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Has Borrelli lowered his quality this season? - Page 6

post #76 of 94
6/10/10 at 4:15pm
Last year I bought 25+ borrelli shirts from Ian (and others) because I knew they weren't going to be made any longer. Seems like Barba is a relatively decent alternative.
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post #77 of 94
6/10/10 at 6:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitonotik View Post

I have not seen any new Barba or Finamore shirts, but at ShTheFi there seems to be a lot of the older stock of shirts, and I am tempted to load up in case these two makers also go the way of Borrelli.

I hope Kiton doesnt follow in this business model of lowering standards and keeping prices the same, it just wont cut it.

Unless I've read it all wrong, the Borrelli quality drop seems to be related to the specific problems the company is having, and I see no reason why other brands should go the same way.

I have only one Barba shirt and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it has the worst fabric of any shirt I've ever owned. I doubt if it's representative of all Barba shirts, but it has made me cautious of the brand.
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post #78 of 94
6/10/10 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by winston View Post
Unless I've read it all wrong, the Borrelli quality drop seems to be related to the specific problems the company is having, and I see no reason why other brands should go the same way.

I have only one Barba shirt and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it has the worst fabric of any shirt I've ever owned. I doubt if it's representative of all Barba shirts, but it has made me cautious of the brand.

Honestly , my old Borrellis don´t have very good fabric as my Finamores and Zileris have.

I only liked Borrelli collars, their fit was not very good either. My opinion is that they would come back to their genuine work in 2 or 3 years or they will sink forever like an Aston Martin made in Singapur...
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post #79 of 94
1/28/12 at 4:13pm
Allright, this was 2010.

What's the latest on the Borrelli quality? Have they managed to reach back up to the old standard?

I bought three retail Borrelli shirts during 2011. They had the newer, more stream lined buttons, but the button holes were definitely hand sewn and I (not an expert) have not been able to detect any fusing in the collars.

Can someone share more intel?
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post #80 of 94
1/28/12 at 4:46pm

I've acquired some Borrelli shirts in 2011 from eHaberdasher and was disappointed by the quality.  Fabrics are still okay but Buttons were plastic, the shoulders and collars were very likely machine sewn.

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post #81 of 94
1/28/12 at 5:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chogall View Post

I've acquired some Borrelli shirts in 2011 from eHaberdasher and was disappointed by the quality.  Fabrics are still okay but Buttons were plastic, the shoulders and collars were very likely machine sewn.

I have to agree. Diffusion lines - i.e. luxury vintage - seem to me that they are slowly take the route to Zegna.
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post #82 of 94
1/28/12 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chogall View Post

I've acquired some Borrelli shirts in 2011 from eHaberdasher and was disappointed by the quality.  Fabrics are still okay but Buttons were plastic, the shoulders and collars were very likely machine sewn.

Hmm.. I bought three at retail a little less than a year ago, the button holes were handsewn still and the buttons were thick MOP buttons.
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post #83 of 94
1/28/12 at 8:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by erpet View Post

Allright, this was 2010.
What's the latest on the Borrelli quality? Have they managed to reach back up to the old standard?
I bought three retail Borrelli shirts during 2011. They had the newer, more stream lined buttons, but the button holes were definitely hand sewn and I (not an expert) have not been able to detect any fusing in the collars.
Can someone share more intel?

All of my Borrelli shirts (and I've had about twenty, over the past six or seven years) have had fused collars.
The fusing is light, and so the collars are still very flexible and have a great "roll" to them, but they are still fused. Still, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing as long as the fusing is done well, and Borelli does do good fused collars. For what it's worth, a number of other high-end Italian shirtmakers use lightly-fused collars, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chogall View Post

I've acquired some Borrelli shirts in 2011 from eHaberdasher and was disappointed by the quality.  Fabrics are still okay but Buttons were plastic, the shoulders and collars were very likely machine sewn.

