My favorite nyc store: davide cenci

[marc39]

For anyone living in or visiting NYC, a must-visit shop is Davide Cenci, my favorite in NYC. It's a very distinguished, old-line "haberdashery" which has its roots in Rome and the Madison Ave., NY, store is the sole US location. Very pricey, however they have 2 sales a year in which everything is marked down 30% or more. This is not Versace or Gucci Italian clothes, but conservative almost Ivy League Italian, the style of an Italian aristocrat--tweed sport coats, wide-whale corduroy trousers, flannel trousers, jackets. Cenci often has its own twist, such as cashmere corduroy trousers or a down-filled suede parka--Imagine Cortina, in the Italian Alps, or Como during the Summer, and you have the Cenci look--taste and style. Brands include Loro Piana, Avon Celli knitwear, JP Tod footwear, as well as some of the most original, imaginative, and wonderful outerware--leather, shearling, suede. Cenci sells very high-end off-the-peg suits and sport coats as well as an excellent MTM program with Belvest and other resources as manufacturers. Cenci is also one of the oldest shirtmakers in Italy, in fact their origins are in shirtmaking. Whenever I visit Davide Cenci, I just feel good, even if I don't make a purchase. And, when I wear clothes from Cenci, I know I'm standing out in the crowd. "Davide" or David Cenci runs the NYC shop and is an excellent source of guidance and advice. Marc

 

[bigbadbuff]

no offense but it sounds like you copied that right off a sales ad for them...

 

[LA Guy]

Well, Marc tends to yo-yo between very critical and effusive.

David Cenci does have some pretty nice stuff, admittedly, but nothing gets me in a more anarchistic mood than hearing people (a lot of nouveau and working rich Americans fall into this class) deifying "aristocracy", the Ivy League, and anything else they perceive to be upperclass - it's pretentious and annoying, more so because the parties often don't seem to appreciate the irony.

 

[Kai]

What is the address of David Cenci?

 

[mr. magoo]

801 Madison Ave., 212/628-5910.

 

[Kai]

801 Madison Ave., 212/628-5910.

Do you by any chance know the cross street?

Thanks

Kai

 

[mr. magoo]

Quote:

801 Madison Ave., 212/628-5910.
Do you by any chance know the cross street?
Upper 60s. 68th or thereabouts, I think.

 

[marc39]

To LA Guy: I'll match my trust fund against your's anyday. I'll be on the Back 40 if you need me

 

[T4phage]

I did not find Cenci in Rome to my liking. Window displays were full of Burrberry's, Fay, and Brooks Brothers (with outrageous prices)... Inside was relatively ho-hum too. It took them ages to find a grey pair of slacks for me (way to crowded).

The only nice thing was that the store was right nearby my favorite gelateria - Giolitti.

 

[marc39]

The Cenci store in NYC is nothing like how your describe the Rome store. DC is also on the same block as Tanino Crisci and across the street from Weston.

 

[shoefan]

The NY store is in fact much smaller than the Rome store, but I think the lay-out is better (of course, I was at the Rome store during their January sale, so it was a mob scene.) The NY store has a nice selection of casual wear, shoes, socks etc. on the nice first floor, with the tailored goods on the second. The Rome store seems like it was the result of several expansions, so to navigate across the store you take one stairway going up another then back down. It is also a bit worse for the wear and not nearly as elegant as the NY store. The Rome store has a large women's department, which is good for distracting a female significant other while you shop for menswear. Given its location and the cost of real estate on Madison Ave., I think the NY store is a bit more focused on the high-end clientele than the Rome store.

 

[Steve B.]

I thought it was 71st or 72nd, but I could be wrong.

I also like the store. I was especially struck by how luxurious the fabrics were.

But I don't understand how one can like Cenci, and not Jay Kos. I've been treated quite well at Kos, particularly considering all I bought were some socks and a pair of braces in 3 trips there. Maybe you caught them on a bad day...

 

[jcusey]

I thought it was 71st or 72nd, but I could be wrong.

Nope, it's between 68th and 69th: Mapquest Map (Not that I knew, but that's the beauty of the World Wide Web.)

 

[Steve B.]

Ahhh- it's Jay Kos that's between 71st and 72nd, on Lex.

Thanks, jcusey...

 

[LA Guy]

To LA Guy: I'll match my trust fund against your's anyday. I'll be on the Back 40 if you need me

No doubt, since I don't have a trust fund (How do you get one of those, anyway? They sound like fun

) BTW, the Chinese have a curse "I hope that your children are born rich." Think about it. I just think that the image of the "Ivy League" is highly overrated and not just a little pretentious. Do you know that here at Harvard, undergrads refer to using their Harvard affiliation as a pickup line as "Dropping the H-Bomb"? Buying your own hype - how sad is that? What is a back 40, anyway?