Italians call textiles tessuti. So sometimes if you talk to an Italian tailor and they ask you to choose the "tissue" for your next shirt or suit (they may think converting it back to singular would make sense to the English reader), they are actually asking you about your fabric choice.
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| Add Split toe, the reverse side. Photo provided by @a.meccariello. Other than of Italian origin, this is not really related to this post. |
Locked down by COVID-19, the natural desire for formalwear items decreases. Shoes? What shoes? Shirts? What shirts? But if one looks around, this is perhaps the best time to accumulate unfunded liabilities for the upcoming season. But with the lockdown of Italy and the UK - What fabric?
Out of serendipity, @shirtingfantasy came across a fabric retailer on Taobao, the China equivalent of Amazon.
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| "侃侃布行" https://shop115637298.world.taobao.com/ |
If you do not know Chinese, or do not have the means to translate it, you can forget about this post and go instead to online stores Acorn (https://www.acornfabrics.com/) or Tessin (https://www.tessin.it/), which continue to operate in the UK and Italy despite the current pandemic and are having shipping discounts in one way or another. However, if the text in the above makes sense to you, then, behold, some lovely picks from @shirtingfantasy -
1. Cerruti wool denim - denim blue
Zegna weaves a variety called Trofeo Denim, known only to connoisseurs such as those @shirtingfantasy and his friends like to self-proclaim. While Trofeo Denim is an exceptional fabric with visual and textural interest, its price is depressing.
This overstock/ deadstock (as with everything else in the Taobao store, according to their owner) fabric, which rounds off to about EUR 31 per metre, does look like a fabric in an exceptionally lovely hue of denim blue. Perhaps a tinge too bright for the conservative office, but nothing prevents one from wearing it on a casual Friday, arguably.
2. Cerruti wool denim - nut-brown
If blue denim is not your thing, the nut-brown variant may be for your next chino - or, alternatively a very contemporary suit. Hasn't the tobacco taken over green, beige and burgundy as the next office-ready colour marketed by menswear stores in Asia [1]? This is the chance now!
On a more serious note, it should be a very nice fabric for a casual suit.
On a more serious note, it should be a very nice fabric for a casual suit.
3. Kuroki denim - heavyweight
A while back, a reader of this blog and another viewer of the Instagram account asked "Where can one buy Kuroki?". For small orders - assuming you are not making 20 pairs of denim pants - it could make more sense to go through retail-oriented fabric shops.
And, here is your answer.
A while back, a reader of this blog and another viewer of the Instagram account asked "Where can one buy Kuroki?". For small orders - assuming you are not making 20 pairs of denim pants - it could make more sense to go through retail-oriented fabric shops.
And, here is your answer.
4. SIC Tess shirting - cotton/ silk mix
From time to time this blog can become a bit derailed. For many who don't know shirting actually means shirt fabric [2] instead of actual wearable shirts. While many of the items on this shop belong to the more boring Thomas Mason and Monti brands, the really interesting stuff comes from SIC Tess.
It is really hard to understand what national or international brand would make shirts from SIC Tess in China [3] and then end up with leftover fabric - but here they are: lovely varieties including Ne 200/2 poplin, cotton-silk mix and even SIC Tess's famous Innocent Lamb (cashmere cotton mix). Finally, @shirtingfantasy can source SIC Tess from other than "The Italian in London" aka the Travelling Artisan (https://www.thetravellingartisan.co.uk/) [4].
From time to time this blog can become a bit derailed. For many who don't know shirting actually means shirt fabric [2] instead of actual wearable shirts. While many of the items on this shop belong to the more boring Thomas Mason and Monti brands, the really interesting stuff comes from SIC Tess.
It is really hard to understand what national or international brand would make shirts from SIC Tess in China [3] and then end up with leftover fabric - but here they are: lovely varieties including Ne 200/2 poplin, cotton-silk mix and even SIC Tess's famous Innocent Lamb (cashmere cotton mix). Finally, @shirtingfantasy can source SIC Tess from other than "The Italian in London" aka the Travelling Artisan (https://www.thetravellingartisan.co.uk/) [4].
Readers may be concerned about the authenticity of the fabric sold. @shirtingfantasy can only say from his own experience: from two cuts of SIC Tess (one Ne 200/2 poplin, one 2-ply by 2-ply flannel) previously purchased, transection was smooth, delivery was swift and the fabric feels real. If, however, you are the kind who require a woven label to convince yourself or your friends, well...
Until then, good bye!
Until then, good bye!
Footnote
[1] Arguably, the office-ready colour is determined by multiple factors including (1) the colour of the deadstock fabric the shop owner has seen in the recent Pitti, (2) the negative set of what you have made, and (3) what your boss would not approve.
[2] Tessuti per camicie, or tissue for shirts, indeed.
[3] Trust me, making ready-to-wear shirts in such luxury fabric doesn't make sense in the first place.
[4] Again, you have to take my word for it. Italian shirt makers sell fabric to their clients as well.
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