How Italy's 'clothes system' works

"David Horne" <d4g4h4.uk> wrote in message
news:1i234dx.58cugn1eyup7oN%d4g4h4.uk...
>B Vaughan <me@> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:20:22 +0200, Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> >The shirts I bought in an expensive shop in Milan were probably the
>> >poorest
>> >quality I have bought anywhere.
>>
>> I have also found the quality of clothes made in Italy to be a bit
>> substandard at times. My husband bought a rather expensive shirt whose
>> colors ran the first time it was washed (by hand in lukewarm water). I
>> wanted him to return it, but he refused. He said you couldn't return
>> something after you've worn it. With attitudes like that, there's
>> nothing to prevent clothing manufacturers from fobbing off substandard
>> goods on the customers.
>
> Indeed. I wore a 3 (or was it 4?) quid Primark shirt when I went to
> Buckingham Palace recently, and it was great. It washed really well too.
> Yesterday, a group of youngish Italian women passed me on the street in
> Manchester, and they all had Primark bags stuffed full of clothes! :)
>


Unfortunately, it is almost certainly the case that a shirt which costs so
little has been made in a sweatshop in Bangladesh or some other equally
impoverished Country
--

JohnT

In article <njfpa398cgkurb3t219anm56r2s2j2bdhc@news>,
Ciao Cara! <ciao.cara@come.stai> wrote:

> But this summer the only styles to be seen with are classic Ray-Ban
> Aviator specs or the Dior range which make you look like an insect and
> leave panda-like white patches around the eyes if you keep them on all
> day.


Ray Ban is American isn't it?

And Dior is French?

In article <j9ora391qaoiukbul9ha0blsbcphpud5ls@>,
The Reid <mikereidclothing@freedomnames.co.uk> wrote:

> to be honest, of the countries I've been to, Italy seems *very*
> conscious of dress. I reckon its much more common there that a lot of
> countries. That's my impression.

Maybe because fashion and textiles are big industries?

There was a recent article about how a country like Germany was doing
better in the last couple of years because of industries which made
specialized equipment like certain kinds of pumps and other machinery
which isn't vulnerable to competition from China.

Meanwhile, Southern European countries like Italy wasn't doing as well
because key industries like textiles were dealing with competition from
the Far East.

The other part of that was that the depreciation of the dollar vs. the
Euro was hurting sales of high-priced items like Zegna suits which
American tourists often splurged on while visiting Italy.

>>You made a mistake. Live with it.

I think it's more a case of "She (might have) made a mistake, you live with
it".
--
Tim C.

Following up to Martin <me@address.invalid> :

>Those bloody foreign shoplifters will pinch anything :)

very good ! :)
--
Tim C.

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:03:36 GMT, "William Black" <william.black@.uk>
wrote:

>
>"David Horne" <d4g4h4.uk> wrote in message
>news:1i234sc.sz2s2hpkiv5cN%d4g4h4.uk.. .
>> Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:17:41 +0100, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne)
>>> wrote:
>> []
>>> An ex-colleague has a Rolex clone that he bought for a fiver in a market
>>> in A'dam around 1985 that still looks like it is made of gold and still
>>> keeps more accurate time than the real thing.
>>
>> I bought a fake in Bangkok, and it fell apart within 6 months. He's
>> lucky! :)
>
>There are several different qualities of fake Rolex watches.
>
>They range from cheap copies that are the wrong colour and don't have the
>proper winder to expensive automatics with decent hallmarks

"real" hallmarks?

