Style guides 6 min read

Cesare Attolini Sizing: How It Fits and Which Size to Choose

A Cesare Attolini suit or jacket carries an Italian size. On IsuiT's listings the US size is the EU number minus 10, so an EU 50 is a US 40. Choose by your chest, then check your waist against the drop, because the jacket has no padding at the shoulder and takes real shape at the waist.

Three Cesare Attolini blazers on tailor's forms: a checked lambswool and cashmere jacket, a light beige wool jacket and a green wool and silk jacket

The way an Attolini fits comes from a jacket of 1930. That year Vincenzo Attolini designed, cut and sewed a jacket with a line never seen before, and took away everything it did not need: the padding, the shoulder pads, the linings. What was left was as soft and light as a shirt. Almost a hundred years later his grandsons Massimiliano and Giuseppe run the house, and in Massimiliano's words the make is nearly the same: very light, without a padded shoulder, "like a second skin".

How a Cesare Attolini jacket fits

It starts at the shoulder. The jacket sits on your own shoulder line, so a wrong size shows there first.

"There is no construction in the shoulder, so it wears like a shirt." - Giuseppe Attolini

Vincenzo's first jacket already had higher armholes. On a Neapolitan jacket, a high, snug armhole keeps your arm free and leaves the front still when you move. Expect a close feel under the arm, even in the right size.

The waist is made with the iron: the darts are pressed to shrink the cloth and give shape. Below the waist the jacket is less cut away than many Neapolitan jackets. "Sometimes we say our jackets are Neapolitan in the top half, English in the bottom," says Massimiliano Attolini.

Cesare Attolini size chart: EU to US

This is the suits table of the IsuiT size guide, in body measurements. The EU size on Attolini listings is the same number as the IT size here. On the guide you can switch the table to inches.

Size IT Size UK/US Size INT Fit Chest (cm) Waist (cm) Hip (cm) Trouser waist (cm)
44 34 XS Extra slim 87–90 71–76 92–94 76
46 36 S Extra slim 91–94 75–80 95–98 80
48 38 M Regular fit 95–99 79–86 99–102 84
50 40 L Regular fit 100–103 87–91 103–106 88
52 42 XL Regular fit 104–107 92–96 107–110 92
54 44 2XL Comfort 108–111 97–102 111–114 96
56 46 3XL Extra comfort 112–115 103–108 115–118 100
58 48 4XL Extra comfort 116–118 109–113 117–120 104

These are body measurements, not garment measurements, and handwork can move them by up to 1 cm. IsuiT built the table from an anthropometric study of real body shapes rather than from industrial grading, so measure yourself against the skin. Blazers, coats and knitwear use the same chest, waist and hip ranges.

Attolini jeans use a waist scale: a US 32 is an EU 48, and a US 34 an EU 50. The size guide says to choose your usual trouser size.

What drop means

Drop is the gap between chest and waist, measured the Italian way. Your size is half your chest in centimeters, and the drop is that number minus half your waist. A man with a 100 cm chest and an 88 cm waist is a size 50, drop 6. Drop 7 reads as a slimmer fit.

To find yours, measure chest and waist in centimeters, halve both and subtract.

Attolini shirts: collar sizes

Attolini shirts at IsuiT are sold by collar, with the EU and US numbers on the listing. In the shirts table of the size guide, the collar is your neck measurement:

Size IT Size INT Chest (cm) Neck (cm) Neck (inches) Sleeve (cm)
44 XS 87–90 37 14.5 61
46 S 91–94 38 15 62
48 M 95–99 39 15.5 63
50 L 100–103 40 15.75 64
52 XL 104–107 41 16 65
54 2XL 108–111 42 16.5 66
56 3XL 112–115 43 17 66.5
58 4XL 116–118 44 17.5 66.5
60 5XL 119–121 45 18 67
62 6XL 122–124 46 18.5 67.5

The inch sizes describe the neck only, so check your chest too, and if it sits near the top of the range, take one size up. Sleeve length runs from the tip of the shoulder to the wrist bone, along the outside of a slightly bent arm.

Between two sizes: how to choose

Measure first: chest at its fullest, waist at the narrowest part of the torso, tape level.

Then settle the shoulder and chest. A jacket cut in Naples usually has very little padding and canvas inside, so there is little to absorb a size that is too small or too wide. If both sizes sit well on the shoulder and only the waist differs, remember that taking in the side seams is an easy alteration, and changing the length a hard one.

IsuiT's customer care can check your measurements before you buy, and IsuiT's Personal Shoppers help with fit, tailored measurements included.

Where to see the Attolini selection

View the Cesare Attolini selection at IsuiT

On each product page, "Find your size" opens the table for that item. For the story behind the cut, read Cesare Attolini and the history of the Neapolitan style.

Cesare Attolini sizing questions

What is the Italian size chart for men's jackets?

For jackets at IsuiT, the US number is always 10 lower than the Italian one: IT 44 is a US 34 and IT 58 a US 48.

What is an XXL in European size?

IsuiT's size guide maps 2XL to IT 54, which is a US 44. Attolini tailoring is listed by number, not by letter.

What size is an Italian 42?

On an Attolini shirt, EU 42 is a collar size, a US 16.5. For jackets, the IsuiT guide starts at IT 44, a US 34.

Continue reading

  • Style guides7 min read

    The Summer Shoes Every Elegant Man Should Own

    There is a quiet truth the modern gentleman has finally embraced: 95% of men now rank comfort as the single most critical trait in their footwear, while only 21% still prioritise formality for its own sake. That shift is not...

  • Style guides6 min read

    The Best Lightweight Shirts for Hot Weather Dressing

    When the season turns and the light grows long, the wardrobe reveals its truest test of taste. The best lightweight shirts for hot weather dressing are not simply the coolest to wear; they are the ones that carry a gentleman...

  • Style guides8 min read

    Monk Strap Shoes: The Italian Alternative to Oxfords

    There comes a moment in every well-dressed man's life when the Oxford, for all its disciplined beauty, begins to feel a touch expected. It is precisely in that moment that the monk strap reveals its quiet genius. Consider this: during...