Gianni Cleopazzo of Sartoria Vergallo was
talking to me recently about an old-fashioned style of shirt he makes for a
couple of customers – the ‘pettegola’. This is a strip of shirt cloth that is
attached to the back tail of the shirt and fastens, under the legs, to the
front of the shirt.
The pettegola’s purpose is to keep the tail
tucked in securely, without having to resort to horrendous things like shirt
stays (elastic straps that run from the bottom of the shirt to the top of the
socks). The shirt body has to be cut a little longer, perhaps 2cm or 3cm, to
accommodate the pettegola, and then adds two buttons to the front hem of the
shirt to allow a couple of options for fastening.
Gianni gave me an old one to try and it
worked well. The problem, of course, is that it is very fussy. Fuss is the sole
reason I don’t have button flies on my trousers and one reason I dislike braces.
With the pettegola, you have the particularly fussy prospect in the bathroom of
unbuttoning your shirt to sit down, and having to fish between the shirt’s
buttons when standing up.
As with long socks, it was probably also
more suited to a time when one rarely undressed in front of one’s wife or
girlfriend. Although, having said that, Gianni says he has a particularly vivid
memory of seeing his father (who would be 74 today, were he alive) undress out
of a bright pink shirt, and noting its strange tail.
A pettegola is certainly rarely made these
days. Gianni has two customers who wear them, but the shirtmaker he uses only
has a total of three – so one other in the region. It is not necessarily a
northern Italian tradition, however (Vergallo is based in Varese), as Gianni’s
memory of his father would have been when the family was in Puglia, in the
south.
A good bespoke shirt, with the armhole,
body and length correct, should not need much help staying tucked in. Although I
noticed a difference, that was on a shirt that had not been made for me. So the
irony of the pettegola is that it is most use on an ill-fitting shirt, but you
can really only get them bespoke.
‘Pettegola’ is used to mean a gossipy woman
in Italian, I am told. Why that is also the name given to this shirt appendage,
I don’t know, but I’m sure you can come up with your own reasons.
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I believe that, when still in existence, it was possible to get shirts from Interno8 with a pettegola
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of Donna Karan.....her bodysuits for women have been a staple in her collections for 20 years. This is nothing more than a woven version for men. Scary.
ReplyDeleteAn amusing artifact. But more than that, I'd prefer not to ponder... especially when urgency is considered.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite amusing.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon,
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think we can get away with permanent style without this fussy thing! Why have French invented the zipper in the first place?
John
Hello Simon. Thanks for yet another great post. I was wondering why you dislike shirt stays so much? I have never used them, but was planning to. I hear military men in America use them to prevent their shirts from ballooning at the waist. What is their downside? Thanks in advance for your help!
ReplyDeleteI've tried them once and never again. I'm sure you could get used to them, but I found them very uncomfortable. There's elastic up your legs for God's sake
DeleteI agree, they don't seem at all comfortable.
DeleteWhat would you suggest for shirts that are that little bit too short and keep rising up?
Not much you can do. Make sure the trousers fit perfectly and the shirt is slim enough. Other than that, wear it untucked with shorts or buy a new shirt
DeleteI think that last is my only option. I looked at the short stays and thought… no. Just no.
DeleteLooks like the shirt is just happy to see you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had a roommate in college who was a US Marine going to school on a military scholarship. When dressing in uniform he wore shirt stays wrapping them around his legs to his socks. I asked if they were uncomfortable and he said, "suck it up, you're a man." I'm guessing that means yes.
Appears to be distantly related to The Thong. (No thanks!)
ReplyDeleteHow can someone who professes to dress properly NOT wear Braces with a suit???
ReplyDeleteI think your ideas of propriety are slightly different to mine, Fragz
Deletegossipy woman = a long tongue
ReplyDeleteI would guess as the derivation of the Italian name
I saw this detail once on a formal shirt from Brioni. Glad to have the name for it.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I think that the correct word is "pettola" that means in neapolitan slag a little piece of fabrics. As you know, most of italian male sartorially items have their source in Naples.
ReplyDeletePerhaps there are different slang terms across Italy. In Varese it is certainly called a pettegola
DeleteI propose to hear Giancarlo Maresca,Great Master of Nine Doors Order, he is a ultimate authority on history and lessic of Neapolitan tailoring. If he is in tune I ask him to kindly speak about. I am Patrizio Giangreco.
ReplyDeleteFray still produce shirts with Pettegola, most of their black/white tie shirts have it as standard.
ReplyDelete