Iemand trouwens ervaring met de pakken van (Sartoria) Castangia?
Castangia is the oldest atelier and clothing shop in Italy. They opened Italy's first designer workshop for men's clothing - in 1850! Their early fame is attested to by a letter written in 1910 by noted Italian thinker Antonio Gramisci - which read in part: "...now on a more painful note; you have not written anything to me about my suit, and when I went to Ghilarza for Easter, I appeared unseemly and indecently dressed just as you yourself said, because you believed that through some fault of my own Castangia had not made the suit..." (From the book "A life through letters" edited by Giuseppe Fiori, Einaudi Publishers.) Castangia is still producing fine suits today - and with over 153 years of experience behind them the results are quite spectacular! These are completely hand tailored suits which are comparable in every way to Brioni. In fact, Brioni suffers from the comparison in some areas. Castangia suits are also much rarer and more exclusive than Brioni. To my knowledge the only "Sartoria Castangia 1850" suits available in the US were the ones sold at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. To learn more about Castangia please visit www.castangia1850.com.This incredible example of the Castangia tailoring tradition is marked a Euro size 50r and it measures to a US size 40 regular. It was tailored by Castangia for the Bergdorf Goodman private label line so it does not bear the "Sartoria Castangia 1850" label. It is most definitely a Sartoria Castangia suit though - these suits are absolutely unmistakable if you have ever seen one before.Retail - former President of Bergdorf Goodman Peter Rizzo was featured in the 2002 Fall Fashion issue of the Robb Report wearing a Castangia suit. The listed retail price for the suit he was wearing was $2500.00. I would say they probably run $2500 - $3000 depending on fabric and details. And quite a deal at that price considering the amount of handwork!Condition - Brand new with tags! Unworn and perfect in every way - no flaws at all.The Fabric - pure light-to-medium weight wool, with a soft brushed finish. The pattern is a classic black and white glen plaid, accented by medium blue overplaid. This is one of the best looking classic glen plaid suits I've ever seen. The pictures really do not do this suit justice.The cut - This suit is very slimming. The shoulders are padded very lightly, the chest canvas is light and supple, the lapel gorge (notch) is high which creates an illusion of height, the armholes are cut high, the pants have a low rise and a slim-cut leg, etc. It seems to me that Castangia has managed to meld the powerful Roman style with the easy elegance of the Neopolitan giacca.Some details - This garment was cut and stitched by hand. The lapel and collar padding has been sewn in with thousands of tiny stitches, as many as 2,000 in one lapel! The jacket was tailored using a canvas front construction. This means that the front of the jacket gets it shape from a sewn in canvas interlining. This is far superior (and much more labor intensive and expensive) to the fused method used in lesser quality jackets. The front of this jacket will never bubble. The canvas front construction allows for a more tailored fit in the chest and a graceful "roll" to the lapel. If you examine the backside of the buttonholes you will notice that the stitching is slightly irregular. This is because the buttonholes were stitched by hand. In fact Castangia suits boast the most precisely hand-stitched buttonholes I have ever seen. The lapel buttonhole is functional and there is a boutonniere loop on the back of the lapel to hold a flower in place should you choose to wear one! The sleeves are unfinished so you can have your tailor add functional buttonholes if you wish. The sleeve buttons are missing, so you will need a new set.
