Borrelli vs. Barba shirts

[PocketCircle]

I'm planning to order a few basic shirts today. Which brand do you prefer?

 

[gdl203]

I prefer Barba

 

[literasyme]

Barba generally are more fitted (though that's not universally true), Borrelli generally use nicer materials and more hand-work.

My Barba shirts fit better than my Borrellis, but I like the Borrellis more.

 

[radicaldog]

Barba. In Italy Borrelli cost more but I don't see the reason. The differences in quality are negligible, so if price is not an issue just choose on the basis of fabric and cuff/collar style.

I would counsel against the Barba buttondowns, though: the fused collars and cuffs really are at odds with the idea of a BD, in my view. I have a couple of those and I regretted the purchase.

 

[Kuro]

Originally Posted by gdl203

I prefer Barba

Could he meet you to try-on?

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Kuro

Could he meet you to try-on?

I'd give the shirt off my back !!

 

[voxsartoria]

If you can find them, the Buonomassa line from Barba are nice.

Are you getting them retail? If so, have you considered just getting custom shirts?

- B

 

[Cravate_Noire]

i would make it dependant on the fit. i have and like both including barba mtm, and comments by others who ususally go bespoke for their shirts (including someone on the interwebz

) was that the fit of on me was what they expected from their bespoke operations (it's quite interesting that I was told that about barba rtw and mtm!). concering the amount of handwork, barba gold will be about the same like borrelli if that's important to you, barba's standard line won't have the hand attached collar, hand sewn button holes, hand sewing on the shoulder seams and hand sewn placket. buonamassa from barba uses wonderful fabrics and has the most handwork i've seen on rtw shirts, icluding shirred back and hand sewing at the long seams acorss the sleeves and sides of the shirt body. retail prices in the US seem often ridiculous to me, I would go along with vox's suggestion if you plan to spend full retail. if the given US retail on the affiliate sites are true, the shirts are (generally) about 1/3, sometimes even more cheaper in europe. sometimes the fabrics used by borrelli are quite mediocre for the price they charge, the premium they want for their super duper fabrics aren't woth the upcharge imho, the fabrics used by barba are ok. (keep in mind that this statement only valid for european market and the local difference in price between he two brands, if barba costs the same as borrelli in the US, things look different for you then ). many people also complain about loose buttons and sloppy handsewing on borrelli, personally I (yet) never had that problem.

 

[PocketCircle]

I'll order from the e-retailers and they only have the standard lines. I'm not a fan of the colours of most Borrelli shirts and also Borrellis seem to have longer sleeves which is a negative for me.

 

[earthdragon]

I have both and much prefer the Fit of the Barba's.
Perhaps I am just unlucky, though seem to get more button 'damage' on my Borrelli's, (not to mention the variable sizing).
Separately, I stuck my head in the Kiton Store in London on Saturday and had a brief conversation with the Manager, who informed me that Barba is operated by one of the Kiton 'clan'.
I a still none the wiser, as to why their most expensive Shirt was £775!

 

[edmorel]

I will say that in my personal experience, generally speaking, Borrelli makes a better shirt than Barba. I have also found that the Barba collars shrink a lot relative to their peers. Barba gold label is good but I still think Borrelli comes out on top due to better collars and fabrics. I prefer Finamore to both of those though.

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by earthdragon

the Kiton Store in London on Saturday and had a brief conversation with the Manager, who informed me that Barba is operated by one of the Kiton 'clan'.
I a still none the wiser, as to why their most expensive Shirt was £775!

Ex-Kiton employees are prevalant among the Napoli brands, Partenopea, La Vera etc all started by ex kiton guys. Kiton also runs a tailoring school in Naples. And their head cutter is an ex Rubinacci guy. Kiton gets a lot of crap for not being a "real" example of napoli tailoring but they bring more visibility to the whole area than anyone else and are probably doing more than anyone else to assure that tailoring stays alive in Napoli for many generations.

 

[Cravate_Noire]

Originally Posted by edmorel

I will say that in my personal experience, generally speaking, Borrelli makes a better shirt than Barba. I have also found that the Barba collars shrink a lot relative to their peers. Barba gold label is good but I still think Borrelli comes out on top due to better collars and fabrics. I prefer Finamore to both of those though.

is it the fit?
contruction wise barba's normal line and finamore are indentical, if I didn't miss anything.

 

[Shikar]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

If you can find them, the Buonomassa line from Barba are nice.

Are you getting them retail? If so, have you considered just getting custom shirts?

- B

Buonomassa is my fav line of shirt.

Regards.

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by Cravate_Noire

is it the fit?
contruction wise barba's normal line and finamore are indentical, if I didn't miss anything.

I prefer the finamore buttons, fabrics, and I found the stitching on the finamore's to be neater. Keep in mind that my sample size is maybe 5-6 shirts of each.