This is odd as I have never seen Borrelli shirts with plastic buttons, even their more recent stock. Whilst the buttons have become thinner - they are no longer the "tablet thick" buttons of old - they are still made from mother-of-pearl (MoP). Likewise, the collars and shoulders were attached by hand, although the buttonholes were likely machine-stitched.

Still, I suppose that it is possible that Borrelli makes shirts to different specifications for different stores, and thus it is possible that the shirts that you saw were machine-stitched with plastic buttons.
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post #84 of 94
1/28/12 at 9:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Journeyman View Post


All of my Borrelli shirts (and I've had about twenty, over the past six or seven years) have had fused collars.
The fusing is light, and so the collars are still very flexible and have a great "roll" to them, but they are still fused. Still, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing as long as the fusing is done well, and Borelli does do good fused collars. For what it's worth, a number of other high-end Italian shirtmakers use lightly-fused collars, too.
This is odd as I have never seen Borrelli shirts with plastic buttons, even their more recent stock. Whilst the buttons have become thinner - they are no longer the "tablet thick" buttons of old - they are still made from mother-of-pearl (MoP). Likewise, the collars and shoulders were attached by hand, although the buttonholes were likely machine-stitched.
Still, I suppose that it is possible that Borrelli makes shirts to different specifications for different stores, and thus it is possible that the shirts that you saw were machine-stitched with plastic buttons.



Was surprised as well when I received them.  Plastic buttons but claw button stitching.

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post #85 of 94
1/28/12 at 9:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chogall View Post




Was surprised as well when I received them.  Plastic buttons but claw button stitching.

I've never seen any with plastic buttons either, mine are all MOP. I would be interested in seeing pics if that's not too much trouble.
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post #86 of 94
1/29/12 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chogall View Post

I've acquired some Borrelli shirts in 2011 from eHaberdasher and was disappointed by the quality.  Fabrics are still okay but Buttons were plastic, the shoulders and collars were very likely machine sewn.

1. What's significant for internet shopping is that what you buy is not likely to be from current season, i.e. if you bought the shirts 2011, they are probably from 2010 or earlier. If I understand this thread correctly, the dip in quality is 2009-10. The shirt s I bought 2011 are from a shop in Stockholm that has a sale every January before they refill the stock with current products, that's why I am pretty sure my shirts are from 2011.

2. How sure are you about the plastic buttons? Have you "kissed them"? I learned the other day from Kiton salesman that the best way to determine if the buttons are MoP is to feel them with your lips - if they are cold, they are MoP. It checked out for the Kiton I bought and an old Borrelli I have with me. I'm travelling right now so I don't have access to my 2011 LBs, but after next weekend there will be some serious button kissing back home. Will report, if someone has any interest in the result from that.....

/E
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post #87 of 94
1/29/12 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by erpet View Post

1. What's significant for internet shopping is that what you buy is not likely to be from current season, i.e. if you bought the shirts 2011, they are probably from 2010 or earlier. If I understand this thread correctly, the dip in quality is 2009-10. The shirt s I bought 2011 are from a shop in Stockholm that has a sale every January before they refill the stock with current products, that's why I am pretty sure my shirts are from 2011.
2. How sure are you about the plastic buttons? Have you "kissed them"? I learned the other day from Kiton salesman that the best way to determine if the buttons are MoP is to feel them with your lips - if they are cold, they are MoP. It checked out for the Kiton I bought and an old Borrelli I have with me. I'm travelling right now so I don't have access to my 2011 LBs, but after next weekend there will be some serious button kissing back home. Will report, if someone has any interest in the result from that.....
/E

INTERESTING — I didn't know about the kissing method. I can generally tell from my eyes, I think it would be awkward to place a shirt I didn't buy yet on my lips laugh.gif

Now I'm off to test this with all my dress shirts!
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post #88 of 94
1/29/12 at 9:21am
Enjoy! You have to get in to the closet to become a button kisser.
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post #89 of 94
1/29/12 at 9:40pm

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post #90 of 94
1/29/12 at 9:41pm

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