gennaro paone: former head tailor of rubinacci

dopey · Nov 17, 2014

gdl203 said:
Never sat down and browsed through fabric bunches to see what's out there and maybe start something new? I feel like I do that every time I have a tailor appointment, and that often leads to the next purchase. Maybe because I feel that I don't really need anything, so I let myself get tempted by swatches... Bespoke and impulse buying are theoretically mutually exclusive, but my own experience is different.

This is how it is for me, which is why I try to avoid friendly visits. Even when I have a vague idea of what I want, browsing cloth books means I can end up with something totally different.

dieworkwear · Nov 17, 2014

Despos said:
Tailors work differently with each client. Clients are all different. Have at least 6 clients who don't want to select the cloth, it's entirely up to me. I show up for the fittings and they are seeing the cloth for the first time. That's the type of tailor they need so that's what I do. I thought it a bit odd but as I've gotten to know these guys I understand who they are and how they want to look and it is pretty easy to dress them.

I've always wanted to "omakase" a sport coat. Just commission a few things so the tailor knows what I like, and leave one commission completely up to him.

Chris, do you have any opinion about whether or not it makes a difference if you only have a fitter at your fitting, but no tailor? Or whether or not it's critical to have your actual cutter present (and not just some random tailor)?

LA Guy · Nov 17, 2014

mafoofan said:
Mariano is not a "front of the house" guy like you might see at a Savile Row firm. I find there is a lot of tortured effort put into attaching a known title to him, when in fact his position is very unique. After all, he owns the business. The house is his house, so "front of the house" doesn't really capture what he brings to the table. He doesn't work in front of the tailors or in conjunction with they; they are his employees. Neither does "stylist" fit, as again, that term connotes to me a person who guides you through how to dress yourself (what things to pair together, what things you need in your closet, etc.). I suppose you could use Mariano for that purpose, but I don't, and his main services to me are (1) ensuring the entire experience of ordering, getting fitted, and taking delivery goes smoothly and happily, (2) providing extra oversight to ensure product quality is up to par (including managing his tailors), and (3) helping me find things within my pre-existing parameters.

So, I can't speak for the other Matt, but Mariano doesn't send me random swatches meant to inspire me. Rather, if I tell him I want to see different grey fresco cloths, he will then send me a package of appropriate swatches.

Oh geez. I give up. The owner of the business can work in any capacity. Mariano's role at London House is the stylist. Maybe you don't use the full range of his services, but he is the stylist. I am sure that Mariano looks after the financial integrity of the house as well. Maybe you should just call him the CFO of London House. It's possible that he does most of the hiring. Maybe you've been working with the head of human resources at Rubinacci all these years.

Incidentally, on Savile Row, there are instances of the stylist being the head of the house as well.

Despos · Nov 17, 2014

The most direct you are to the person who will open the jacket and make the adjustments, shape and trim the jacket the better. just my opinion

Have a client living in London who has repeatedly asked me " Why do I like the cloths you (me) pick better than the clothes I pick?"

I ask as many questions I can think of to know how the client relates to the cloth. When you work with the cloth you understand it's character and then it's just matching the cloth to the individual. No magic.

TheFoo · Nov 17, 2014

TRIGGER WARNING

I was going to say something, but I'm waiting for more people who have never worked with Rubinacci to tell me more about how Rubinacci works.

IndianBoyz · Nov 17, 2014

LA Guy said:
Oh geez. I give up. The owner of the business can work in any capacity. Mariano's role at London House is the stylist. Maybe you don't use the full range of his services, but he is the stylist. I am sure that Mariano looks after the financial integrity of the house as well. Maybe you should just call him the CFO of London House. It's possible that he does most of the hiring. Maybe you've been working with the head of human resources at Rubinacci all these years.

Incidentally, on Savile Row, there are instances of the stylist being the head of the house as well.

Owner, stylist, manager?

Murlsquirl · Nov 17, 2014

This thread is timeless and classic.

IndianBoyz · Nov 17, 2014

Coordinator?

IndianBoyz · Nov 17, 2014

Murlsquirl said:
This thread is timeless and classic.

This thread is classic SF but also rather dumb, in many aspects. But, that's classic SF anyway.
Half is about nothing, and that's not an exaggeration.

Claghorn · Nov 17, 2014

LA Guy said:
That is why a lot of houses hate CMT. Clients don't have a good sense of what cloth is suitable for what garment, and what style of garment.

@Despos ,

Since you're in thread, could you elaborate on this at some point (in thread or elsewhere). Or have you done so already somewhere?

B&T asked me to run any fabrics I wanted to bring in myself by them before I actually purchase anything for this reason. My made-to-measure place never bothered, and though they have had my pattern "dead on" for several jackets now, I've had a two come out rather poorly in terms of fit (both cashmere blends).

Cantabrigian · Nov 17, 2014

dopey said:
This is how it is for me, which is why I try to avoid friendly visits. Even when I have a vague idea of what I want, browsing cloth books means I can end up with something totally different.

And that's the story of how you end up walking through Central Park in plus fours.

dopey · Nov 17, 2014

TRIGGER WARNING - Tangent to Tangent, **** Culture, Ikea.

I do have a pair of plus fours, and I have worn them in the park, but they are not bespoke. They are Swedish Army surplus winter plus fours (really plus twos) and they are great for sledding and snow in general.

IndianBoyz · Nov 17, 2014

Well done.

"Neapolitans were still proud," says Rubinacci. "They tended to dress formally, wearing jackets even in high summer." But the court and its money had disappeared, and with them the high days of the luxury-goods trade. The tailor, hat-, glove-, and shoemaker had gone into retreat, condemned to the general poverty that settled over the city with the Depression. Certainly they were in no position to buy the rich fabrics that were the young Gennaro Rubinacci's special field. In 1931 he decided he'd have to set himself up as what his son Mariano calls "a personal stylist."

http://www.departures.com/printme/105113

Cantabrigian · Nov 17, 2014

Did a stylist pick those out for you?

If it wasn't a stylist, was it someone who's sooooo much more than just a stylist?

LA Guy · Nov 17, 2014

mafoofan said:
TRIGGER WARNING

I was going to say something, but I'm waiting for more people who have never worked with Rubinacci to tell me more about how Rubinacci works.

You;ve never worked with Rubinacci either. You have been a client of Rubinacci. There is a big difference there. Unless I'm sorely mistaken, you've never "worked" wtth any tailoring house, vendor, retailer, etc... You can speak to your personal experience with Rubinacci, but that's pretty much it. Your opinion is akin to that of a restaurant patron.who, having eaten at a restaurant, feels somehow qualified to speculate on how the business might work. You've never been in the kitchen. Or maybe you were shown the kitchen in a walkthrough, once. You've never seen the books.

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