Vintage Italian Suits Only

[Burma Schave]

This might end up being a very short thread, but it's still worth something.


Below is a bespoke wool flannel suit made by Prandoni di G.B. Rosti of Milan. Dated January 26, 1940. It is not my suit.

 

[Burma Schave]

A second bespoke wool flannel suit made by Prandoni di G.B. Rosti of Milan. Dated January 27, 1940: the day after the first suit.

 

[Chasseur]

I really like the cut of the second one. In particular that "restrained" lapel style (not sure if that is the right word, but those I like better than those big 1940s lapels). I also like the matching of the reverse stripes on the lapels, that's quite a nice touch.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Burma Schave]

I was surprised by the depth of the jacket back's double vents. IMO, this second suit's jacket looks remarkably like Italian ones made in the late 1960s and 1970s.

 

[Chasseur]

Yes from the back the vent arrangement reminds me of the classic British 1970s suit with the deep double vents (I used to have a Hector Powe like that from that period). I was more caught up with the lapels actually and did not notice the depth of the vents.

 

[herringbonekid]

they are both currently on ebay for $1495 (or best offer).

whether either of these suits are "...by far the best piece of tailoring in the world" as the seller claims is debatable, but they're certainly in the top tier of bespoke quality.

as i mentioned when the dark grey one first appeared; i find the lapels a tad skimpy. the blue ones look a bit fuller.
the grey one also has 8" trouser bottoms, which is incredibly narrow for 1940. they may have been narrowed later in it's life.

 

[Fastuni]

Opening up old wounds... (just kidding)
I just remember being outbid on the grey one and missing out the blue one when these two were for sale on ebay originally badly listed and photographed a few months ago. They went for an apple and an egg. Still gnashing my teeth - but I remember them being not quite my size anyway.

Lovely suits in any case - not too often one sees Italian ones.

As to the narrow legs - yes I'd also guess that they were narrowed down in the 50's. Possibly also the double vents - which would be rather unusual (though not impossible) for a non-British 1940 suit.

 

[herringbonekid]

I just remember being outbid on the grey one and missing out the blue one when these two were for sale on ebay.co.uk originally badly listed and photographed a few months ago.

you mean they've been bought and re-listed ?
what did they originally sell for ?

 

[Fastuni]

Around 250 and 99 GBP if I remember correctly. They were very badly listed and photographed by the original seller in Italy. I still am smarting about missing out on this. Well c'est la vie. [huh]

 

[herringbonekid]

strange, i must have completely missed them the first time. :eusa_doh:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, they were both on UK eBay some months ago. Lovely suits. They looked very well made, indeed, as one would imagine.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

Italian 30s-40s suit. (EDIT: just discovered that Bellinzona is in Switzerland, but very
near the Italian border)

the colour is actually black (these photos are a bit washed out).
the shoulders are quite thickly padded. the lapels are generous as you can see. this three button
peaked style looks virtually the same as a British jacket of the same style.

v

trousers have 11" bottoms.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ah, that one from MINT with the wee double waistband flap pockets. Nice.

 

[herringbonekid]

Baron, you have a near photographic memory.
does Mint still get 30s-40s vintage suits in ? i haven't been in there in ages.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Mint's shut and moved to Stoke Newington. I was in the new shop once and he told me he still has German/European suits, but all in storage. The new store's significantly smaller, so more stock is kept in storage than before.

He sold off on sale all the old suits last January. I bought a couple of them, but even on sale, his prices were pretty high. i think £125 per suit. I think he's been to get more, though, after the Stokey move.

bk

 

[Guttersnipe]

Here's a mid to late 50s Napoli suit. For those who don't know, the Neapolitan style is very distinctive from the Milanese and Roman style. Specifically, Napoli suits are known for a very relaxed, unstructured style, which is often called "soft" tailoring. Of course, this is very different from the Milanese and Roman silhouettes, which are known for their more prominent, sculptured shoulders and are what most people associate with Italian tailoring.