Given this is Pitti Uomo week, it seems fitting to bring up the topic of sprezzatura, which readers requested a post on a couple of months ago.
It is also fitting because the term is so misused, often in reference to Pitti.
Sprezzatura doesn’t mean random splashes of eye-catching dandyism. Quite the opposite. It is the art of appearing stylish without any appearance of effort. To the lack of artifice, rather than its display.
We have to include the quote from Castiglione, who coined the term: “A certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without thought.”
Bizarre, then, that the term is used in reference to strutting peacocks at Pitti, whose striving for style is so obvious. Why is this?
Because there are many ways to give the appearance of nonchalance. One is to be truly comfortable, to have worn the same set of stylish clothes for so long that they feel like a second skin – and then have the confidence to be at ease in any social situation.
A second is to leave bits of your clothing undone, or otherwise worn haphazardly, to give the impression you have forgotten about them. This second route is much easier, but rarely successful. Usually, the artifice is obvious. It looks painfully contrived.
Unfortunately this second route is the one often taken up at Pitti, leading to things like undone monk-strap shoes, sloppy DBs, and shirt collars with the corners flipped up. These have then been equated with ‘quirks’ such as bowler hats, capes and pink shoes.
This demonstrates how dependent sprezzatura is on context. If you’re the only man in the office that splays the blades of his tie, it could be seen as nonchalant. But if you’re at Pitti and seven other men are walking around doing it, and more importantly everyone is studying everyone else, then the artifice will be obvious.
Much as we hate the fact, much about style, and certainly originality, is dependent on how the people around us dress.
There are other routes to sprezzatura – to the appearance of nonchalance. Bruce listed several a few years ago in a nice article for Mr Porter. They include clothes that are obviously well-worn (Nancy Mitford: ‘All nice rooms are a bit shabby’), wearing vintage or inherited clothing, and combining casual and formal dress (ref. the trend for bracelets with tailoring – the perfect example of something that looks great until everyone else is doing it).
It is no coincidence that so many lauded attributes of style have a sense of ‘ease’ at their core. Sprezzatura is clearly one, as is nonchalance, and even elegance – that so often misused word – requires grace and simplicity in its bearer.
The men who have sprezzatura, therefore, are not the peacocks of Pitti but men like our friend Tommaso Capozzoli (pictured top).
Tom cares about his clothes. He is specific with his collar shape (Simone Abbarchi), obsessed with the weight of trouser cloth (Holland & Sherry Pardessus), but always gives the impression that he has just thrown on the things that were at the front of wardrobe.
When we saw him this time last year he had a cold, and came down in the morning wearing a thick, fisherman’s sweater, tracksuit bottoms and Adidas Stan Smiths. It was the first time in my life I’ve wanted a pair of tracksuit bottoms.
A capsule collection has many uses.
When you travel for long periods, for example, you want a small but versatile collection of clothes that has a large number of permutations, and suits different occasions. And if you commute by bike (as I do) you want similar versatility in the small volume of clothes you can keep in the office.
We looked at this issue for the first time back in October, when I selected five ties that I would keep in such a collection.
A few readers were surprised that it didn’t include a greater variety of ties – a burgundy, for instance. But greater variety usually leads to lower versatility. If a burgundy tie only goes with one of the suits in your office, it should probably be replaced with a navy that goes with three.
Interestingly, this doesn’t apply to handkerchiefs. You can have a broader spread of materials and colours in a capsule collection of hanks, and not sacrifice as much flexibility.
There are a few reasons for this. One is that a white-linen handkerchief goes with so many things, is suitable in so many situations, that it leaves more options elsewhere. Another is that a handkerchief is often an accent, a piece of optional decoration, rather than something that anchors an outfit.
That may mean that a hank is more noticed of course, being a pop of colour. But if you’re ever worried about wearing the same hank again and again, you can just resort to white linen. Or grey linen, as we discuss below.
1 White linen
The mother of all handkerchiefs. Formal enough for anything remotely smart, yet still casual enough for most odd jackets. Avoid with the most casual of fabrics, such as tweed. And pack one whenever you travel, alongside a navy tie.
2 Grey linen
Small twists on the classic white linen are often useful. I dislike whites with coloured borders however. The colour is small yet it narrows their usefulness considerably. Better a coloured body, and in particular grey, which is a subtle, urbane alternative to white – particularly nice with navy.
3 Wool or wool/silk – in autumnal colours
A more casual jacket will often suit a wool (or wool/silk) handkerchief. Perhaps more versatile with a bit of navy or grey in the mix, but brown, green and similar autumnal colours will be a nice accent to all casual jackets and tweeds.
4 Silk – bright, multi-coloured
These Rubinacci hanks are useful because they combine so many different colours. A quick rearrangement and you go from all pink to a mixture of pink, cream, yellow and brown. The sheen of silk means it will stand out more, and is often nice in contrast to a matte tie.
5 Dark silk – simple, geometric pattern
I’ve included two silks, one bright and one dark, one simple and one flowery. They should be selected depending on the impact desired, and of course the events of the day. This dark grey, white and black pattern is versatile enough to go with pretty much any navy or grey.
As with all posts, I have selected these handkerchiefs from my personal collection, built up over several years. They may therefore not be currently available.
I know readers would like recommendations that can be fulfilled at the touch of a link, but that would be more a review of a season’s fashion, rather than a personal taste. Distrust any writer whose favourite things happen to all be available in a single season.
