Caruso Navy Cotton & Linen Aida Summer Suit

Full Canvas Construction

A sartorial jacket - or coat - needs an interlining that will help give it shape and mold it. Canvas gives the item a tailored and crafted look. In short, it breathes life into it. Purely technical, canvas is made from either horsehair, wool, mohair or camel hair. It could also be a mix of them all, with varying thickness and weight. The canvas is stitched to the jacket, often by hand, thus making the canvas pieces 'floating' in the middle of the inner and outer cloth. This gives the jacket added flexibility. The canvas runs from the upper parts, all the way down to the end of the jacket. After you wear your canvassed suit for a while, it will begin to take your shape and look incredibly natural.

Soft Shoulders

Soft Shoulders, or lightly padded shoulder construction, gives a softer, more casual silhouette to a tailored jacket. Soft shoulders have little padding and follow the contour of the individual’s shoulder to accentuate the wearer’s natural features.

Milanese Buttonhole

Also known as an ‘Asola Lucida’ buttonhole, the Milanese is made using a piece of thread called a ‘gimp’, which is tightly wound around it by a whipstitch to give the style its characteristic thread showcasing look. Achieving Milanese perfection is a delicate 15-minute process and something only a quality tailor can provide - no machine can imitate it.

2.5 Button Closure

The ‘tre bottoni stirato a due’, also known as the three rolling on two lapel style, is perhaps the most infamous characteristic of the Neapolitan style jacket. The top button and buttonhole are ornamental, so are left unbuttoned. As the lapel rolls down it elegantly folds over the top button and stops just 4 cm above the second button creating the distinct roll of the lapel the style is known for. As it is intended to remain unbuttoned, the top buttonhole is actually made inside out so the beautiful side will still be visible.

Chest pocket - Rounded welt pocket

Also known as ‘barchetta’ Italian for ‘little boat’, it is so named because this pocket floats on the chest gently angled upward, just like the bow of a sailboat. These pockets echo the lively roll of a lapel that carries the spring of canvas and natural wool, unlike machine-made chest pockets that have a more stamped-out, rectangular shape and less life.

Darts

The tailors adds two darts - think of them as pinched seams - to ensure the jacket’s body achieves a slim silhouette. The process, called mezzo punto riprese, is done entirely by hand.

Kissing Buttons and Handmade Buttonholes

Also known as stacked buttons or waterfall buttons, kissing buttons are associated with Italian tailoring as Italian tailors make their jacket sleeve buttons in the kissing style. In this style, buttons touch each other and overlap one another. Handmade buttonholes; Even this step, apparently the simplest, is treated with an abundance of detail. Attaching the buttons is a job that requires patience and must be completed to perfection.

Patch Pocket

Patch pockets, with their rugged functionality, were unsurprisingly adopted by the military for both shirts and jackets.