Albini Group is an Italian company with more than 140 years of textile experience (Cotonificio Albini was founded in 1876). It produces fine shirtings under several brands: Cotonificio Albini 1876, Thomas Mason, David & John Anderson, Albiate 1830, Albini Donna. Continue reading Albini Group
Kabbaz-Kelly is an American brand based in New York and founded by Alexander Kabbaz and Joelle Kelly in the 1970’s. They make bespoke shirts and sell a wide range of socks and underwear (sometimes under their own brand). Kabbaz-Kelly ready-to-wear Continue reading Kabbaz-Kelly boxer shorts
Gritti is a large Italian company, which produces buttons made of mother-of-pearl, troca, horn, bone, wood, leather, metal, corozo and synthetic materials. The firm was established in 1924. All Gritti products comply with Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Class I. Buttons from Continue reading Gritti buttons
Bresciani is an Italian company established in 1970 by Mario Bresciani. It speclializes in high quality socks – over-the-calf and mid-calf ones. They feature hand-linked toes, and they’re made in Italy. Bresciani uses extra-long staple cotton (Egyptian cotton, Pima and Continue reading Bresciani socks
Cariaggi is an Italian company, which specializes in wool and cashmere yarns production. It was founded in 1958 by Aurelio Cariaggi. The range of the firm includes 2-ply cashmere yarns (2/28 – 2/80, woollen and worsted), baby cashmere (2/36 – Continue reading Cariaggi wool and cashmere
Bresciani is an Italian brand, which produces socks and underwear. It was founded in 1970 by Mario Bresciani; nowadays Bresciani products are sold in European, American, African and Asian shops. Bresciani briefs and boxer briefs are entirely made in Italy Continue reading Bresciani boxer briefs
1. Material. I’d recommend to buy socks made of extra-long staple cotton (Egyptian, Sea Island, Pima, Supima) which was mercerised (‘fil d’ecosse‘). It’s good if the yarn is 2-ply or 3-ply. Merino wool blends are great too, especially for autumn Continue reading How to spot high quality socks
The finest socks are knitted by 240 or 276 / 280 needles machines. They can make lightweight, very comfortable and flexible socks with superior fit. Moreover, these machines can process very fine yarn, and they allow to use various small Continue reading Knitting machines with 240 needles
Fort Belvedere is a menswear accessories brand, which was founded several years ago by Sven Raphael Schneider (the editor-in-chief of Gentleman’s Gazette). Fort Belvedere sells high quality over-the-calf socks made of 2-ply Egyptian cotton (fil d’ecosse, knitted on a machine Continue reading Fort Belvedere socks
A high quality shirt can feature hand stitching… but it also can be sewn entirely by hand-operated machines. Some people claim that hand stitching helps to achieve the perfect fit and the highest level of comfort. According to my experience, Continue reading Shirts: handmade or not handmade?
А bar tack (or travetto in Italian) is a series of dense stitches which is used to reinforce some areas of a shirt that are subject to stress. Neapolitan brands make hand-stitched bar tacks on long shirt plackets and sleeve Continue reading Travetti (bar tacks)
Barba is an Italian classic menswear brand, which was established in 1988 by Raffaele Barba. It specialises in handmade shirts, but also produces a lot of other garments (ties, trousers, scarves, etc). The brand has its own factory in Naples. Continue reading Barba shirts