Italian Suits

The following is my reply to a question asking where our suits are made.


Scott's reply: We make our suits in Italy and Turkey. I have to tell you that I am a snob when it comes to tailored clothing and we have really worked on getting both Italy and Turkey on the same page. We love the Italians because of their creativity and after all, Italy is the home to amazing “Tailoring”. The issue is that all the factories in Italy have been closing! I also have to tell you the costs are going through the roof! (look at the value of the dollar vs. the euro over the past year). One of our goals is the keep the Retail price of the suit attainable.

As you may or may not know, typically about 60% of the cost of a suit is in the fabric. While we have experimented with “lower Cost” fabrics, we have not liked them. There is nothing like a beautiful Super 130’s from a European mill. So trying to buy less expensive fabric was not the answer, we had to buy from Europe, we are also burdened with the fact that the fabrics we want are in Italy and we have to pay in Euro. The only thing we could do is figure out a way to make the suit at a price that made sense and in a country we can pay with US dollars.

To compromise, we have found a factory in Turkey that is amazing. We brought our factory from Italy to visit them and now we have a joint venture going! The Italians are teaching the Turks how to do what they do best. So to answer your question, for the foreseeable future we will be making products in both countries.

Now on to your question regarding half-canvass, full canvass, etc. I grew up in a era, where “suit making” was actually standardized and we had what was called a “1” make, a “2” make, a “3” make and a “4” make. This was all based on how much hand tailoring was done, if it was full canvass or half or if the buttons were corozo, etc. Almost like hotels get their “Star” ranking. This is also how a manufacturer came up with the cost. Today this has changed. A garment is based upon the “Minutes” that it takes to make the garment. Of course whether it is half-canvas or full canvass are part of the picture, but because of technology and how we can make a “very soft” garment with fusing, versus a canvass product, the idea of “make” has become less important. The finished product is what we are after. What does it feel like? How does it hold up? How does it wear? These are the questions that we ask. To be honest, we use a combination of half canvass, however, we like some “Heavy” looking fabrics, so to keep the garment light, we fuse the garment, so there really isn't a good “Straight” answer that I can give you, but I hope this sheds some light on the subject.


I am here to tell you to not get caught up in the “make”, I would get caught up in the “Fabric”. To us, our “make”, either Italy or Turkey is adequate (we are always looking to improve), the fabric is what we are concerned with. For the Spring and Fall collection all the tailored clothing fabrics are from the finest European mills. I think you will find them amazing. I think you will also find the quality of the “Make” amazing for what you have to pay!