s wearing his favourite suit – button-cuffs peeping out from his sleeve – proves that style shouldn't stop once you hit middle age.

In this trailer for a forthcoming documentary on the city’s clothing tradition we meet some of Naples’ tailors, who talk about their apprenticeships as boys, what a man gets from a good whistle and why the suits of this ancient town are so special. If it doesn't make you want to take the first plane and order one yourself then there’s something wrong with you. Statte buon.

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