The Neapolitan shirt comparison
Barba Napoli x Isaia x Kiton
The comparison
Barba Napoli: an Italian shirt maker that has long been liked by customers, especially menswear aficionados, for its bang for buck value proposition - as you will see throughout this comparison.
Isaia: in the center, a colorful interpretation of Neapolitan tailoring that resonates particularly well in markets that prefer bolder menswear. If you want to understand better what drives Isaia, its current CEO, and a founding family member, gave this interview a few years ago.
Kiton: on the right, is the best-known representation of handmade Neapolitan tailoring. The expertise at and preservation of skills is so important for Kiton that it launched the Kiton Tailoring School in the 2000s, which has trained many now well known bespoke tailors, and acts as a pipeline for the company and the industry.
Fabric
Barba Napoli: 100% cotton
Isaia: 100% cotton
Kiton: 100% cotton
Sewing
Barba Napoli: single needle, some hand-sewing
Isaia: single needle, mostly hand-sewn
Kiton: single needle, largely hand-sewn
Country of origin
Barba Napoli: Italy
Isaia: Italy
Kiton: Italy
Price
Barba Napoli: €245
Isaia: €549
Kiton: €520
Shop
Side gussets
All three have side gussets, and it is an almost perfect side-by-side comparison on how far you can take a little detail like this. Barba used the shirt fabric and folded it over tightly, and sewed it on by hand. Isaia went the branden detail route using a custom embroidered piece of fabric for its side gussets. Kiton, while not using a custom piece of fabric, applied the logic of the spalla camicia to the side gusset - a little bit more fabric will give a lot more freedom of movement. Kiton’s side gusset acts almost as an elastic because of it.
Cuffs
The cuffs are virtually identical. All three only use one button- All three use mother-of-pearl buttons. All three add a hand-sewn bar tack. You will see in later comparisons that there are brands that hand-sew the cuff to the sleeve.
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