Interesting visit to Venanzi

Originally Posted by whnay.

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Funny thing is, booger landed near his lips and he keep babbling on about hand stitching. It was bizarre. I starred in amazement.
How uncouth. A true iGent would fart in his general direction.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Well, like I said, he was not mean-spirited. He wasn't trying to insult me or deride the quality of my clothes. But other salesmen have more tactfully suggested improvements to me without stating that I've made an inappropriate choice. What really rubbed me the wrong way was the implication that my choice, whether appropriate or not, was out of ignorance.

He certainly knows a lot and is very well-versed. But I thought it odd for him to insist that he knows what a Neapolitan jacket looks like and dismiss the opportunity to widen his view upon seeing a real-life example.

His angle with me was that the all-in cost of his bespoke was cheaper than LH factoring travel, etc. He thought my coat looked nice and complimented LH extensively until the booger incident.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Wait... he didn't mention anything about your glasses, did he?

No. I wore a raw silk blue tie and an OCBD with my grey flannel suit. He thought both the tie and the shirt were simply incorrect.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Wait... he didn't mention anything about your glasses, did he?

Stolen from Kim Jong Il supposedly, rare item.

Originally Posted by whnay.

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He thought my coat looked nice and complimented LH extensively until the booger incident.

Did he really? He seemed to think Rubinacci was not all that notable a bespoke firm. He held Caraceni in great esteem, but not the one in Rome.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Did he really? He seemed to think Rubinacci was not all that notable a bespoke firm. He held Caraceni in great esteem, but not the one in Rome.
Yes. He dogged Savile Row up and down. Then the booger flew and he changed subjects to hand stitching.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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No. I wore a raw silk blue tie and an OCBD with my grey flannel suit. He thought both the tie and the shirt were simply incorrect.
wow - you should have called Matt and put him on speakerphone !

Originally Posted by whnay.

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Stolen from Kim Jong Il supposedly, rare item.
Do you have any idea how stylish these are?

KJL was a Rubinacci customer for years. Mariano got sick of making gray jump suits and the rest is well, history.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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wow - you should have called Matt and put him on speakerphone !

Wouldn't have helped. He didn't like Matt's suit either, and Matt doesn't approve of my cream silk pocket squares.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I'm only passing on what they said. I don't know if it's true about the lapels, but it is true that Oxxford has been trying to cut costs over the past two or three years. That, I know for a fact.


It's still rubbish.

I have a hunch that Gene did not intend that this be published.

If it works just as well who cares?

Originally Posted by Mark Seitelman

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It's still rubbish.

I have a hunch that Gene did not intend that this be published.


I wish you had not edited your post.

Originally Posted by why

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If it works just as well who cares?

whatca talkin' bout Willis?

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Eugene seemed like a nice man--but maybe a little too eager to 'teach' me.

I think that is a good summery. His "teaching" seems to be his own assertive selling technique.

He sure had some beautiful things when I was in there. Wonderful fabrics and colors. EG shoes. Drawers of pocket squares and knit ties. Classic items with a bit more expression to them than most stores. I have to say he sure dresses well.

His wife gave my wife a glass of champagne and that was a nice touch while we were "just looking".

A chef was in the store with his wife getting a bespoke suit while we were there. They seemed to be enjoying the process.

Originally Posted by Mark Seitelman

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It's still rubbish.

I have a hunch that Gene did not intend that this be published.

I saw your post before you edited it, but my response is the same: I never said what I was told about Oxxford's lapels wasn't rubbish. I said it was what I was told by someone in the trade, and to take that for what it's worth. We're not children here, so I can only assume people reading my posts are capable of discerning between rumor and fact.

This is not the first time someone has reported a negative rumor about Oxxford, and there appear to be more than a few forum members who have had less-than-satisfactory experiences with them. So, whether this rumor is true or not, it certainly shouldn't be that surprising that it came up.

I have no idea whether Gene intended this to be 'published'. But there was certain information he told me he'd like to keep confidential, and I've honored that.