Here’s the thing. I’m about to well and truly lift open the lid of Pandora’s box, and give you one of the sartorial
world’s most closely guarded hacks – a hack so powerful, and so befuddling, that it’s almost been lost to time. Are
you ready? Well, here goes nothing. If you want to dress like a Neapolitan – be more British. I know, it’s a
mindf*ck, isn’t it? Take a minute to think this through. Contrary to what an Italian tailor or style aficionado
might tell you today, Neapolitan style has its roots firmly in dressing the English aristocracy. Yes, the clothes
are constructed differently, but Neapolitan taste in its purest form is inspired by a close relationship with
traditional British style.
In fact, if you trace the story of Neapolitan tailoring back to its origins; to the 14th century trade body,
Confraternita dell’arte dei Giubbonai e Cositori (the brotherhood of jacket makers and tailors), Naples was among
the first cities in the world to export tailored clothing. Right from the get-go, the city’s clothiers were dressing
monarchs, aristos and erstwhile members of the social elite throughout Europe. So, if you really want to
dress like a Neapolitan, forget flash colours and loud linings. Instead, wear clothes with Neapolitan construction
and flair, informed by English taste.
A great example of this duality today is De Petrillo. The house is a Neapolitan tailor in every sense of the word,
hand-making its clothes in local workshops, but De Petrillo cuts its jackets in a variety of doughty English tweeds,
earthy checked jacketings and crisp, weighty worsteds –lending a subtle British sensibility to its house style.
Dalcuore is a similar story; the brand’s double-breasted jackets have a generosity to their silhouette that feels
both empowering and easy to wear at the same time – much like certain Savile Row tailors’ might. This makes sense,
because the famous Neapolitan ‘doppiopetto transformable’ (transformable double-breasted jacket) is a close relation
of the jackets that English tailors were cutting in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1920s, Frederick
Scholte’s famous British drape-cut jackets were generous but softly tailored, with lapels that relaxed over time to
roll to the bottom buttons on a double-breasted coat – it’s a style still championed by Anderson &
Sheppard.
Today, Rubinacci is perhaps the premier example of Neapolitan tailoring tradition’s close alignment with British
style. The house’s forefather, Gennaro Rubinacci, was a devotee of heavy English cloths (in his day, they made-up
better than Italian lightweights) and even dubbed his Neapolitan tailoring shop ‘London House’ in deference to both
his clientele and his own tastes. In the 1930s, it was by examining Scholte’s work in London, and stripping its
structure out, that Rubinacci created the genesis of the ‘Neapolitan look’ as we’d recognise it today. In
partnership with his head cutter, Signor Attolini, he created a form-fitting, yet generous jacket without the thick
shoulder pads and canvassing of Savile Row – the result was a softer but richly-shaped garment altogether more
suited to Naples’ heady climate. Rubinacci’s Gurkha trousers are a similar story. As the name indicates, they’re
inspired by old military trousers designed for British and colonial troops to wear in warm weather. The Gurkha
pant’s twin-buckled front is designed to keep the trouser’s high waistband sitting snugly atop the wearer’s hips
when fastened, without recourse to braces or a stiff, structured waistband. I’d go as far as to say that Gurkha
pants seen through this lens are even more English than English trousers; particularly when Rubinacci cuts them in
hefty brushed cottons, bulletproof corduroy and chalky Irish linens, as they do frequently for The
Rake.
If all else fails, in your quest to explore Neapolitan style today, recourse to Gianni Agnelli, the individual who
most inspired The Rake’s Founder to put pen to paper all those years ago. He was a fanatical apostle of
British menswear, after all. His day-to-day uniform was a double-breasted suit in West-of-England woollen flannel
(made by Domenico Caraceni in Milan, admittedly – but the point still stands), a white silk Turnbull & Asser
shirt and a lined navy silk repp tie. He couldn’t look more British if he tried.
Now, let’s bring this together. My ultimate hack for dressing like a Neapolitan is to explore the conservative style
of those Englishmen who have popularised the traditional British look over the years – primarily the Royals – with
Prince Charles an obvious place to start. His approach to clothes is as British as can be; think regimental stripe
ties, plain poplin or Bengal stripe shirts in powder blue and baby pink, navy serge blazers with gold buttons,
Prince-of-Wales worsted double-breasted suits, robust tweed jackets and pleated cotton drill chinos. Now, transpose
those cloths, cuts and combinations to a thoroughbred Neapolitan tailor’s breezy, lightly constructed clothing, and
you’re onto a sure-fire winner. And of course, The Rake’s clued-up buying team is here to streamline the
shopping process for you. Take a look at these accompanying combinations for some authentic Neapolitan style
inspiration – curated with quintessentially British taste in mind.
