Sartoria Ciccio: Italian Style. Japanese Attention to Detail.
Minami Aoyama, Toyko. Across the road from a small plaza sits the fittingly plain, but elegant, atelier of Sartoria Ciccio.
Run by Master Tailor Noriyuki Ueki, the neutral appearance of the outside is reflective of the man himself. One that appears, in every way, to look the way a tailor’s shop should. A small selection of shoes made by bespoke maker Hidetaka Fukaya at the entrance, with a collection of jackets made for fittings lining the wall. Bespoke garments at various stages of completion line front and back of the work side, with a swath of fabrics separating the two.
“The Wall”
Sitting down for the initial consultation was odd, unfortunately. COVID was in its infancy, and its first breakout in Italy began the same week. The world was beginning to consider lockdowns. No official word had been released anywhere, but Japanese are known for wearing masks prior to the outbreak, so this visit was not entirely out of the ordinary with all parties wearing a mask. Uekisan (who out of respect for his culture, will be referred to as such for the rest of this article) trained in Italy originally, so I can only imagine his thoughts during the initial outbreak.
After some introduction, the small leather couch was quickly filled with book after book of fabric. I had discussed that I had done much reading on the world of bespoke, and had only now the money to enter. I wanted to start off right. My idea was to have something made that screamed “JAPAN” to me every time I looked at it, and more importantly when I wore it. I wanted something timeless, of course, and neutral. As is Japanese culture. Nothing garish, bright, or upsetting to those around me.
We decided on grey. Something not too light, and noted that I didn’t want a charcoal suit. We then found ourselves with mid-greys. Across four different makers and about 12 shades—naturally, I was still a bit overwhelmed. I believe he knew exactly what I was looking for, though, because he pulled out of a wall of fabric a vintage roll of Ariston Vivaldi Four-Season Super-160’s in a mid-grey that he had just enough of for a full suit. (Shown below. The full roll on top right of the table)
From there we went to details. I wanted something double-breasted because, while I didn’t want a loud color, I wanted something with a lot of gusto nonetheless. To begin, I asked about the house style.
“Double-breasted” at Ciccio is done with a straight lapel, buttonholes on both, ventless, with three buttons on the cuff. Pants would have belt loops if I wore them, side tabs if not, with a plain bottomed trouser. I strayed from these in a few places, but I wanted to keep most details for sentiment’s sake—as well as respect for the house-style. I like double vents for comfort, due to my particularly large seat. Below, cuffs on the trousers with a reverse pleat. My second pair was made plain-bottomed with a single, standard, house pleat. This was only after there was definitely enough fabric. As previously mentioned, he wasn’t sure if there was enough for one whole suit, let alone an extra trouser. Luckily this meant I now have a nearly house-style ensemble.
Uekisan was extremely pleasant to speak with.
While his English wasn’t perfect, my translator (and girlfriend) made the whole process a very enjoyable one. He is a bit soft-spoken, and the shop feels the way I imagine “Savile Row” behaves—solely based on movies such as “Kingsmen” and the like. Quiet, to the point I felt the need to hush my own voice. Though it was hardly the case. They were all very respectful, brought us espresso every visit, and ultimately the “quiet” was just them peacefully working.
Admittedly, my first fitting was a bit painful. 10 months later, and restrictions were just being lifted across Tokyo and at my work, and the experience had me a bit shaken up. This may have been my own doing, stresses were high, and I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to go again—with the city in and out of restrictions.
Hardly any words were spoken. I broke into a nervous sweat as soon as I walked in from being around people again. To top it all off, I stayed for nearly three hours as he worked rapidly to rework the suit. He made this effectively two fittings in one, as I stressed to him the importance of making the most of our time due to lockdown rolls.
The next two fittings were corrections on my shoulders, and this shows why I need to go bespoke (or at least custom) for a few reasons. I am “barrel-chested,” with tall neck muscles and narrow shoulders up top. Large thighs and shorter legs below. A suiting nightmare, if you are looking at the specifics. I can wear an off-the-rack suit, but I can feel all of these nuances tugging at my problem areas with every wear.
-Pictured is the 4th or 5th Fitting, depends on how you count!
-Note the slightly off shoulders and button stance, also a bit long in the jacket. Some sagging in trousers…
-All corrected, of course! ~
The final fitting (Number 6, technically) was solely for him, I believe. Button placement and trouser length, though they were already decided. I opted to have my cuffed pair of trousers about 1cm longer for the drape to really express itself and lengthen my short legs. Plain bottoms were sized to show off my Yohei Fukuda shoes—which I will be releasing the review of at the end of the month.
Overall—as you would expect of a master tailor, it fits amazingly. I have every deformity accounted for, my shoulders are comfortable, yet fitted. I have space in the back between my shoulder blades, something I’ve never had with a jacket that also fits my shoulders. The pants fit my thighs, which is a huge relief.
It’s only a shame I don’t have more time to have anything else made here.
A fine custom dealer will be the next adventure—and much more kind on my wallet—but for now, we will leave this topic as a success. Speaking of wallet, I should mention the price. I paid half the total upfront, as I imagine most bespoke ateliers do, which came to about $2,500 USD. After adding another pair of pants, the total cost came to about $6000 USD.
This was my first bespoke suit. 13 months, through a pandemic, left me with a classic mid-grey, double-breasted, Italian in mill and design, suit. 13 months being a bit of a win, as his usual turnaround time pushes a year, and I had a last-minute pair of pants made in about 2 weeks.
For now, I write you a long seeded invitation to read my emotional, memory-packed, going away letter to this suit.
20+ years from now.
Until then, cheers to recovering times. To a world where I can go out to make these memories.
-Mario
