Sartorial suit jacket details
Beyond getting the fit right, we love the handwork that gives a suit its character. These small touches are what give your suit its personality and charm. They’re details for true connoisseurs—once you appreciate them, it’s hard to enjoy a suit without them.
Sartorial lapel buttonholes:
Handmade
Handmade buttonholes are sewn with tiny knotted loops (purl stitches) that make them strong and distinctive. A machine buttonhole takes about five seconds to sew; a handmade one takes around 10 minutes.
Neapolitan
A Neapolitan buttonhole is a shorter, thicker handmade style favored by tailors in Naples. It has a distinctive, wider opening at the end compared to other buttonholes.
Milanese
Also called an asola lucida, the Milanese buttonhole is made with a thicker “gimp” thread wrapped tightly with a whipstitch, creating a raised, sculpted look that shows off the stitching. It takes about 15 minutes to do by hand and can only be done properly by a skilled tailor—no machine can copy it.
Long Milanese
A longer, more elegant version of the Milanese buttonhole. It uses a thin, extra-long gimp cord and is one of the hardest buttonholes to sew by hand, taking even a skilled tailor about 20 minutes. The result is a very subtle, refined Milanese buttonhole.
Double knot (HMIT only)
A slightly rougher style made only by our Hand Made in Italy (HMIT) atelier. It’s like a handmade buttonhole, but each purl stitch is doubled, creating a thicker, smoother look—somewhere between a standard handmade and a Milanese buttonhole.
Sartorial details:
Camicia shoulder
The spalla camicia (or “shirt sleeve” shoulder) is a Neapolitan tailoring style. The sleeve is cut slightly larger and set into a smaller armhole, creating small pleats at the top of the sleeve. The seam is turned inward toward the shoulder, so the fabric falls more naturally. This gives the jacket a relaxed look and allows greater arm movement. It can be made unstructured or with light padding as a soft shoulder.
Pick stitching: Doppio impuntura
This is the classic Neapolitan “double pick stitching” you see along the edges of a suit. It’s done by hand with tiny backstitches that show as small dots on the fabric, running along the lapel, collar, pockets, and shoulder seams. It’s a time-consuming detail and a visible sign of handwork and elegance.
Chest pocket: Rounded welt pocket
Also called the barchetta (“little boat” in Italian), this chest pocket is gently curved and angled upward, like the bow of a sailboat. It follows the natural roll of the lapel and canvas, giving the jacket more shape and life—unlike flat, machine-made chest pockets, which look more square and rigid.
Closure & lapel: 2.5 buttons
Also called tre bottoni stirato a due (“three rolling on two”), this is a signature Neapolitan lapel style. The top button and buttonhole are decorative and stay unbuttoned. As the lapel rolls, it gently covers the top button and stops about 4 cm above the second button, creating that signature soft roll. Because it’s meant to stay open, the top buttonhole is sewn inside out so the nice side still shows.