Cesare Attolini: The History of The Neapolitan Style
What is the history of Cesare Attolini? // The Origin
The 1930s was a time when the Neapolitan taste was a mixture of English, French, and Spanish styles. At that time the style was well-known in Italy until a young craftsman named Vincenzo Attolini decided to take matters into his own hands.
Attolini was the man behind it all, he himself designed, cut, and sewed a jacket with such perfection and detailing it was baffling. The young Vincenzo eventually set the blueprint for what was going to become the DNA of Cesare Attolini.
His goal was to make the jacket as soft and lightweight as a t-shirt. Considering the climate in Italy, the English style quickly became too warm. This made Attolini remove the padding, shoulder pads, and the linings seen in the English style. It was a revolution evolving in front of everyone's noses.
The jacket made men go from dressing for a particular reason to dressing for one thing only, expressing themselves. Soon the word was spread around and more men came to the tailor shop to redesign their own jacket style.
Eventually the most talented of Vincenzo Attolini’s six sons, Cesare Attolini, worked alongside him from an early age. Cesare learned the needed skill and techniques for constructing the desired jacket of his fathers vision but went to Turin to direct one of the most prestigious tailors of the time. Cesare Attolini has slowly become one of the best Suit Brands in the world.
Cesare Attolini at the manufacture
In the late 80’s, after years of improving and adding to his skills, Cesare Attolini finally came back to Naples. His children were now able to help, as they had developed the needed skills, so he decided to start his own.
Today you can find a Cesare Attolini flagship store in Naples, Via Filangieri, not too far from the tailor’s shop in Via Vetriera, where Vincenzo invented the ‘blueprint’.
Who is the owner of Cesare Attolini?
Today Cesare Attolini is run by the two sons of Cesare, Massimiliano and Giuseppe Attolini. They have implemented the “system” invented by their father, also known as the Neapolitan system. While Massimiliano and Giuseppe have been in charge of the company, their father, Cesare has been there to help. Cesare took the role of further consulting and directing their tailors in order to fulfill the vision of Vincenzo Attolinis jacket. - A third-generation company vision.
How are Cesare Attolini suits made?
There is no doubt that all Cesare Attolini suits are handmade. To be exact, Cesare Attolini has 130 tailors, and to keep consistency and efficiency each tailor has its own individual step. Anything from cutting the jacket out of the chosen fabric, to sewing the buttons is done by hand. This makes crafting a suit take around 25 to 30 hours.
Cesare Attolini - Manufactory
Details such as ironing after a stage of stitching followed by a precise resting stage according to the used fabric make the individual suits more time-consuming. The resting stage according to the fabric is crucial as it allows the fabric to relax, which ensures that there are no measurement issues after the cutting or the stitching stage.
What is Cesare Attolini´s signature suit style?
The signature Cesare Attolini suit style is of the Neapolitan jacket. A Neapolitan jacket is characterized by specific construction details. The design includes an extended dart that runs to the bottom seam of the skirt; generous lapels; minimal to no lining; barchetta chest pocket; three-on-two button stance; pignata patch pockets, curved at the bottom (like a brandy snifter); and double backstitch on the lapel and pockets. Some may lack these last two more formal embellishments due to their formality.
Here are some of our Cesare Attolini blazers with some of the signature Neapolitan styles:
Is Cesare Attolini a luxury brand?
Just like Kiton, Cesare Attolini is a luxury brand offering buyers high-quality clothing. All garments are crafted by hand, which itself is considered to be luxury. Another thing is the choice of materials. Cesare Attolini has chosen their fabrics from the best of the best, using Scottish, English, Irish and Italian yarns of the highest quality wool and the purest cashmere. These are designer suits at their finest.
Why is Cesare Attolini so expensive?
There is no question that using fabric with the highest quality wool and the purest cashmere sets the high price alone. But that is not the only thing that is setting the price. Making a garment go through specific stages with such control is time-consuming, like mentioned before, but the output at the end, is an elegant garment made to perfection, and that will make you stand out.
Where can you buy Cesare Attolini suits?
You can find a broad selection of Cesare Attollini garments and accessories in our webshop Isuit.it Feel free to check it out for yourself here
Kiton vs Cesare Attolini
This is actually a pretty pointless discussion to have, because Kiton and Cesare Attolini are both miles ahead of any other sartorial company, or generally most tailoring companies. They are the two greats of Neapolitan fashion, and whilst they are many times better than other tailoring companies - Kiton and Cesare Attolini are the same quality, but with a slightly different style.
Cesare Attolini tries to remain as close to the traditional tailoring art as possible, whereas Kiton is more of an innovative company. Both companies use the highest quality possible fabrics, and therefore a direct comparison is pointless.