Recommended—Under the Radar Italian Shirtmaker Vincenzo di Ruggiero

I’ve primarily focused on getting decent custom-made shirts online from places like Spier & Mackay or Proper Cloth to get the large, wide spread collar styles made famous by Italian makers that I so crave, without spending $200+. The benefits of that route are your choice of fabric, a guaranteed fit, and your choice of options for design details. The results can be really good, and the prices are very competitive. But they’re machine-made shirts at the lower end of the price spectrum. If you want something with more handwork, with finer stitching and a more authentic provenance, who do you turn to?

Many people have heard of the high-end brands like Finamore, Barba Napoli, Cesare Attolini, Borrelli and even Kiton or Isaia. These are the mainstays, the juggernauts who’ve earned their stripes (though some perhaps have their best days behind them). Other brands getting attention are 100 Hands, managed via Europe but made by hand in India; Santillo 1970; G. Inglese; Stenstrom’s; and I’d put Anglo-Italian next to them for being made in Italy with the hallmarks thereof. All of these brands start well above $200.

But I’ve discovered a new brand I’m very keen on, not only for its high-quality hand make, but also for its price: Vincenzo di Ruggiero. Retail price is under $200, with a reasonably easy to find selection of retailers carrying them on sale for significantly less (such as Coltorti). Pictured are two of their shirts. One in indigo and one in white poplin, both from discount retailer Sartoria di Lusso.

If you search for info about it online, you’ll find a smattering of Styleforum posts, some Grailed sale listings, and that’s about it. I learned about them from Sartoria di Lusso, who sells them at discount for around $140. Which is an absolute steal for the quality and details on these shirts.

The collar is my ideal: tall band, big, wide spread (but not cut-away), lightly lined. Looks great with and without a tie. The fit is pretty typical not-slim-but-not-baggy fit. The collar is attached by hand, the front placket is finished by hand, the sleeves are attached by hand. All of those hand details aren’t just fancy-for-fancy’s sake, but do improve the fit and how it drapes. Someone attaching a collar or sleeves by hand takes into account the curvature of the fabric and adjusts accordingly—something just not possible when running it through a machine.

Check out the rest of what Sartoria di Lusso has as well. They’re a retailer who sells overstock luxury brands. I’d bought some Eidos things from them a few years ago (which I even posted about one time 4 years ago). They ship express DHL worldwide.

Even better, they’ve set up a coupon code for readers of my site for 15% off: MITCHELL15.

Francesco at di Lusso sent me these shirts for free to try, and to give them some exposure in the US, which I was more than happy to do as an existing customer. The white shirt was sadly too short in the sleeves, but the next size up was unavailable, so it went back. Their selection is very broad, including tailoring from Isaia and De Petrillo. They provide measurements for most things, which is very helpful in figuring out your fit. Easy bookmark.

(Help support this site! If you buy stuff through my links, your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit ;-)  Thanks!)

Shop my clothing from this post and every other post on the Shop My Closet page. If you’re just getting into tailored menswear and want a single helpful guide to building a trend-proof wardrobe, buy my eBook. It doesn’t cost that much and covers wardrobe essentials for any guy who wants to look cool, feel cool and make a good impression. Formatted for your phone or computer/iPad so it’s not annoying to read, and it’s full of pretty pictures, not just boring prose. Buy it here.