Cesare Attolini Appreciation Thread

[DorianGreen]

Gents,

The Attolini Spring/Summer 2023 lookbook is available for your perusal:

Spring Summer 2023 Timeless Magazine – Cesare Attolini

A lot of (more) casual clothing, e.g. overshirts and blousons, not my cup of tea. Nonetheless impeccable classic jackets in lovely cloths. Attolini remains a reference in classic menswear.

 

[Aquafortis]

A lot of (more) casual clothing, e.g. overshirts and blousons, not my cup of tea. Nonetheless impeccable classic jackets in lovely cloths. Attolini remains a reference in classic menswear.

Agreed. And no surprise they shifted the lense away from the more business-focused suits and separates. Striped suits are gone, and jackets are heavy with checks and Glen checks, windowpanes...while the oversized houndstooth seem a bit dated to me. And it seems CA is a bit late to the Safari "shacket" trend.

 

[BlueSteel]

Agreed. And no surprise they shifted the lense away from the more business-focused suits and separates. Striped suits are gone, and jackets are heavy with checks and Glen checks, windowpanes...while the oversized houndstooth seem a bit dated to me. And it seems CA is a bit late to the Safari "shacket" trend.

I do think some of this is related to the S/S season...always a measure less "formal" than the F/W season offerings. But I think it is fair to say that even with its colder-weather garments, CA has lowered the formality...showing a lot more knitwear, outerwear, and the like in the Covid era.

I guess it remains to be seen whether these shifts stick long-term, or whether things return to pre-Covid status. Certainly would not be the first "pendulum swing".

FWIW, I really like the sport jackets (and especially the DB sport jackets) in this S/S 2023 collection. Would be thrilled to own and wear any one of them. Their construction, fabric and overall quality is on a whole other level. Top shelf.

But - like some others who have commented - I am too budget-minded to pay full retail for CA. Would rather wait for a sale or discount and purchase at a later date!

 

[DorianGreen]

I do think some of this is related to the S/S season...always a measure less "formal" than the F/W season offerings. But I think it is fair to say that even with its colder-weather garments, CA has lowered the formality...showing a lot more knitwear, outerwear, and the like in the Covid era.

I guess it remains to be seen whether these shifts stick long-term, or whether things return to pre-Covid status. Certainly would not be the first "pendulum swing".

FWIW, I really like the sport jackets (and especially the DB sport jackets) in this S/S 2023 collection. Would be thrilled to own and wear any one of them. Their construction, fabric and overall quality is on a whole other level. Top shelf.

But - like some others who have commented - I am too budget-minded to pay full retail for CA. Would rather wait for a sale or discount and purchase at a later date!

Yes, sport jackets by Cesare Attolini have a style and a supreme balance, seldom attained by other brands. I may prefer a somewhat wider lapel on the single breasted, but these are classic, timeless garments.

 

[dreamspace]

I see some mention that CA has built up shoulders - and I think that needs some clarification.

Yes, they have some structure to them - mostly around the shoulder seam / extended area of shoulders, but they are not heavily padded. They feel light and nice on the shoulder. This is in contrast to, say, Battistoni and Brioni - which also have some construction to their shoulders, but also feel a bit more heavy. I like to say that CA has soft/natural shoulders with some extension.

If you have narrow shoulders, they make you look at bit more broad shouldered - without the square look that structured jackets come with. And if you are naturally broad shouldered, they don't make you look even more broad shouldered - they manage to make jackets which are very delicate on this issue.

I've owned a bunch of CA suits and sport coats, and tried countless in the stores. At least for me, a bit more narrow shouldered, they just work very well, straight off the rack. With other brands that are too soft / natural, it's just a crapshoot. CA delivers a perfect balance between soft construction, and defined lines.

 

[Professor Χάος]

Alright! Just got the half-lined cotton summer suit from iSuit. I've had a few cotton suits in the past but they turned out to wear very warm. Not good for Wash DC summers. This is a fairly open weave, not quite like high-twist wool, but I think it will work. I'm normally 52L but this 54R fits nicely. 30.5 is my threshold for length and this is 30.75. Will likely bring the waist in a hair possibly the sleeves a bit.

View attachment 1875159

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Your new suit looks nice, although I prefer a slightly longer jacket. I wear a 52R, and my optimal jacket length from beneath the collar is 29.75 inches.

 

[Professor Χάος]

I asked two tailors, in two different countries, to examine my Attolini suits. Between them, they possess 90 years of experience tailoring and providing bespoke services. Both of them concluded that my Attolinis are largely machine made. I understand that there's a difference between sewing-machine guided by hand vs entirely machine made, but it was disappointing nevertheless to learn that the "made entirely by hand" claim on Attolini's website, along with the pictures of tailors hand-sewing garments, is largely for advertising purposes.

The first tailor commented: "Nice suits, but they are largely machine-made". I asked him, what about the claim that they are entirely hand made. He responded: "slick advertising".

This is the conclusion of my second tailor:

"I checked your suits and all of them are machine stitched. The only hand sewing on them is the top stitching on the lapels, cuffs, pockets, etc."

