What first made me think that Paolo Martorano just might be a tailor of particular interest was that he listens. This might not mean much to those of you who aren’t familiar with the domain and idiosyncrasies of bespoke menswear, but for aficionados, communication is half the battle of getting what you want in the realm of the needlecrafts—and I choose that term carefully.
The truth is, you can talk to a tailor until you’re peacock blue in the face about how you want your garment made, going into minute details about widths and lengths, bringing along photos or drawings, explaining how you like your clothes to fit and look, and anything else you can think of to make yourself clear and understandable, and still be defeated. I can’t tell you how many tailors will nod, smile and assure you that all your suggestions and directions will be followed to the smallest fraction of an inch . . . and then go off and do exactly what they want. Every time a tailor’s name comes up in discussion among enthusiasts, the first question
