Since 1970 the Bresciani family under the guidance of Mario Bresciani has produced hosiery of the finest quality first for other designers and beginning in 1980 under the Bresciani name. This was the first step on the path of making unique and timeless creations. Using the finest yarns and paying attention to all the details have always been of paramount importance to the family. Now the second generation, Massimilliano and Fabio, has taken the helm but the Bresciani philosophy is still very much the same:

"Preserving and renewing the tailoring tradition and investing in an increasingly sustainable supply chain"

Hannoh Wessel, born in 1965, studied in Paris at the "Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne" and then worked in the world of haute couture for three years. He founded his eponymous brand in 1994 and after much success joined with an Italian luxury manufacturer in 2015. the result is H+HannohWessel.

Andrea’s 1947 embodies the finest Italian artisanal tradition. All products are entirely woven in Italy on antique shuttle looms. The result is the characteristically loose and soft weave effects so prized by clients around the world. Made of the finest cashmere and cashmere blends the designs are then dyed, hand painted or embroidered creating unique products of the highest quality.

ADVICE FROM LUCIANO BARBERA

“It is not enough to have beautiful clothes. Lots of people have beautiful clothes. In fact, some people have too many. What is important is what you do with them.”

And what you do with them is called sprezzatura, the very Italian art of studied nonchalance. Far more elegant and refined than our American "lifestyle" way of dressing, a gentleman with sprezzatura pays careful attention to every detail and, so, makes a classic look entirely his own.

Famously well-dressed, Signore Barbera's personal look so impressed Murray Pearlstein, then owner of Louis Boston, that he insisted on bringing it to the US and introducing it to his customers. The resulting Luciano Barbera Collection was hugely successful and ushered in an era for menswear when "Made in Italy" became the gold standard.

We are happy to report that today Luciano Barbera is still a small company, still using the finest fabrics, still entirely manufactured in Italy, and still designed for the man with sprezzatura.

We're always looking for great product made the USA. Several different friends mentioned "Frank Clegg." Trusting their collective excellent taste we sought out this artisan and found him in Fall River, MA (also the home of New England Shirt Company). We couldn't be happier.

Since the 1970's Frank has made leather goods of exceptional refinement and quality. His standards have remained unchanged for more than 40 years.

https://vimeo.com/69596610

"Go West, young man. Brother and sister David and Kelly Hamilton's great-grandfather did just that and started making and selling fine quality men's shirts in Houston in 1883. Now the oldest family-owned business in that Texas-big city, Hamilton Shirts has earned loyal followers across this country and around the world.

Committed to artisan techniques and "quality above all", the Hamilton family continues to make sure that every shirt produced in their workshop is handcut and handsewn, made from impeccable cotton fabrics, using the highest quality mother-of-pearl buttons.Whether you want bespoke (made completely to your individual specifications), made-to-measure (these are based on existing collar, cuff, and body style choices with a customized fit), or off-the shelf (standard sizes), you deserve to be wearing these very special, made in the USA dress shirts. We at PlainClothes are very happy to offer you that opportunity.

Johnstons cashmere mills pioneered the weaving of cashmere and vicuna in Scotland in the 18th century. As the industry grew, the company began making luxurious knitwear, clothing, accessories and fabrics in cashmere and merino wool for both men and women. In business since 1797, Johnstons today has the only entirely vertical mill operation in Britain transforming cashmere from raw fiber to finished article.

With an eye to the future, the company is especially committed to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship and the special skills it requires, and so offers apprenticeships to people of all ages.

What better way to pass on such a remarkable legacy?

M. & Kyoko begins by spinning lots and lots of colorful yarns. Next, they knit them together cleverly—almost like making patchwork—to create marvelous and fantastical fabrics. Then, using simple but quirky silhouettes, they turn their amazing fabrics into charmingly audacious wearables.

Put on anything from this sui generis collection and it will put a smile on your face. We guarantee it.

When E. Marinella opened its doors in 1914, Naples was an important stop for English gentlemen taking the Grand Tour. It was a time when neckwear was crucial to the well-dressed man. Indeed, Oscar Wilde maintained that "A well tied tie is the first serious step in life".

The shop sold ties made from patterned silk fabrics that were especially woven and printed in England then handmade in Naples and so provided a "little corner of England" for those travelers. Word spread, E.Marinella became famous and the ties sought-after.

Over a century later, the fourth generation of the same family still has a shop in the same spot, and still makes ties by hand in the same silk fabrics woven and printed for them in England that they have always used.

The Grand Tour may no longer be de rigueur for the properly educated young man, but the world still comes to Naples and to E.Marinella as well.

When PlainClothes opened in 1986, we knew family owned, Montreal based Samuelsohn made beautiful men's clothing. The problem for us then was the fact that the company, 'though well established in Canada, was not yet prepared to expand into the U.S. and so sold exclusively to only one large New York city men's store.

Fast forward two or three years. Samuelsohn prospered and finally decided the time to grow had come. As soon as we heard the good news, we hurried in to see the what Samuelsohn was all about and were so favorably impressed that we bought it on the spot.

The rest is history. Samuelsohn long ago became the most sought-after men's clothing label at PlainClothes and, remarkably, continues both to appeal to established clients and to excite and attract new ones as well. We think that's because Samuelsohn makes the best garment in the industry available at its price point and our customers are plenty smart enough to appreciate that.

Since 1787 the house of Simonnot-Godard has stood for refined taste and the highest standards of quality. Well known to gentlemen around the world Simonnot-Godard makes handkerchiefs and pocket squares for us using their own fabrics and requisite hand finishing. Since 1999 Benjamin and Gersende Simonnot have continued to maintain these worthy standards and to move the company into the 21st Century.

“A Slowear article is chosen with care because it is not made to last one season, nor to suffer the whims of transitory fashion.”

Now there's a philosophy we can live with. Since discovering Incotex some twenty years ago we've grown with Slowear as the company has added other components, notably Zanone for knitwear, Montedoro for outerwear and soft tailoring and Glanshirt for shirts. We now have customers just as devoted as we are to Slowear's dedication to quality and permanence.

In 1984, we couldn't sell anyone a hand rolled tie. Back then men didn't want their ties to look handmade; they thought stitching should be perfectly even with all stitches equal lengths, exactly the way a machine will do it. Besides, a hand rolled tie is very soft, relaxed and makes a smaller knot-- not at all what the '80s fashion dictated.

So, when Franco Minucci opened his elegant, tiny shop/atelier in Florence, Italy, that year, the hand rolled ties he designed to compliment the bespoke clothing, shirts, and shoes on offer there were quite a revelation to his customers.

Indeed, ties from Tie Your Tie were so different from the prevailing attitude that they were soon embraced by the menswear cognoscenti with cult-like devotion.

Times have changed and today handmade, hand rolled and bespoke details are sought after, not sneered at. And 'though ties made with this construction have been around for a while now, the attitude of nonchalance they convey is still utterly modern.