Last edited by tteplitzmd (2008-12-24 07:51:08)

Yeah, well, I met the Proprietor, in the video clip. As an umpire, I would have to call a penalty on him. A violation of Teplitz's Law: "Never buy luxury goods form someone who knows less about them than you do." The fella has a M.B.A., and he clearly didn't study at the Sy Syms School of Business or Wharton. The Neapolitan merchant princes are much less swarmy in my opinion.

Last edited by tteplitzmd (2008-12-24 18:23:18)

Nick Granger and family, I believe sold Norton and Sons to the youngster in the video. Nick's field coats, RTW and MTM are sort of sold through Norton or at least were a year or two ago when I was there. There is however, a palpable tension when you walk into Norton and ask about Nick's line. Sort of a..."he's not with the Co. anymore" kind of reply. BTW the claim to fame for Nick's field coat is that they are the only licensed UK user of Goretex. Can't say that does much for me.

This is a study in branding: the only thing that persists at Norton and Sons, as best I can tell, is the name. So much for the Empire.

I think the Rubinacci shops in Rome and Naples are interesting (and sometimes colorful) places to check out every now and then.   The unlined 3 fold ties are nice -- simple, soft, and in a narrow width that suits me --  and the price isn't too bad. Although I can't stand their printed rococo pocket squares I do like their solid linen squares,  especially the super fine ones that can almost be mistaken for silk.

At the shops, open your mind and become immersed in Mr. Rubinacci's style and persona. Surrounded by pictures of Mr. Rubinacci with celebrities and even the Pope, be prepared to receive style advice (solicited or otherwise) based on Mr. Rubinacci's taste which is deemed canonic by the sales force.

As far as tailoring,  the style is somewhat ethnic  (although less so than other tailors from the same town) and from the pics I've seen the fit/balance looks decent (but a bit waist-tight) on some customers and rather lacking on others.

http://www.lux-mag.com/history/24/currentColumnsHedonist.html