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Il Sartoriale The World of Fine Menswear
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470 entries across tailoring, shoemaking, cloth and craft Reference publication: we sell nothing and rank nobody for payment Every figure carries its source and the date it was checked

12 entries

Countries

How tailoring differs from country to country, and who carries each tradition today.

Americas

1 entries
  1. The United States, which industrialised the suit and invented the sack United States

    The United States gave the world the soft, straight-hanging sack suit behind Ivy style and the off-the-rack clothing industry, though it now makes little tailoring itself.

Asia

3 entries
Blossom on a street in Ginza, Tokyo 01

Japan

The most rigorous students the European trades ever had, and now among their most serious competitors.

 South Korea, where a bespoke trade was built in fifteen years 02

South Korea

Seoul has built a tailoring scene since about 2010, mostly young makers trained in Italy cutting soft, slim jackets that customers find through social media.

 Shanghai, where a large Western tailoring trade grew in the early twentieth century 03

China

China makes more clothing than anywhere, including for European luxury brands, and Shanghai's skilled Western tailoring tradition from the 1920s survives mainly in Hong Kong.

Europe

8 entries
St Peter's Basilica and the Sant'Angelo bridge, Rome, at night 01

Italy

Italy makes more of the world's fine menswear than anywhere else, with Naples, Milan, Florence and Rome each cutting jackets their own way.

 The Royal Arcade, Old Bond Street 02

United Kingdom

The country that invented the modern suit, and still cuts as though the weather might turn.

 France, home of the most sculptural tailoring in Europe 03

France

France has a small tailoring trade known for jackets with strong sculpted shoulders and very clean chests, and it is home to the shirtmaker Charvet.

 Spain, a court tailoring tradition and a large shoemaking industry 04

Spain

Spain keeps a formal, firmly built tailoring tradition alive in Madrid and is one of Europe's biggest shoemakers, making many shoes sold under other countries' brands.

 Austria, home of a distinct and technically demanding tailoring school 05

Austria

Vienna has its own small school of tailoring, with tall strong shoulders, close-fitting chests and very fine hand sewing, kept alive by a few workshops.

 Belgium, a cloth merchant's country with a linen trade older than the tailoring that uses it 06

Belgium

Belgium matters for cloth rather than tailoring, as home to the famous suiting merchant Scabal and one of Europe's oldest linen trades.
  1. Portugal, where a great deal of European clothing is quietly made Portugal

    Portugal is a major European clothing manufacturer, especially of knitwear and shirts, and quietly makes much of what is sold as Italian or British.
  2. Germany

    Germany is better known for well-made factory tailoring and technical fabrics than custom tailoring, though the Rhineland and Berlin have a few excellent custom workshops.
Picture credits 11
  1. Brooks Brothers Store: Photograph · Gloucester1692 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Blossoming flowers in Ginza; February 2020 (02): Photograph · Keijiro Takahashi · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
  3. Front view of Heungnyemun Gate in Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul South Korea: Photograph · Basile Morin · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. Shanghai Bund at night 20260417 (2): Photograph · DvTor8303 · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
  5. Saint Peter's Basilica, Sant'Angelo bridge, by night, Rome, Italy: Photograph · Jebulon · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
  6. Old Bond Street 903: Photograph · Michel wal · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
  7. Waistcoat panel: Museum object · Unrecorded · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
  8. Palacio de Comunicaciones, Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid, España, 2017-05-18, DD 32-34 HDR: Photograph · Diego Delso · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. PestSaüle Graben Vienna top: Photograph · Jebulon · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
  10. Flax field, Gottem 2011 a: Photograph · LHOON · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
  11. Cais da Ribeira, Oporto, Portugal, 2012-05-09, DD 13: Photograph · Diego Delso · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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