Anna Matuozzo Prices - Page 2

My first order was seven shirts. None cost that much. In fact, all were considerably less, and most were Riva fabrics.

I don't have any Matuozzo shirts, but from what I've seen and read here, i'd agree that they are not similar. There does seem to be a price differential, and given the handwork in Anna's shirts, I can see where that money goes. That is not as important to me, so I'm happy with Mimmo's product. I'd like to meet Anna and have some shirts made by her, but I had such a great experience with Mimmo and his daughter Francesca, that I'd be hard pressed to have shirts by any other Italian shirt maker.

I agree with you that sticking with one option is the best. Both make really lovely shirts and playing the field rarely gets you the best results. FWIW, the shape of the bodies and collars are very different, although that does not really call for a price difference. I don't attempt to understand pricing structures, just to try to find what I like.

I don't understand the pricing structures either, but I do like doing business with people that I like. That's one of the reasons it was important to me to meet Mariano Rubinacci in person this week. I'm pretty much toast on that front and I'm ruined as far as suits and shirts go from now on. I have no choice but to stay employed for the near future. If that's my biggest complaint, life must be pretty good.

Personally, it's not about who is better, or the expenses. But rather the educational experience and the ensuing relationship that develops during the process. If it were about the costs and superior quality, then I would have recoiled when ordering Kiton's mtm shirts and learning of astronomical prices. Despite my experience, I remained a committed customer. Several years ago, I hopped on a flight to Southern Italy; I walked through the secured gates and met AM without appointment. Let's be real about the perceived notions of inaccessibility. This is nothing more than glamorization - I ain' hating.

Flying to southern Italy is itself a huge barrier. That's what makes Anna Matuozzo less accessible and why it's exaggerating to say people are 'flocking' to her now. By nature of the fact that she's harder to get to than your nearest Neiman Marcus, her popularity will always remain somewhat limited.

While there are certainly shirtmakers all over Italy, the idea that good ones are easy to find is kind of an urban legend. Most non-shirtmaking artisans in Italy have all pointed me to one or two shirtmakers countrywide that they feel are really the top of the heap.

I didn't realize you were such a fran.

Is Sviglia the other?

Battistoni?

I heard Siviglia from one guy, but I don't spend much time in Rome. Others I have heard besides Matuozzo are Sabattini and I once heard Bugelli, but he was listed as a very good alternative, not necessarily one of the best. When I enquired further, I was told that I would be crazy to switch. Of course, everybody has their prejudices and I haven't visited, so take that for what it is worth. Most everybody in Naples feels that Anna is the best, but that they don't spend that kind of money on shirts. Never, other than from hotel concierges.

Funny you say that, as I first heard of Battistoni from a hotel concierge in Rome several years ago.

Sigh...

Oh wait, you mean a shirtmaker!

Do you know if they're that bad? What I saw at the store seemed pretty nice, but it's not like I could tell that strongly one way or another.

I have no idea, but also keep in mind that people who are working artisans generally have a sort of bitterness towards a success like Battistoni. It is the same I have heard towards the Caraceni and Rubinacci. Also, they all sort of work in little guilds where they refer to eachother. To get a real answer, you have to push a little.