Luigi Borrelli Shirts, Jackets & Suits

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Luigi Borrelli Napoli: shirts since 1957

Luigi Borrelli grew up in the workshop of his mother Anna, a Neapolitan seamstress who sewed shirts for the families of the city early in the last century. In 1957 he founded the company that carries his name, and he kept her method: a shirt is cut by machine but finished by hand, at a table, by a woman who does one thing well. His son Fabio joined in the 1980s and added ties; in 1999 the family gathered a group of Neapolitan tailors and started making jackets and suits, and by 2001 Borrelli dressed a man from shirt to overcoat. The factory still stands in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, at the foot of the volcano, and the company is still run by the Borrelli family. The label says Borrelli Napoli, and that is the whole idea: the Neapolitan shirt and the Neapolitan jacket, made where they were invented.

Luigi Borrelli shirts: hand-sewn in Naples

A Borrelli shirt is sewn by hand in eight places: the sleeves, the collar, the yoke, the front placket, the side gussets, the buttons, the buttonholes and the bar tacks. The sleeve is set into the armhole with the Neapolitan shirring, a slight gather that gives the arm room to move, and the buttons are thick mother-of-pearl, sewn on with a shank so they stand up from the cloth. We carry the Washed Oxford Shirts in white and light blue, the Washed Stripe Shirt in blue and white, the Fine Stripe Cutaway Shirt in light blue, the Linen-Look Striped Shirt in ecru and the Chambray Denim Shirt, all with a cutaway collar, in collar sizes 36 to 45. The washed finish means they are soft from the first day and go in the machine at 30 degrees. All of them are in Luigi Borrelli shirts; for the other Neapolitan shirtmaker we carry, see Finamore.

Luigi Borrelli jackets: Procida, Nisida and unstructured

Borrelli names its jackets after the islands in the Gulf of Naples. The Procida is the slimmer, slightly shorter jacket: single-breasted, patch pockets, a soft shoulder, in navy, stone, taupe, sage green, blue melange, sand herringbone and ecru and brown glen checks, and in a version with working cuffs and four kissing buttons. The unstructured jackets, "destrutturata" in Italian, have no padding and no lining, or a half lining, so they weigh as little as a cardigan: in ivory, taupe melange, sand, light sand, light blue, light grey and beige glen check. The handmade jackets in brown-ecru glen check and ecru windowpane and the Cashmere Jacket in stone beige complete the range. On every jacket the shoulder, collar, buttons and breast pocket are finished by hand and the buttonholes are hand-sewn. Sizes 44 to 60; all in Luigi Borrelli jackets.

Luigi Borrelli suits

The suits follow the jackets. The Nisida Suit in navy and the Nisida Flannel Suit in light grey are the regular-fit suits, single-breasted with a three-roll-two front and patch pockets, the Neapolitan business suit. The Procida suits are the slimmer ones: a navy chalk stripe with four kissing cuff buttons, a grey Prince of Wales check and a blue windowpane. A Borrelli suit is unpadded and light, cut to be worn open as often as buttoned, and the trousers are plain-fronted. Sizes 44 to 56, in Luigi Borrelli suits; for a hand-cut suit at the top of the market, see Kiton.

Luigi Borrelli coats, knitwear and overshirts

The Milano Double-Breasted Coat in navy and the long Milano in light grey, both with peak lapels and a soft Neapolitan shoulder, and the Cortina Double-Breasted Overcoat in navy with a half-belt at the back are tailored in Naples and cut to wear over a jacket. The Sahariana Safari Jacket in navy, the Stand-Collar Zip Blouson in sand, the Suede Overshirt in taupe brown and the unlined Glen Check Shirt-Jacket in taupe are the casual half. Under the jacket: the Scottish Cashmere Rollneck in cream, the Cable-Knit Turtleneck in cream and the rib turtlenecks in brown and oatmeal, or the Short-Sleeve Knitted Skipper Polo in cream for summer.

Luigi Borrelli sizes and fit

Jackets, suits and coats use Italian sizes 44 to 60: a 48 is a medium, a 50 a large, a 52 an extra-large. The Procida runs slim and a little short, so take your usual size for a close fit or one up if you are between sizes; the Nisida, the unstructured jackets and the coats are regular and true to size. Shirts go by collar size, 36 to 45 centimetres, which is 14 to 17¾ inches; a 39 is a medium, a 41 a large. The men's size guide and the shirt size guide have the measurements, and in the store in Zeist we fit you in person.

Luigi Borrelli, Finamore or Kiton?

All three are Neapolitan. Finamore is the other hand-finished shirtmaker we carry, with a slightly softer collar and a wider range of fabrics. Kiton makes its shirts entirely by hand in its own atelier at a price two to three times higher, and its jackets are the summit of Neapolitan tailoring. Borrelli is the middle road: a hand-finished shirt from 269 euros and a hand-finished jacket from around 1,200 euros, with the best collar in its class. For a jacket with a structured shoulder see Corneliani or Lardini.

Luigi Borrelli at Paul Zeist

Paul Zeist has carried Luigi Borrelli since 2021. It hangs in our men's store on the Slotlaan in Zeist, and what you see online is in the store as well. Orders placed before 16:00 ship the same working day, with free UPS pick-up in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and returns within 14 days across the EU. End-of-season pieces move to men's sale.

Frequently asked questions

Are Luigi Borrelli shirts worth it?

Yes, if you want a shirt that is finished by hand. Eight operations are hand-sewn, the buttons are mother-of-pearl and the sleeve is set with the Neapolitan shirring. At Paul Zeist a Borrelli shirt costs 269 to 375 euros.

What size am I in Luigi Borrelli?

Shirts go by collar size 36 to 45; a 39 is a medium, a 41 a large. Jackets and suits use Italian sizes 44 to 60; the Procida runs slim, the Nisida and unstructured jackets regular. See the shirt size guide and the men's size guide.

Where are Luigi Borrelli shirts made?

In Naples, in the family's factory in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio at the foot of Vesuvius, where the company has been since 1957.

How do I wash a Luigi Borrelli shirt?

Machine wash at 30 to 40 degrees and iron while slightly damp; the washed Oxford shirts need no starch. Jackets and suits are dry clean only; knitwear is hand wash cold, dry flat.

What is the difference between the Procida and the Nisida jacket?

Both are named after islands in the Gulf of Naples. The Procida is Borrelli's slimmer and slightly shorter jacket; the Nisida is the regular-fit model, also used for the suits. Both have a soft shoulder and hand-sewn buttonholes.

Luigi Borrelli

10504 Flap-Pocket Overshirt Dark Grey Melange

Paul Zeist Baby, Kids & Junior

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