This particular tailor even adjusts the shoulders, which is a task few will attempt. She has examined all my suits internally, as she must detach the sleeves from the shoulders to adjust the shoulder width. She also reduces the length of the sleeves from the sleeve-head rather than shortening the length from below, which is how less-skilled tailors shorten jacket sleeves.

Attolini shoulders fit well, but she has to conduct surgery on Tom Ford suits, to remove 90% of the shoulder padding and narrow the shoulders. This may sound outrageous to TF aficionados, but I already have well-defined shoulders, so Tom Ford suits make me look like a linebacker. Remove the shoulder padding and narrow the shoulders however, and you get a Tom Ford suit that could have been made in Naples.

Anyway, I still love Attolini's silhouette, and will continue to add them to my wardrobe, but I'm disappointed that their "made entirely by hand" claim is largely false.

 

[smittycl]

Your new suit looks nice, although I prefer a slightly longer jacket. I wear a 52R, and my optimal jacket length from beneath the collar is 29.75 inches.

I wore it for the first time yesterday. I'm normally a 52L and went with 54R for this one. I do wish it was .5" longer but it still worked. My optimal length is 31.5 or so.

 

[Aquafortis]

I asked two tailors, in two different countries, to examine my Attolini suits. Between them, they possess 90 years of experience tailoring and providing bespoke services. Both of them concluded that my Attolinis are largely machine made. I understand that there's a difference between sewing-machine guided by hand vs entirely machine made, but it was disappointing nevertheless to learn that the "made entirely by hand" claim on Attolini's website, with all the pictures of tailors hand-sewing their garments, is largely for advertising purposes.

The first tailor commented: "Nice suits, but they are largely machine-made". I asked him, what about the claim that they are entirely hand made. He responded: "slick advertising".

This is the conclusion of my second tailor:

"I checked your suits and all of them are machine stitched. The only hand sewing on them is the top stitching on the lapels, cuffs, pockets, etc."

This particular tailor even adjusts the shoulders, which is a task few will attempt. She has examined all my suits internally, as she must detach the sleeves from the shoulders to adjust the shoulder width. She also reduces the length of the sleeves from the sleeve-head rather than shortening the length from below, which is how less-skilled tailors shorten jacket sleeves.

Attolini shoulders fit well, but she has to conduct surgery on Tom Ford suits, to remove 90% of the shoulder padding and narrow the shoulders. This may sound outrageous to TF aficionados, but I already have well-defined shoulders, so Tom Ford suits make me look like a linebacker. Remove the shoulder padding and narrow the shoulders however, and you get a Tom Ford suit that could have been made in Naples.

Anyway, I still love Attolini's silhouette, and will continue to add them to my wardrobe, but I'm disappointed that their "made entirely by hand" claim is largely false.

Did you tailors evaluate the buttonholes?

 

[Professor Χάος]

Yes. That's one of the first things they looked at. The older AUK models have more hand-work, including the button holes, and I believe the canvas was hand-attached and so were the shoulders. However, in the newer AUS models, Attolini seems to have moved towards mass production.

There is simply no way for Attolini to maintain the same production model that was prevalent 30-40 years ago, when Cesare was working in the factory on a daily basis. My first Attolini suit was an older model, which had surprisingly heavy shoulder padding, but evidence of hand-work was more obvious. Back when Vincenzo Attolini founded an independent tailoring house in 1930, the suits must have been hand-sewn, and that was probably true up until the 1960s-70s, but I am only guessing. Once Attolini became a global brand, hand-sewing could not keep up with demand, so they apparently moved towards a more efficient production model.

 

[dreamspace]

From the economics standpoint, it doesn't really make any sense to sell a 100% hand-sewn RTW product - that market is simply tiny. When it comes to ultra luxury clothing in the $10k and up range, you only have a few different target groups - and the group that truly cares about the garment being 100% hand-sewn will almost always go for bespoke. It's a niche within a niche.

 

[Professor Χάος]

From the economics standpoint, it doesn't really make any sense to sell a 100% hand-sewn RTW product - that market is simply tiny. When it comes to ultra luxury clothing in the $10k and up range, you only have a few different target groups - and the group that truly cares about the garment being 100% hand-sewn will almost always go for bespoke. It's a niche within a niche.

I'm not sure how much Attolini's MTM service costs, but I'm guessing if you offered them $15K, they would provide bespoke service. If not, other bespoke tailors in Naples probably cost $5-$10K. Attolini is now a global brand, so we're paying a premium for that. At discount isuit prices, we're receiving a high end sewing machine-made suit, but I can't justify paying bespoke prices for that.

 

[DorianGreen]

I want to dedicate this beautiful Attolini jacket to @An Acute Style, madras lover.

The sport coat is made from a gorgeous wool cloth by Fox.

https://michaeljondral.com/products...iner-wolle-von-fox-brother-s-reine-handarbeit

 

[Aquafortis]

Hmmm...TR Pescod is notably absent in the new Fall/Winter lookbook collection...

 

[thedavidstarr]

I love their accessories—ties and pocket squares. Some of which I buy retail some via EBay etc. I haven’t looked hard enough for their core menswear because of pricing.