When I visited Rome a couple of months ago, I spent a couple of hours wandering in the neighborhood in front of the Spanish Steps along via Babuino, Margutta, Frattina and Condotti. On via Belsiana, I noticed a small shirtmaking shop called Jaja Shirts and stepped inside. There I chatted with the proprietor Giuseppe Rossi, […]
Roman style: Jaja Camiceria Read More »
I passed through London a couple of weeks ago and took some shots below of Savile Row, St. George Street and Jermyn Street. While in London, I dropped off a pair of Ralph Lauren Purple Label monkstraps for refurbishment at Edward Green. As I noted in my Twitter/Facebook feed, refurbishment is now 165 GBP plus
If you have a RTW dress or sports shirt that you like but is large across the chest and waist, here’s a Threadbanger (what a name!) DIY video on altering a shirt by taking in the sides: Remember pinch and pin, pinch and pin and sew. Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend this for your $600 Anna
Trimming the sails: How to alter an oversized shirt Read More »
I spent a few days in Los Angeles recently, which was well-timed given the recent heat wave on the East Coast and much of the eastern US. My intent was to visit my shirtmaker Freddy Vandecasteele and order a few more cool, lightweight summer casual shirts. In particular, my purpose was to look at his
Freddy Vandecasteele: The cool, unsung virtues of voile Read More »
I haven’t had a chance to chat with my shirtmaker Freddy Vandecasteele in several months. But it goes without saying that he’s probably been busy making both men’s and women’s shirts. Recently, women’s fashion blogger Kristopher Dukes became a customer of Freddy and gives her review here.
Freddy Vandecasteele Read More »
I recently stayed about a week in Philadelphia and visited or walked by a few establishments. I stopped by Wayne Edwards, an independent men’s retail shop, and chatted with the owner Wayne and his assistant Franz on a recent weekend. They carry RTW business and sportswear and also do MTM (Isaia). I was curious to
Philadelphia stories: Men’s shops and shirtmakers Read More »
Experimentation. I think it’s a good antidote to the excessive seriousness that occasionally undermines the bespoke journey. To that end, I recently picked up a Western-style shirt from Freddy Vandecasteele. It’s similar to the one Freddy is wearing but lacks the two-tone treatment, features a modified scalloping of the front yoke, has different pockets and
Freddy Vandecasteele: A custom Western-style shirt Read More »
I wrote last year about my experience chatting with Nedo Bellucci who is based in New York City. As far as I know, Nedo is the only purveyor of custom Neapolitan-style suits and shirts who is actually based in the United States. There are of course visiting tailors as I described in my earlier blog
Update: Nedo Bellucci Napoli Read More »
Sign up and get the latest on the new Sleevehead Forum and other news