W. Bill Red Herringbone Cashmere

[pejsek]

Another treasure from the vault (the vault in this case being the dank and not entirely weatherproof storage room under my house). I thought my wife had already thrown this back into the lake, but I'm glad she didn't. This is an old bespoke jacket from Angelo Litrico, a Roman tailor who I believe was somehow involved in the early days of Brioni. The jacket is nice enough--unvented and very simply cut with moderate lapels, no lapel buttonhole, and very nice smoked mop buttons. But the real star here is obviously the cloth, a wonderful red/black/gray herringbone from W. Bill. Perhaps not the best choice for someone with fair hair and skin, but possibly a truly inspired choice for someone with a darker complexion. As Glenn O'Brien would say, let your freak flag fly!

 

[nmoraitis]

Wow, that's very red. What made you go with that colour?

 

[AlanC]

^I suspect that it wasn't bespoken by him.

 

[shoefan]

Not sure if that would be a bespoke jacket. Angelo used to have a retail chain that included a shop on the ground floor of the Ritz in London. Seemed to have some nice goods and attractive prices during their sales. I think they closed around 2000, give or take. Don't know if they still have any shops in Italy.

I don't know who made their goods - the guys at the shop claimed (per usual) that they had their own factory. Might have been d'Avenza, doubt it was Brioni.

 

[itsstillmatt]

IIRC, Angelo was not a tailor but the original shop manager of Brioni in Rome who went on to open up his own bespoke atelier. He may have had a shop in London selling RTW, or it may have been a different Angelo or the same guy at a different time. I can tell you that those pictures do not show a make that is similar to any RTW I have ever seen. I believe Chris Despos knows something about the guy, you might want to contact him.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by iammatt

IIRC, Angelo was not a tailor but the original shop manager of Brioni in Rome who went on to open up his own bespoke atelier. He may have had a shop in London selling RTW, or it may have been a different Angelo or the same guy at a different time. I can tell you that those pictures do not show a make that is similar to any RTW I have ever seen. I believe Chris Despos knows something about the guy, you might want to contact him.

I'm a fran of the color -- are you?

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by RJman

I'm a fran of the color -- are you?
yes, I like it a lot. boring sportcoats are boring and this fabric is actually kind of classic in its own way. the cut looks extremely classic and not out of date like some of the bespoke thrifts we see in here.

 

[bengal-stripe]

I don't know if that "˜Angelo' is the same as "˜Angelo Litrico'. Litrico came to fame when he, as an unknown, made suits for Kennedy and Khrushchev, having constructed their measurements from photograph. I believe the suits were accepted at the White House and Kremlin respectively. He continued working for Khrushchev; the famous shoe that was banged on the table, was allegedly one of Litrico's designs.

Then he advertised in the international press: "Angelo Litrico, tailor to heads of states; when in Rome, tailor to you." Subsequently he sold his name (must have been one of the first license deals) to the Dutch company C & A (Brenninkmeyer) who run cheap and cheerful stores throughout Europe. Definitely not a high quality retailer.
http://www.c-and-a.com/

They might still have an "˜Angelo Litrico collection', but as they closed all their UK stores around the year 2000, I wouldn't know.

 

[gdl203]

Fabric looks great. I couldn't wear it, but it's great

 

[LabelKing]

This is perfect for wearing to the wake of a particularly odious person. Not too cheerful a red, but still flamboyant enough to be offensive.

 

[pejsek]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Fabric looks great. I couldn't wear it, but it's great

I have a hard time wearing the color too, so even though the jacket fits me nearly perfectly I haven't exactly made it a wardrobe staple. But I am cheered that someone made it and somebody else made it up into a jacket. Let's hope we don't lose all the wonderful and sometimes eccentric cloth--aside from fit really one of the big reasons to go bespoke. There seems to be a bit of trepidation around here about being remembered as The Man, but certainly it's not a bad goal to aspire to being the man with the jacket or suit that everyone (at least those concerned with clothes) recalls and admires. I think Matt's Rubinacci jacket would be evidence in support this point.

Anyway, thanks for all the helpful and interesting comments. I must admit that nearly all my knowledge of Angelo comes from what I once read in Flusser's books--and the memories may be becoming hazy. I thought Angelo and Angelo Litrico were one and the same, but like bengal-stripe I've seen some of the colorful horrors bearing the Angelo Litrico name. Like shoefan I've wondered if this is a bespoke jacket. This particular jacket doesn't have a client label though in all other respects it's just like other Angelo jackets I've seen that do have a client label. But it feels like a bespoke jacket and besides the working buttonholes on the sleeves one shoulder is slightly more built up than the other. So it's a judgment call.
If anyone has looked at the W. Bill books lately I'd be curious to know if they still make anything like this.

 

[kronik]

I'd wear it.

Nice.

 

[oscarthewild]

That is a very nice jacket. There is interesting variation in the fabric. I have been on the search for the right red wool (possibly tweed) to make into a suit. A solid gaberdine red is not what I am after but this material comes closer. I had stumbled onto some vintage tweed (29 inches wide) that would have been ideal. Was too slow and it got sold.

IMO for red to work it has to have both an interesting texture and some colour variation. This jacket has both.

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