The Blue Coat

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One of the eternal questions I keep coming back to and do try to give a satisfactory answer to is this, which colour can be considered the absolute classic colour in a suit: navy or dark grey? Although the dark grey is the more universally popular of the two today, especially in Northern Europe, I would say that the navy is the father. This is the colour of preference for Beau Brummel’s blue coat had when he unwittingly defined the core of the suit at the start of the 18th Century and – as I recalled recently – that is the hue of Werther’s renowned coat in ‘The Sorrows of the Young Werther’ from 1774. As mentioned in this entry dated the 6th September:

“It cost me much to part with the blue coat which I wore the first time I danced with Charlotte. But I could not possibly wear it any longer. But I have ordered a new one, precisely similar, even to the collar and sleeves, as well as a new waistcoat and pantaloons.”

Blue stands for a fresh start, in the world of suits if nowhere else.

An Interview with Bernhard Roetzel

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As most of you will know, Mr. Roetzel is the author of Gentleman, one of the classic books on timeless dressing. When I did my interview with him, he was very clear, unromantic and dry about dressing with style. I think he prefers to see the world how it is. He doesn’t want to mystify style.

How do you look at the difference between Italian and English style?

In Italy style in menswear has the purpose to make a man look elegant and attractive. The English dress in a way that makes them look like aristocrats or “old money”. They don’t care so much about how sexy they look. They know that many women are not very fond of men who are too handsome and too well-dressed. The English will rather wear a slightly scruffy bespoke suit that was handed down from their grandfather (or was bought at Oxfam) while the Italians usually are super smart. The Italians take their style very seriously, they usually lack the ability to laugh at themselves. Thus they look great but they are very often slightly boring company. Italians in general tend to follow new fashions more than the English. I remember the time when the Woolrich Parka was new. Everybody in Italy wore it. It was really like a uniform and I couldn’t stand the sight of the thing after a couple of days. The English are more hesitant to copy new looks. English style is all about classic and the only thing the add is the famous “twist”.

What is dressing with style?

Style is usually something you acquire rather than being born with it. Thus all stylish people should be very humble because they haven’t invented what they wear in 99 percent of the time (this includes myself). Style is very much about copying and imitating. It’s similar to learning an instrument. I play the guitar myself and I have spent many years trying to sound like someone else. Sometimes you start to sound like yourself or look like yourself the moment when you realize that copying will not take you further. Or when you realize that all the time you spend studying others won’t make you a master yourself. So dressing with style is a mixture of copying and making the best of one’s abilities.

What inspires your own dressing?

When I was 21 I tried to look exactly like the Englishmen I admired. Some were characters on TV like John Steed or Siegfried Farnon, others were people from real life that I had seen on the street or in books. Then I started to discover Ivy League looks. Later there was a time in my life when I got in touch with Italian style which brought some new influences. Now I no longer try to look like an Englishman or American or Italian. I am what I am and I don’t need to hide this fact by dressing like a Sloane Ranger or someone who lives in Naples. Stylish men in Germany have great difficulties accepting the fact that they are still Germans after all even if we eat Pasta all the time. My tailor is still English, my shoes are still made in Northampton and my shirtings come mainly from Switzerland but I mix everything more freely. In a way my style of dress is very boring because I wear the same things for a very long time. In summer my everyday dress has been khaki pants, a dress shirt, an English saddle leather belt with brass buckles, suede shoes and a V neck sweater for 20 years or so. There is nothing better than khaki pants in summer. Of course I sometimes wear pink pants or red pants or green pants but khaki is still the best. What inspires me? The cloths I find. And my own feeling. I remember feeling that camel is a great colour last fall and now I see it in every collection.

How do you look at the future of the suit?

Only God knows the future. But I think that the suit cannot be replaced. Dresscodes will probably change in some way but the suit will be here until the world comes to its end. If you look at a car from the 1920s it’s beautiful but it is definitely outdated. The suit has been created in the same decade but it is still young. Again I must think of guitars. Look at the Telecaster or the Les Paul. They are both the definitive solid body guitars but someone who doesn’t know would never guess that they were both released in the early fifties. Some things cannot be improved. Especially if form and function are in perfect harmony.

