ITALIAN MADE TO MEASURE SUITS: THE GOLD STANDARD

The English Invented the Suit, The Italians Perfected It

A bespoke suit is designed with an original paper-pattern, so no

The very first suits came from Savile Row in London.

And when the suit became popular at end of the 19th, anyone that made a suit was making it the traditional English way.

Even the Italians.

But then in the 1930s, tailors from Napoli created what is known as the Italian style.

It spread throughout the world to become the gold standard.

What made the Italian suits so different?

Outside of the look, which we’ll go into later, it was their craftsmanship.

Italian suits are structured, but feel light because Italy is a lot warmer than England.

And since the 1930s, they’ve only gotten better at making a structured coat, that doesn’t weigh 20 pounds.

This is why 1701 Bespoke has chosen Italian construction for our suits.

Not only for the beautiful silhouette, but because of the master craftsman that have been hand stitching for 100 years.

We have handmade button holes, which are perfectly imperfect, a hand stitched collar, hand stitched sleeve, and a hand stitched lining.

It’s the highest quality make one can get without going full bespoke.

And it has the Italian heritage to thank for it.

Most Made To Measure Patterns Are Flawed to Start

The art and science behind drafting a mens suit pattern is dying.

Fashion schools mostly teach women’s clothes, so almost nowhere in the world can a fashion student learn how to properly draft a mens suit pattern.

As a result, a lot of made to measure suit factories in the world aren’t hiring the best bespoke pattern makers for their suits.

Instead they’re relying on copies from previous pattern makers.

And a lot of made to measure factories, particularly in Asian countries, are relying on modified copies of copies of copies of patterns.

That’s right. Some of these factories are relying on patterns that have been copied three, four or five times.

And every time these factories copy a pattern, they make a modification to make their own look.

But the people modifying the patterns don’t know how their modification changes the rest of the suit.

I’ll give you an example: if a factory decides it wants a tighter chest than who they copied the pattern from, they can’t just remove an inch from the chest.

They have to adjust the arm hole height and width.

If a skilled pattern maker isn’t making these changes, the suit doesn’t come out right.

It may look frumpy, feel too stiff, or start to sag underneath the arm.

That’s why our made to measure suits look so good.

The patterns are actually designed by real bespoke pattern makers.

We then modify these patterns to perfectly fit your unique body and each modification works in conjunction with all the other parts of the suit to give you a comfortable, yet elegant look.

Comfort Mixed with a Flattering Silhouette

As the saying goes, a well made suit should feel like a second skin.

And you don’t get this feeling by cutting corners.

That’s why all of our made to measure suits are made with full canvassing.

The canvassing is the internal structure of the suit. Made of horsehair and cotton, it floats between the inner and outer layers of the jacket.

This is what provides structure to the coat, but also molds to the shape of your chest and stomach.

And over time, your body heat helps shape it even more to you.

A big difference between Italian suits and English suits is the type of canvassing.

English suits tend to use heavy canvassing, to reinforce its structure.

But it tends to be stiffer, weight more, and you really notice that you’re wearing your coat.

However, Italian canvassing tends to be lighter and more flexible.

This makes it much more comfortable if you’re wearing your suit all day.

We don’t think you should have to fight your suit.

It should give you presence and comfort at the same time.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out: inquiries@1701bespoke.com