Howdy, my tolerated inferiors… life as a peasant must be utterly unpleasant: working must be such a huge expenditure of energies and - dare I say - can only ruin your digestion. I am specific about the way my meals are prepared and even served, and I don’t wish to perform any labor before, or – worse – after I have eaten my luncheon or my dinner. That would be despicable.

This being said: how do you dress like an Italian? Well, it’s easy: you don’t. Don’t try to imitate what you can’t understand, you would look ridiculous: you would give the impression of being some sort of “parvenu” or wannabe someone that you aren’t. Besides, not even all the Italians, now how to dress like Italians. Many of my inferior acquaintances, even though they are more or less as old as I am, still dress like they were dressing during the early Nineties of the last century and that is  another despicable thing. Not to mention the fact that they are still obsessed with soccer and go to Rock concerts.

The Italians that have gusto, are the ones that were born in a good, old-fashioned traditional Christian family with some heritage and in regions that are not affected by the plague of cultural communism. You can usually find them in certain areas of major Italian cities such as Milan, Florence, Naples, and – most likely in the North of Rome. Check if they speak Italian, first of all – that’s a good sign. But the easiest way to spot them is from far away. Take a good look at how they are dressed. Are they already in their twenties and still wearing t-shirts, hats, and sneakers? Avoid them at all cost.

Or, are they well dressed? Like the chap in this picture, for example (that would be me, obviously). This superb, Persian-Indigo, pin-striped double-breasted jacket in fresco-lana with peak lapels is unique. It was entirely handmade and tailored expressively for me by my friend Marian Vitel, an artisan that knows what he is doing . Measures were taken three times. Notice the stitches and the cut of the shoulders: “alla Napoletana”.

Notice also the magnificent candy-striped shirt made by hand in cotton of the finest quality, also by Marian Vitel: wearing it is an experience in itself. The shirt fits like a glove, massaging the skin. The contrasting, classic Italian style collar is another mark of uniqueness. The button are made in mother-of-pearl and there are cufflinks at the wrist.

The white pants are by David Naman, also in cotton. The cut isn’t traditional, so that’s the twist here. The loafers are made in Italy as well, by Ame Delan and they are extremely comfortable.

The wool necktie is in Well-Read Red, with Moody blue pin dots. It is a limited edition necktie, handmade in the Land of Spaghetti (there are only 30 neckties like this one in the world). You can probably still find one of those at the Tie Shop Rome. The Burgundy red pocket-handkerchief with white diamonds is also a limited edition, but made in silk.

That reminds me: I wanted to discuss textures here but the number of words and concepts you can digest in any given blog post, my wonderful inferiors, is obviously limited by your own understanding and therefore I must end here. Just think about silk, wool, fresco-lana, and cotton…

Arrivederci!

ALSO ON THE ROMAN GENTLEMAN