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Alicia and I are getting married in less than three weeks in our local Catholic church. It’s a super intimate ceremony, but getting ready for it still involves a series of small decisions. At this wedding size, it turns out, most of them are sartorial choices.
So that got me thinking of Italian menswear. The brands Italians in the know shop for. Sadly, I’ve been quite busy between my day job and this Substack, so I only started getting ready for my wedding recently, which means I’m too late to buy clothing directly from Italy.
The consolation prize is a beautiful floral rust-orange tie from Dion, made from 100% Italian silk by a Canadian company (Dion, founded in 1967). Like me, it originates in Italy but was worked on in Canada.
With more time on my hands, I would have taken a trip to Naples and gotten outfitted head to toe there.
All this thinking about menswear inspired me to write a post name-dropping some grand Italian clothing brands. Today I’m starting with the one I spent the most time thinking about: ties. Five houses, from affordable-ish to the very best.
I’m skipping budget options altogether. You can go to Zara (Spanish) or H&M (Swedish) and buy some cheap “Italian” ties there. Here I show you the nice stuff.
For each entry, I’ll have a Where to buy line because otherwise this article turns into a trivia list. Whenever an online option exists, I mention it for those of you shopping from abroad.
One trend you’ll notice, if you pay close attention, is that good Italian brands perfected their craft at some point and then protected it for decades. They live by the idea of not fixing what isn't broken. The positive side effect is often a traditional, timeless look that’s functional and stylish.
5. Fefè Napoli
Fefè Napoli is not an old sartorial house that has served Naples for decades. Instead, founded in 2011, it’s a newcomer on the scene, clearly inspired by the elegance of the existing brands while injecting colorful and bright prints into its designs.
Still, it managed to quickly establish a reputation with three physical stores (Naples and, randomly, Luxembourg), hundreds of retailers, and, of course, online.
Arguably the most affordable on the list, with many options around the €100 mark.
Where to buy: fefenapoli.com, ships worldwide.
4. Bigi Cravatte Milano
From a modern Neapolitan brand to a vintage Milanese one. Luigi Draghi opened a tie workshop in Milan in 1938. Nearly a century later, his grandson Stefano (and his nephew Edoardo Biancardi) run it from a townhouse near the Darsena. Arguably, the best-kept secret on this list.
They design their own fabrics and handmake exquisite ties. They also make ties for far more famous brands. Their ties are huge in Japan (sold there under the brand stefanobigi).
Expect to spend around €150 to €230 per tie.
Where to buy: bigicravatte.it, or No Man Walks Alone in the US.
3. Calabrese 1924
We are back in Naples. Don Eugenio Calabrese was a Neapolitan dandy who supposedly owned 300 ties and chose one each morning according to his mood. Something I’m lately inspired to do as well. In 1924, he decided he might as well start making his own.
His great-granddaughter Annalisa runs the workshop now, down a long flight of stairs off a street near Piazza Nazionale. Three-fold, five-fold, seven-fold, lined, unlined, hand-rolled edges.
Around €100 to €230.
Where to buy: the Naples workshop or online at calabrese1924.com.
2. Francesco Marino
Ferdinando Marino was a barber who went from house to house, and during the war went aboard navy ships to cut and shave the crews.
He quickly figured out that there was more money in putting things around a man's neck than in shaving off what grows on it. He started a business with his wife Grazia right out of their apartment.
Three generations in, his grandson Patrick runs the workshop with his father Francesco in San Giorgio a Cremano (Naples). They are focused on maintaining the Neapolitan sartorial tradition. Hand-cut, hand-rolled, three-fold and seven-fold ties.
Expect to spend around €110-150.
Where to buy: francescomarinonapoli.it. Wools Boutique Uomo also carries them.
1. E. Marinella
Marinella ties are the holy grail. They operate out of a small shop on Riviera di Chiaia in Naples that opened in 1914 when Eugenio Marinella founded the company. It’s still their flagship and only shop in Naples. (They have other shops in Milan, Turin, Rome, London and Tokyo, plus Bergdorf Goodman.)
Allegedly, when Trump came knocking, offering them the chance to open a glass box on Fifth Avenue, the family politely declined.
In the 1980s, the then-President of Italy, Cossiga, started handing foreign heads of state a box of five Marinella ties. And MoMA put one in an exhibition in 2017.
Expect to spend €160 to €300 for them.
Where to buy: Riviera di Chiaia 287 in Naples, or emarinella.eu. Please check that domain; similar unofficial sites exist.
Two things you may have noticed
The range is small. A serious Italian tie costs between €100 and €300, and that is the general range. There is no budget tier that is authentically handmade in Italy for substantially less than €100. And there are practically no €1000 ties unless you’re paying for embellishments like Swarovski crystals. That €100 to €300 range buys you hand-rolled edges, heavier silk, and a workshop that has often been following a hundred-year-old tradition.
Naples dominates the list. Milan is the Italian capital of fashion, but it’s Naples that has the best reputation for hand-finished and bespoke elegant garments. You cannot go wrong with either, of course.
One practical note for readers outside the EU: Italian sites sometimes deduct the 22% VAT at checkout, so the price drops when you enter a non-EU address. Import duty on your end may take quite a bit of it back, however.
Next in this series: the same treatment for other categories of Italian menswear, then womenswear, then, if the series is successful, more info on how to shop in Italy, the sales, the outlets, sizing, and so on.
DISCLAIMER: Brand details and prices checked in September 2026. These things change. If you find something out of date, tell me in the comments, and I will fix it.
Brilliant series, can’t wait for the womenswear installment!