I was recently admiring this post on StyleForum, which was made in a thread about gazman70k and maomao’s latest sartorial adventure in Italy. The thread holds a lot of promise, not just because Italy is rich in classic men’s clothing, but also because gazman and maomao are some of the most dapper gentlemen on that forum. In their trip, they covered Rome, Florence, and Naples, and went to some of Italy’s best tailors, including Liverano and Rubinacci. Given their good taste and experience in bespeaking clothes, I anticipate that it will be one the better threads at StyleForum to watch out for.
Yesterday’s post was on maomao’s commissions at Rubinacci, which appears to include a gray hopsack suit; a blue linen single-breasted sport coat; and a navy double-breasted fresco blazer. They all seem to be 3/2 rolls. Rubinacci only makes coats with one or three buttons. Mariano, the current proprietor of the house, is adamantly against two-button designs. To him, a three-button achieves a closer fit and looks more elegant, and single button is just practical. But a two-button? It does neither. You’ll never find a two-button Rubinacci jacket because he refuses to make them.
Maomao’s commissions all look very nice (as to be expected), but I was also caught by Mariano’s ensemble. On that day, he apparently wore a pale-yellow crew neck sweater, mid-blue button-down collar shirt, cigar brown trousers, and what seems to be some kind of crepe soled, brown suede shoes. It’s a really wonderful and simple casual look. For whatever reason, men who are interested in classic, tailored clothing seem to be lost when it comes to dressing casually. Mariano shows how to pair things within the same family, keep things simple, and look casual, but still elegant.
Mariano’s crewneck sweater reminded of this creamy Inis Meain linen sweater at Ben Silver. Linen sweaters, if you didn’t know, are useful for the moderate temperatures of spring and early fall. When knitted properly, they’re just porous enough to breathe well, making them feel cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool. I’ve been wanting to get the Inis Meain sweater for a while now, but they’ve unfortunately sold out of cream. It’s still available at A Suitable Wardrobe, but not on sale. There are considerably more affordable options by Ralph Lauren and Billy Reid, but they feature roll necks and not traditional crews. There’s also this Richard James piece by Corgi, but it’s made in a waffle-like knit, which makes it bit too casual for me.
So I headed over to Rubinacci’s webstore to see if it was something he offered himself. To my disappointment, it seems they don’t sell sweaters online, even though I know their shop in Naples has a room fully dedicated to them. I did find these agendas made out of neckwear silks, however. At $36 or so, they’re not too bad. They somewhat remind me of these Ben Silver eyewear cases made out of regimental silks. Shipping from Rubinacci’s store is quite expensive, but when I’m in Naples again, I hope to pick up one of these agendas just for fun.
In any case, it’s back on the hunt for an affordable, cream linen sweater. Though I’m not certain if Mariano’s is linen per se, he looks too great in his for me to not try to get something similar for myself.
