Comments for Heart of an Artisan

Comment on The Tailor Versus the Menswear Designer by Gordon Goldstein

Gordon Goldstein — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:36:28 +0000

Bruce- perhaps this really is an American thing!! Great tailors like Bill Fioravanti- Tony Maurizio-Joe Centofanti-Verl Becker-and scores from the Chicago area were great “craftsmen” and super sales people. Yes they were designers, tailors or whatever. but they had enormous pride in their finished products. They could sell 10 suits to a customer who came in looking for a blazer!! But they never compromised their work, style, fit or customers’ pride. Giacomo Trabalza, Sil De Caro and Frank Cicco all have and had great looks, but were never afraid to SELL. It couldn’t hurt to be both- RIGHT??

Comment on Glovemaker Keeps Dream Alive in New York by Vicki Vasilopoulos

Vicki Vasilopoulos — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:21:45 +0000

Hi, Carolina… Thank you for your feedback — it’s great to hear from you. I used to be very familiar with Gruppo GFT when I worked as a men’s fashion editor. I guess we’re both into our new careers now…

Comment on Glovemaker Keeps Dream Alive in New York by Carolina

Carolina — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:17:30 +0000

Dear Vicki,
The trailers themselves are wonderful! I look forward to seeing the entire documentary.
I began my Italian speaking career working in the Italian Fashion Industry in the late 80′s and into the 90′s. I worked for a now defunct Italian conglomerate that was huge back then, Gruppo GFT. I also worked for an Italian wool mill and had the opportunity to go inside and see the craftsmanship first hand.
I now run an Italian preschool, but I still love all things Italian, especially fashion!
Good luck with your project and please keep us informed of when and where to see your film.
Best,
Carolina Gengo Di Domenico

Comment on Share by bunny

bunny — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:23 +0000

This is absolutely wonderful. Such talented and warm hearted men, loving their art.

I have the pleasure of having the book written by Irene. It is outstanding. I so enjoyed hearing her read the poem she had written.

Hand in hand the two arts meet, that of creating a masterpiece from cloth, and that of creating a poem and a novel.

Comment on Glovemaker Keeps Dream Alive in New York by Vicki Vasilopoulos

Vicki Vasilopoulos — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:43:43 +0000

Daniel, it would be my honor to stop by and see you!

Comment on Glovemaker Keeps Dream Alive in New York by Daniel Storto

Daniel Storto — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:04:28 +0000

Thank you so much! Wow! What a wonderful site. And when in upstate New York stop by Gloversville New York to visit the only storefront glovemaker’s shop in the world.
-Daniel Storto

Comment on Share by Maria Enrico

Maria Enrico — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:51:20 +0000

I had a close relative Lino Capella who was the master tailor for Dunhill Tailors in Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. He trained dozens of apprentices from the old country and made clothes for many Hollywood stars of the 50s and 60s. Everything was hand made and hand stitched – even the button holes. When I watch the TV series Mad Men I get flashbacks! I once went with my mother to visit him and tried on a winter coat – it fit like a slip and I felt like a princess. He always had a straight pin on his lapel – because you never knew when you might need one. He was a true artist.

Comment on Renewed Attention on New York City’s Garment District by Vicki Vasilopoulos

Vicki Vasilopoulos — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:45:37 +0000

Glad you’re enjoying it!

Comment on Renewed Attention on New York City’s Garment District by black hattitude

black hattitude — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:33:59 +0000

hello, Thank you for the great quality of your blog, each time i come here, i'm amazed. black hattitude.

Comment on Share by Vicki Vasilopoulos

Vicki Vasilopoulos — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:35:45 +0000

Irene Musillo Mitchell shares a passage from her book, Anna Marilena’s Four Sorrows, which is inspired by her experience getting fitted by her father, a tailor from Basilicata, Italy: When it was time for a fitting, he summoned Marilena or me to the sewing room, and we stood stiff and silent as he scrutinized the suit or coat he made us. As young as we were, we understood that to create our father's outfits, which everyone admired, high seriousness and hard work were as necessary as going to school. The fittings took place in the adjacent parlor, for the sewing room was no more than a pantry. If Gian Andrea had just used the steam iron, the smell of steamed cloth floated into the parlor. "Stai diritta!" he would say. He spoke to us in Italian or English, as one language or the other rose to his lips. Sometimes, especially when I was called in from playing outside, I found it hard to stand straight and still. "Stai ferma!" he said crossly, or it seemed that way. Standing back, as one does observing a painting in a museum, he would look sharply at the jacket or coat. Sometimes a jacket did not fall quite as he wished, and he would pull and tug at it until it conformed more precisely to the figure, or he would adjust and readjust a tentatively-fastened collar on a coat until it lay perfectly around the neck. Sometimes the stiffener in the collar scratched my neck, but I did not say a word. "Gira!" I would turn around, though too quickly, for he would intercept, "Piano!" and his eyes followed a skirt, how it fell, its hemline, its hemline pleat. "Cammina!" Wearing the almost finished suit, I walked stiffly away, turned, and walked toward him, while he appraised the total effect. When the fitting was over, which he indicated by a nod of the head or some other dismissive gesture, I knew from a certain calmness overspreading his face and an easing, like the relaxing of a tense body, that the suit met his Berninian or Cellinian eye.