my visit to Napoli & Mina @ Napoli Su Misura

Originally Posted by mmkn

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For shirts like these to age properly they literally need to be cared for by . . .

1 - putting in a pail of siloxane, swished around by hand,
2 - soaked in a fabric relaxing solution,
3 - soft water hand swish with SanitoneÂ

enzyme detergent,
4 - hung to dry,
5 - sprayed with soft water and put in a plastic bag overnight, and
6 - handpressed . . .

At least that is what I have learned from Kabbaz, Stubloom, and Laliquette.

Or, you can send them to Rave Fabricare . . .

- M

See, there is some worth to these forums after all . . .


Third option: send them to your local cleaners at $3 a pop. They're just shirts and life will go on.

Originally Posted by UrbanComposition

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This makes me giggle.

I would giggle too if it hadn't actually happened to me.

Originally Posted by edmorel

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what kind of ball bearings does a machine running at that speed need?

What, is this like a joke or something? Yes, there are bearings in a sewing machine and its motor. Usually they're standardized parts so you can get a replacement anywhere if you need one. Modern bearings last a long time. When was the last time you replaced a wheel bearing in your car?

Yes but tsp are not only ahestetical defects.... Every time you iron the shirt they will cause problem and at least one of the buttonhole can cause fraying of the fabric, the very thing it should be stopping.

Qualy control should be the norm in bespoke garments, it is not like a branded Borrelli item that end up being bought by an unknow customer, the tailor/camiciaia know exactly who order this item she is building up...

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Interesting and reasonable points. I am sympathetic to your sentiment.

There can often be a distinction drawn, however, between what is done properly and what is done splendidly. At times, they are the same. At other times, they are not.

Sometimes, I like an unlined, untipped necktie. Hober's staff makes the most meticulous rolled edges that I have seen. Cappellis are also nice, but not quite as meticulous. Arnys almost seems to make a point of finishing their rolled edges rustically. Are any of these more or less proper?

One can prefer one aesthetic over another. One can also infer that one method might require more skill or time than another method. But, is one proper and the other not? Not, I think, in this case.

In contrast, a button that is badly sewn on is both functionally and aesthetically wanting. End of story.

Mass-produced shirts in automated factories will have buttonholes that are highly consistent in size. For a a bench-made shirt, however...whether the buttonhole is finished by a seamstress operating a single needle sewing machine or a seamstress embroidering the hole by hand...there is greater potential for variation, more reliance on technique and a form of quality control built on careful scrutiny and testing.

This was a classic problem with old Borrelli shirts. Many would be sent out to be finished by home workers. One result was variation in the sizes of the buttonholes...meaning, many a Borrelli customer would need to painfully jam those large MoP buttons through holes that were finished too small. This was ironic since one of Borrelli's sales pitches was that hand embroidered buttonholes were more supple than machine finished holes.

Maybe...but not if the hole was smaller than the button.


- B

..

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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What lube would you recommend?

Renovateur?

- B

As professor emeritus you ought to know why it hurts. But you don't.

..

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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A karate man bruises on the inside. They don't show their weakness.


- B

^that movie always makes me laugh...

Originally Posted by mmkn

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For shirts like these to age properly they literally need to be cared for by . . .

1 - putting in a pail of siloxane, swished around by hand,
2 - soaked in a fabric relaxing solution,
3 - soft water hand swish with SanitoneÂ

enzyme detergent,
4 - hung to dry,
5 - sprayed with soft water and put in a plastic bag overnight, and
6 - handpressed . . .

At least that is what I have learned from Kabbaz, Stubloom, and Laliquette.

Not so at all. Remember, it's in the interest of Kabbaz's own profit to exaggerate the delicacy of proper handstitching. The above is just another internet rumor completely disconnected from real life experience.

My Matuozzo shirts are machine-washed in warm water once a week with regular Tide detergent, and hung dry. The oldest are nearing on four years. The poplins show no wear whatsoever, and the handstitching on all twelve of my shirts has held in place perfectly. Only the twills have shown wear, fraying significantly at the corners of the cuffs--I won't be ordering Riva cotton twill again.

In comparison my Borrelli shirts practically came apart at the seams after a couple of years under similar treatment. It was dismaying to watch the hand stitching of the sleeve attachment come apart after four or five wash cycles. But then, now that I've seen what hand-stitching looks like when done very well, I should have known better to begin with. From the get-go, tho Borrelli handstitching was easily two or three timess less dense than on my Matuozzo shirts, and much more irregular.

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley

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Third option: send them to your local cleaners at $3 a pop. They're just shirts and life will go on.

+1

The edges of my dog's blanket are handstitched and they've held up fine over many rough launderings.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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When shirts die, they die...that's when you get a new one.
- B

This is probably the healthiest attitude towards the issue I've ever seen.

Originally Posted by Ataturk

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The edges of my dog's blanket are handstitched and they've held up fine over many rough launderings.
They are Matuozzo then?

Originally Posted by Lightbringer

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This is probably the healthiest attitude towards the issue I've ever seen.

Except, when you're paying several hundred euros per shirt, it's not an attitude many can afford.

Many problems with shirts can be repaired easily. Like that fell stitching on the sleeve caps could be replaced with a machine stitch very easily, assuming the thing wasn't allowed to unravel completely. Even then it wouldn't be impossible; the most time consuming part would be refolding the seam.

Plus, I don't know about you guys, but I always save enough fabric to replace the cuffs and (usually) the collar of a new shirt. Ask for it--the maker has no good reason to say no.