>on the 'gold'
>case and a sweep hand that is as smooth as the real thing.
>
>Get a good one and it's almost as good as the real thing, get a bad one and
>it'll fall to bits in a week...
--

Martin

"Martin" <me@address.invalid> wrote in message
news:t1tta39339dbckudgfdl6m1ne990v2md5i@...
> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:03:36 GMT, "William Black"
> <william.black@.uk>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"David Horne" <d4g4h4.uk> wrote in message
>>news:1i234sc.sz2s2hpkiv5cN%d4g4h4.uk. ..
>>> Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:17:41 +0100, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne)
>>>> wrote:
>>> []
>>>> An ex-colleague has a Rolex clone that he bought for a fiver in a
>>>> market
>>>> in A'dam around 1985 that still looks like it is made of gold and still
>>>> keeps more accurate time than the real thing.
>>>
>>> I bought a fake in Bangkok, and it fell apart within 6 months. He's
>>> lucky! :)
>>
>>There are several different qualities of fake Rolex watches.
>>
>>They range from cheap copies that are the wrong colour and don't have the
>>proper winder to expensive automatics with decent hallmarks
>
> "real" hallmarks?

Amongst other things I'm a trained jeweller and silversmith.

The marks looked good to me, even through a loupe.

Of course the 18 Carat gold marks on a stainless steel watch case were
something of a giveaway...

But, to be honest, if the plating on a gold one was decent plating I'd be
very pressed to spot the difference.

Certainly they've got the sweep hand 'juddering' thing solved so you can no
longer tell the difference by looking at the sweep hand. You've got to open
the case, which in non-trivial unless you've got a special 'Rolex tool
kit', although you can buy a copy of that now as well...


--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

"B Vaughan" <me@> wrote in message
news:262ua3p58sf0sb5dtal9su0u7ook4n8u24@...
> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:09:00 GMT, "William Black"
> <william.black@.uk> wrote:
>
>>So you are a resident of the United States...
>>
>>Thought so.
>
> I'm having a lot of trouble getting your point. Did you consider the
> original article an insightful cultural analysis?

No.

I'm more interested in the origins of the writer than of the article

Fashion is subjective.

The original article tells me far more about the cultural origins of the
writer than about fashion in Italy.

Having travelled extensively in Italy I know damn well that Italians vary in
their approach to fashion and what will be considered fashionable and
desirable in a city in Southern Italy will be considered gauche and naive
in Milan.

What is considered 'classic' and suave in Milan may well be considered
vulgar and over dressed in a sophisticated suburb/village in the Romagna

--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:35:49 GMT, "William Black" <william.black@.uk>
wrote:

>
>"Martin" <me@address.invalid> wrote in message
>news:t1tta39339dbckudgfdl6m1ne990v2md5i@.. .
>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:03:36 GMT, "William Black"
>> <william.black@.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"David Horne" <d4g4h4.uk> wrote in message
>>>news:1i234sc.sz2s2hpkiv5cN%d4g4h4.uk.. .
>>>> Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:17:41 +0100, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne)
>>>>> wrote:
>>>> []
>>>>> An ex-colleague has a Rolex clone that he bought for a fiver in a
>>>>> market
>>>>> in A'dam around 1985 that still looks like it is made of gold and still
>>>>> keeps more accurate time than the real thing.
>>>>
>>>> I bought a fake in Bangkok, and it fell apart within 6 months. He's
>>>> lucky! :)
>>>
>>>There are several different qualities of fake Rolex watches.
>>>
>>>They range from cheap copies that are the wrong colour and don't have the
>>>proper winder to expensive automatics with decent hallmarks
>>
>> "real" hallmarks?
>
>Amongst other things I'm a trained jeweller and silversmith.
>
>The marks looked good to me, even through a loupe.
>
>Of course the 18 Carat gold marks on a stainless steel watch case were
>something of a giveaway...
>
>But, to be honest, if the plating on a gold one was decent plating I'd be
>very pressed to spot the difference.
>
>Certainly they've got the sweep hand 'juddering' thing solved so you can no
>longer tell the difference by looking at the sweep hand. You've got to open
>the case, which in non-trivial unless you've got a special 'Rolex tool
>kit', although you can buy a copy of that now as well...

My vision of assayers marking 50,000,000 Rolex clones is shattered.
--

Martin