Last year, I wrote about how one of my favourite tailors in Milan – Ferdinando Caraceni – was closing. It was an interesting article about the challenges of running a bespoke tailor today, but sad for all the customers that had built up a relationship with F Caraceni over the years.
One customer, Andrew, talked on that article about trying to find an alternative, and looking to Tommy & Giulio Caraceni in Rome as a possibility, following our article on them.
Since then, Andrew has had several things made, and been very pleased with them. They’re not exactly the same as his old tailor (the two are part of the same Caraceni world, but not recently related) but that’s neither good nor bad. They certainly seemed to present a really effective and stylish alternative for that Milanese look.
I asked Andrew to reflect on his experience with T&G Caraceni, and the pieces he has had made, so others might consider whether it’s a good alternative for them.
Andrew’s first experience in Rome was a very positive one: “I have never been to a tailor that did a better first fitting than T&G,” he says. “The first fitting of the first jacket they made was close to perfect, with only a few tiny things to adjust.
“One was the length of the left sleeve. Somehow tailors always get that wrong and make it a bit too short at first. This obviously isn’t a big deal but it is strange that somehow every tailor I’ve been to gets this wrong.
“The fact the fittings went so well gave me a lot of confidence that I was in good hands. Towards the end this was an issue with Nicoletta [at Ferdinando Caraceni]. There are a few jackets I probably had four fittings on, which is strange when the last was the 15th jacket they made for me. I think it was probably due to lack of experienced staff and too much work for them at that point.”
As the T&G pieces started to be completed, Andrew began to compare the style of both houses:
“Both suits are meant to make a man look his best, and the lapels of both the double-breasted and single-breasted are pretty similar. The DB lapel has that nice olive-shaped sweep, whereas the SB has a bit of belly. The lapel of both my SBs is around 9-9.5cm. I haven’t measured DB but it would be very close to the same.
“The Ferdinando jacket has a bit of a ‘stronger’ and more dramatic look, with more pronounced shoulders, a bit more drape, slightly more belly on the lapels, and can have the tendency to look a bit boxy (due to the shoulders).
“The T&G jacket is has a ‘longer’ look I think, which is particularly noticeable in the DB. This is created by slightly less pronounced shoulders, a closer fit (less drape), a slightly higher arm hole, and a little softer construction.
“For the SB, I always ordered two button with Nicoletta whereas T&G’s house style is 3-roll-2. The main reason I never ordered 3-roll-2 with Nicoletta is that I never liked how they cut and ironed them. The roll of the lapel was very high, which significantly shortened the lapels. T&G iron their 3-roll-2 pretty much exactly like a two button, which creates a much longer line in the lapel.”
Below is a 3-roll-2 suit made for Andrew. You can see pieces from F Caraceni on Andrew’s reader profile and on the pieces they have made for me.
“The most important difference between the two in terms of house style is that the rollino of the T&G shoulder uses a bit less padding and extends barely beyond the wearer’s natural shoulder, whereas the Ferdinando rollino uses more padding and extends further,” continues Andrew.
“T&G’s shoulder has a distinctive shape and line, but it is not so strong as Ferdinando’s. For example, have a look at the picture of Mastroianni’s famous gabardine suit in Ieri Oggi Domani, which I am quite sure they cut, compared to the picture of John Stefanidis (in my opinion, one of Nicoletta’s most elegant clients ever) below.
“I would say that T&G’s look is probably a bit more modern than Ferdinando’s. Mastroianni’s jacket must be one of the most beautiful suits in the history of Italian film by the way.
The finishing from both tailors is pretty similar – in other words very good. But T&G is more affordable, perhaps partly reflecting the costs in Milan vs Rome. T&G charge €4500 for a suit including VAT, where Ferdinando was €6000.
Andrew also highlights some similarities and differences in how the two tailors operate: “I would describe Ferdinando and T&G as cousins – there is a definitely a family resemblance but there are also material differences.
“The similarities are the ones you mentioned in your article on T&G: famous name, important clientele, no trunk shows, very loyal to their history and style, vintage fabrics, all production on site, relatively small production. Nicoletta made about 300 garments a year, Andrea says he does around 450.
“But in terms of culture there is a pretty different feeling. With Nicoletta, I always had the impression of someone looking back at the past, towards an ideal time (that may or may not have existed) where everyone went to the tailor and Ferdinando Caraceni had the best clients of all.
“T&G feels more open and forward looking. I actually first visited in September 2023, when I had a bit of extra time on a business trip to Rome. I stopped by to see the ground floor shop and decided to walk in because, as you pointed out, the shop is very welcoming. If it were not on the ground floor with the door open (it was a nice sunny day, as is so often the case in Rome) I probably would not have gone in.
“Andrea [below] is relatively young and very focused on the future of the business. He is training a lot of young people and not looking back to the days of Agnelli, Mastroianni and the other famous clients they had. This was important for me as I didn’t want to go through the experience of building up a relationship only for the tailor to close down a few years later.”
Finally, I asked Andrew for some reflections on why this style appeals to him so much: “I’d say this is my view on the Northern Italian industrialist style that has always been a big influence on me, and was effectively outlined in the article Andreas Weinas did for PS a while back.
“Funnily, I remember mentioning to a friend when I was 18 or 19, and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond was being dressed by Brioni, that when I had enough money I would go to Rome and have my suits made there. At the time I didn’t know the difference between Brioni and a more traditional tailor. I guess I’ve sort of accomplished that objective, though with a different maker.”
The clothes shown in Andrew’s (consciously industrialist) images are listed below. Feel free to ask him any questions in the comments – though I will mention here that he has no experience of the best known of all Caraceni branches, A Caraceni in Milan, in order to compare with them.
Outfit 1
- T&G Caraceni flannel suit (all tailoring cloths vintage, from either of the tailors)
- Poplin shirt from Siniscalchi
- Edward Green Galway shoes
- Cashmere tie from EG Cappelli
- Valextra bag
Outfit 2
- T&G Caraceni flannel chalk-stripe suit
- Poplin shirt from Siniscalchi
- Wool tie from Cruciani & Bella Rome
- Half brogue oxfords by Stivaleria Mercurio in Rome
- T&G Caraceni covert coat
- Silk scarf from Petronio 1926 in Milan
- Peccary leather gloves (forgotten the maker…)
- Patek Golden Ellipse watch (both outfits)