Having said that, the Simonnot-Godard linens are available from Mes Chaussettes Rouges. The others are from Drake’s, Rubinacci and Tom Ford respectively.
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A few people asked about the best handkerchief sizes by the way.
Hanks tend to be one of two sizes: 12-13 inches or 16-17 inches. Which size you need depends on the size of the pocket it is going in, and the material it is made from.
For a silk square, which can slip down easily inside a pocket, you need to be fairly precise: 12-13 inches is good for a Neapolitan pocket, or any patch pocket; 16-17 inches is good for most welt pockets.
For a wool or linen, the size matters slightly less as the texture of the hank means it is less likely to slip down. However, if you have a big hank in a small pocket, it can distort it and the jacket shape. So best to try and stick to those same sizes as above based on the pocket size.
Ahead of our next Symposium in Florence next week – focusing on accessories – here’s a reminder of the tailoring edition I organised last summer. The Rake organised this video of our discussion beforehand, at the Four Seasons hotel.
It was a privilege to be able to gather those six greats of bespoke tailoring together, and chair the discussion there and later in the Stefano Bemer atelier.
Looking forward to more next week.
More on the Tailoring Symposium here:
– The discussion and presentation
– The outfits
– The video shots
And our first installment, the Shoe Symposium, can be found here.
Maison Bourgeat is an old French glasses manufacturer that was relaunched last year as a bespoke outfit, with a beautiful store on Rue du Faubourg St Honoré (just around the corner from Cifonelli).
It has a nice back story. The company was founded in 1879 in Morez, the traditional centre of French glasses making, and over the years made for Dior, Givenchy and others (it has a great archive including some very 70s frames).
A couple of years ago, business was so bad that there were only two people left in the workshop. The master craftsman – who had been working there for 50 years – was about the retire and shut up shop. But Guillaume Clerc, who came from the region and had always had an interest in spectacles, bought it and convinced him to stay on.
The workshop is now expanding, but making only bespoke glasses and only under the Maison Bourgeat brand. They have recently experimented with a bespoke ‘collection’ to help inspire customers (otherwise all the frames around the shop are from the archive) but there are no immediate plans for ready-to-wear.
The shop is lovely, with a full workshop on site and a studio in the back for conducting eye tests. Most impressive are those vintage pieces, sitting scattered around and in glass cabinets.
There are wire pieces, acetate, horn – and not just buffalo horn but antelope and even mammoth. The shot at the top of this piece shows two different horns, while I’m looking at buffalo horn above.
Below: vintage acetate, antelope, and mammoth.
In common with other top-end makers, Bourgeat makes pieces from single, thick slabs of horn, which is harder today as buffalos are killed younger and therefore have smaller, thinner horns. That’s why you often see horn glasses with several pieces sandwiched together.
Bourgeat is also one of the few houses making bespoke wire frames. Perhaps counter-intuitively, wire frames are hard to make, as different machines are required for each part – arm, bridge, rim – and there are few around.
The workshop on site can do everything, from the initial cutting of the frame to inserting hinges and polishing. I particularly liked the three stages of polishing: once with wood chips (below) in jar, the second time with pieces of rubber, and finally with a polishing wheel (much like a shoemaker’s burnishing wheel).
Bespoke frames normally take 2 months to make and require 2-3 fittings – one at least with a prototype to check the size and shape, and the second for the fitting around the ears and bridge. Acetate is usually quicker and horn a touch longer.
Interestingly, Bourgeat are apparently working on a new natural material that is just as malleable as acetate. Malleability is one reason acetate came to dominate the market. Natural materials tend to be more comfortable, as they warm to the same temperature as the head, but cannot easily be manipulated or repaired when they snap (tortoise/turtle being the exception).
Look out for Guillaume from Maison Bourgeat at our Accessories Symposium next week in Florence.
Prices: €650 for acetate, €1000 for horn.
I am wearing (more details in a later post):
- Sand-coloured cashmere jacket, Elia Caliendo
- Denim button-down shirt, D’Avino
Photography by Jamie Ferguson @jkf_man
As on Wednesday, so today. A piece made to measure by Neapolitan brand Stile Latino, with similar attractions.
As with the completely unstructured coat we featured on Wednesday, this jacket is:
- An effective bridge between the formal and the casual, a real weekend or ‘pub’ jacket
- Distinguished by its unusual material, a waffle-weave wool with considerable stretch
- Let down slightly by the fit, most obviously the gap of the open vents
Unlike the coat, however, it has some genuine structure. There is a light shoulder pad and a small chest canvas, lending it more solidity and suggesting it will wear better over time.
I’m also a genuine fan of the material. Many brands make sweaters that look a bit like jackets, and jackets that feel a bit like sweaters. I’ve tried many of them – from Boglioli, Beams, Kiton, Caruso, Barena, Isaia… It’s a worthwhile thing to pursue, and fills a genuine need among men looking to dress down their suit or dress up their T-shirt.
This achieves that crossover better than any others I’ve seen or worn. It combines the comfort of a sweater with the formality of a jacket. I can wear it all day long, and it looks both smart(ish) and relaxed all day long. It makes me want to push my hands down into the pockets (as I’m doing, top) and feel it spring back again.
Price: €2100, ready-made jackets around €1800
As on Wednesday, worn with:
- Grey shirt, Simone Abbarchi
- Green Incotex chinos, at Trunk
- Green/brown handkerchief, Drake’s
Photography: Jamie Ferguson @jkf_man
