This is a very personal list of menswear brands that I believe offer unalloyed authenticity and remarkable value. These are brands sharing a few common threads. They are not overexposed or over-retailed and have not grown unwisely for the sake of growth or pleasing investors. Nor have they expanded leaps and bounds overseas chasing the…
“For me, clothing is more cultural. It’s about how these things came to be used, designed and created. I’m basically an anthropologist in the supply chain of menswear.” Quoted in Deni Bechard, “The Accidental Maven of Menswear”, Stanford Magazine (July 2019) I learned that this summer’s issue of Stanford Magazine has just been published, featuring …
An American in Sicily – what I did after discovering Sicilian tailoring Read More »
Last month I had the great pleasure of reconnecting with shirtmaker Freddy Vandecasteele who recently retired from a 40+ year career as a shirtmaker in Los Angeles. We met in Brussels where he is enjoying his retirement. When I was living in LA about a decade ago, Freddy made the bulk of my dress shirts …
An afternoon with shirtmaker Freddy Vandecasteele Read More »
I first came across Silvio Fiorello at last year’s winter Mrket menswear trade show in NYC thanks to the deft introduction by Gigliola at the Italian Trade Agency. She introduced me to Gregory Colaco who was representing the brand at the show. I quickly learned from Gregory that Silvio Fiorello makes their neckwear in northeast …
Both Sicilian Reserve (SR) & Sleevehead’s Guide to Sicilian Tailors (SGST) are platforms to help connect Sicilian artisans to new customers. They make it possible for a Sicilian tailor or artisan organize a trunk show in your city. In particular, you can help artisans like Sartoria Arrigo visit your city by engaging with them in …
After some deliberation and planning, I have decided to create my own Patreon page for Sleevehead. The timing seems right to join a popular platform connecting creators and their supporters. Patreon is also one of the most effective platforms to directly support creators like myself. Conceptually, Patreon is quite similar to what I am doing …
Spring is in the air as the saying goes. That sense of freshness can also be discovered in a pair of shoes made just for you. With bespoke, you could say it’s always spring time. For all these reasons, spring seems a fortuitous time to launch a new bespoke venture. It is with profound pleasure …
Last week we hosted Claudio Italiano and had a very productive trip to New York and San Francisco. We’re pleased to announce that we will be hosting a new visiting tailor in a couple of weeks: Sartoria Davi (@sartoriadavi). Guido will visit New York on May 8-10. Unlike most visiting tailors, Guido and I are experimenting with doing 2 complete …
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