Ethan In Italy: A Short Day in Milan

This includes a visit to M. Bardelli and Rubinacci!

I felt like the Italian businessmen were looking at my shoes. whenever I was out walking.

After dancing the night way, we all quickly packed up and headed back to Milan. Unlike the other parts of our trip, we weren’t expecting to stay too long in this city. As a result, our one day in Milan was left to our own devices! So naturally, Isabel and I decided to put some cultural spots on our list as well as a few stores.

I went right back to my typical “vacation wear” for this one, but shifted the look slightly. The striped tee shirt and navy DB were the same (it’s the only tailored jacket I brought other than the tuxedo), though this time I decided to wear my m43 pants; they’re still wide and breezy, but definitely a different vibe compared to wool trousers. I could have worn a button up shirt to lean into the city vibes, but I wanted to save those for later on. The whole thing was simple and easy to move around in.

The first stop was the Ambrosia library. This was on Isabel’s must list and she was incredibly happy we got to go. It’s a small-ish museum, located about a ten minute walk away from the crowded Duomo and the main museums there. As you can see from the photos, the Ambrosia library focuses on religious art (duh) from different eras, which include paintings, sculptures, and mosaics. I loved seeing Caravaggio as well as a non-Botticelli portrait of Dante.

One of the coolest exhibits was a Raphael’s cartoon (initial drawing) of the School of Athens (which I would later see in person at the Vatican). It showed the differences between the cartoon and the finished fresco, detailing the different characters as well as a few cues that point toward the fact that the cartoon may be fully Raphael while the fresco may have been completed by his students.

The other main part was excerpts of Leonardo’s Codex Atlanticus. We were able to see actual pages from it as well as scans directly from the huge book, which covered a multitude of topics. Maybe one day I’ll expand my writing to non-menswear topics and create my own Codex.

Once we finished, we went next door to a church for a bit of reflection before going back out.

@ethanmwong
My feet hurt from walking! But it was a cool day of art, a bit of menswear, and birds LOL #vlog #milan #menswear #mensfashion #ootd
♬ original sound – Ethan M. Wong

Altars with bodies underneath give me the heebie jeebies.

It was then that I officially started the menswear portion of this trip. I’m actually the worst person to talk to when it comes to shopping recommendations, which is why I relied on Simon’s guide to help me decide where to go. On the way to those shops, Isabel and I made sure to check out random cool spots, like a few vintage book stores that included both English and Italian pieces.

The first menswear store was M. Bardelli. It’s basically a full service menswear store that had everything from casual shirts and knits to full suits and morning dress (presumably for weddings). I was taken by the styling on their window merchandising, which was very tastefully done. There was even a nod to Angelli with the pinstripe suit and suede boots.

I’m sure the staff could tell that I wasn’t there to buy anything, as they mainly focused on the actual Italian businessmen and well-to-do tourists that were in there buying ties and suits. The ties themselves were very nice and quite tempting at their €120-€150 price; as much as I love Drake’s, I think they’ve spoiled me by making me think that a tie under $250 is good. I even tried on a few jackets, which were all soft and 3-roll-2 per any #menswear’s wet dream. While I’ve mainly been focusing on going custom lately (as I’ve perfected my pattern with Fugue), I do enjoy RTW every once in a while, especially when you get to see the POV of the brand. Tucked between the sensible corporate jackets were some fun choices, like a blue-grey hopsack or a green plaid. It’s a little bold for me, but I’m glad that menswear stores include fun options for their clients.

After a local panini, we trekked over to Rubinacci which was in an incredibly luxury brand-dense area; it was next to Goyard and a handful of other places my mother would like more than me. Rubinacci was smaller than M. Bardelli and as a result, much more intimate. I was actually too scared to ask to take any photos, but they did let me snap a few near the end. Here, gurkhas and belgians have their day in the sun, no doubt thanks to Luca’s status as a fan and huge #menswear icon. Unfortunately I didn’t try on any of the tailoring, but that’s okay!

Again, €120 ties were tempting, but I passed since I knew that I was going to visit Tie Your Tie in Florence quite soon. The other temptation were the Belgians, which with the VAT removed, were cheaper than getting them at Todd Snyder (the only stockist I’ve been to). However, I passed again, noting that I already had the Sagans and that if I wanted another black tie shoe, it would be a proper opera pump.

We then started our journey back to the Duomo (which was where our hotel was). On the way back we stumbled across a Sebago, which I had never been into before! The decor was incredibly preppy and they even had a few illustrations by Mr. Slowboy (another #menswear icon). Right near it was a Humana Vintage, which seems to be like Italy’s version of Crossroads or Buffalo Exchange. The selection wasn’t too great for either of us, but I actually wanted to make sure I did my due diligence and did a bit of thrifting, as I wanted to find some “regular” Italian clothing.

This bookstore had English language books and a downstairs section full of vintage books!

Big churches and squares are tucked between apartments and stores.

Dinner was done with my family at Trattoria Del Nuovo Marcelo, where I ordered a veal cutlet that was nothing short of amazing. I actually changed into a suit for dinner, not just because I was sweaty, but because I like a little bit of an occasion. After all, I’m not used to eating out like this with my family, let alone drink with them!

Nick, Richard’s eldest son, then invited us out to a speakeasy called The White Rabbit, which required a password. It was an easy answer (it was a riddle pointing toward S.P.A) but the email/riddle was obviously in Italian so we had to carefully translate it to make sure we got the instructions right. The drinks were fine but the location was…interesting. Just like most places in Italy the place was small and narrow. The place was packed and because we had a group of six, they led us to the basement which was decorated like a costume party: zoot suits, flapper dresses, plastic guns, and their creepy rabbit motif. We were there until around midnight before taking a taxi back home to pack.

Venice was waiting for us in the morning.