Postscript, February 2011
When I first published the interview at The London Lounge a year ago, it provoked a bit of discussion. Read more …

Photo: Bernhard Roetzel

A visit to A. Caraceni in Milan

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A. Caraceni: Carlo Andreacchio and his son Massimiliano Caraceni.

They have served as tailors to the Agnelli Family for 50 years and sewn dozens of suits for both Gianni Agnelli and his brother, Umberto. They can trace their history back a 100 years. Comparable to one of the old firms of Savile Row, A. Caraceni in Milan is occupying one of the very few thrones left in today’s tailoring world.

When I recently spent a few hours in Milan, I passed by, right there on Via Fatebenefratelli 16 in the historic centre of Milan. I really ought to have called ahead and made an appointment, but I was lucky. They opened and welcomed me into a slightly threadbare room with high ceilings, thick red carpeting and maroon brown furniture.

They have resided there since 1946 when Augusto Caraceni founded the atelier, Carlo Andreacchio told me. He is the son-in-law of Augusto Caraceni and currently is operating the atelier with his son Massimiliano Andreacchio Caraceni.

The story of A. Caraceni

Carlo Andreacchio started by unravelling the complex history behind the Caraceni atelier. It all began in 1913, when the tailor Domenico Caraceni founded an atelier in Rome. In the 1930’s the sons decamped to Milan and Paris and opened up ateliers under the Caraceni name.

During WWII Augusto, who was in charge of the atelier in Paris, had to close. After WWII ended, he went to Milan where the other brother already resided and in 1949 he opened the atelier A. Caraceni.

The two ateliers in Milan evolved in different directions. In time Domenico Caraceni turned into a brand name and today they make their money from ready-to-wear. However, A. Caraceni continued as an atelier in the traditional vein. In 1972 the son Mario took over the atelier and in 1998 it was handed over to the daughter Maria and her husband, Carlo Andreacchio.

The founding atelier in Rome is still in existence and is being run by two nephews related to the first Domenico, Tommy and Giulio Caraceni. How they differentiate from A. Caraceni I don’t know, but Massimiliano mentioned that the style in the Rome-base atelier was ‘more Italian’, whatever that entails.

Carlo Andreacchio, who incidentally wore one of the best fitting suits I have ever seen – tremendous, with exquisite lines and following the shape of the body perfectly without being unduly tight anywhere, furthermore told me that Massimilano, his 25-year-old son, had just graduated and that the two of them work together as the head cutters. Afterwards, Massimiliano showed the two cutting tables they use.

“That one is my father’s and this one is mine,” he said matter-of-factly, clearly not realising how he’d just summed up traditions, pride and craftsmanship in the fewest possible words.

Just like his father he wore a slim-cut jacket and a pair of slim trousers with turn-ups, which just touched but didn’t break on the shoe. The shoulders were without padding and slightly pagoda-shaped. It goes without saying that he had crafted the jacket himself. Impressive for a 25-year-old lad.

Craftmanship

One thing I did notice at one of the cutting tables was the pattern they used. Not made from paper, but in a canvas material. According to Massimiliano it is easier to use and possibly alter along the way should the client put on weight. He showed a pattern where they’d had to increase the girth twice with additional canvas.

Then I was shown around the atelier and discovered it was larger that I’d initially thought. It consisted of 3 – 4 rooms where the tailors were sewing jackets, trousers and waistcoats by hand. All in all they have close to 40 employees, Carlo Andreacchio told me.

During this what particularly caught my eye was the workmanship that went into the trouser lining. This was executed by hand and must result in the most magnificent finish. This was later confirmed when Massimiliano showed me a pair of trousers in Solaro, the renowned reddish-hued summer fabric, where buttons, seams, edging and lining was crafted in the most exquisite fashion.

A two-piece suit comes in at around DKR 4,800 Euro.

Jeffery Diduch has on his blog, Made By Hand, executed a dissection of a Caraceni-jacket. A great read for those who like to immerse themselves in the technicalities. One of the subjects that he touches on is that A. Caraceni has lunted the corners, something of a rarity these days. He concludes that technically the jacket is “a tremendous garment”.

Photo: The Journal of Style

Babylon – Style in English

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I’ve been writing a blog called Stiljournalen for more than two years now. In Danish. Some of it will be of little interest to people outside the small Kingdom of Denmark. However, I believe that many posts will appeal to an audience abroad as well. So I thought, why not start translating Stiljournalen to English?

Stay tuned …

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