Made In Italy - Better, Worse or Equal?

[gaseousclay]

I'd say the Made In Italy marker doesn't necessarily make items superior to products from other countries. I have a pair of Bruno Magli captoes and while they look nice to my eyes, they don't appear to be of the highest quality, despite saying Made In Italy. I look to companies like Allen Edmond and Alden as a good example. Both companies proudly claim Made In The USA for their shoes, but there's a difference in quality from each shoemaker. it's all relative

 

[proxymoron]

Fyi, there was quite a bit of coverage on the trend of Chinese (owned and staffed) factories being leased outside Prato (an Italian textile hub). Absolutely made in Italy. Made by Italians? Nope.

Honestly, I'm surprised you'd think a "made in" tag means anything at all. China itself manufactures Louis Vuitton and Macbooks in addition to all the cheap crap that people here love to complain about.

 

[buyandhold2018]

I just bought a few pairs of Zegna jeans (made in Italy) and I can honestly say they are the best jeans I've ever worn, by a monstrous margin! Now I know why they cost so much.

 

[cbird]

Just as some makers in Solingen, Sheffield, and Seki have earned a reputation for making excellent blades, so also have many makers in Italy earned a reputation for making some of the finest men's clothing and shoes (ie Kiton, Loro Piana, Zegna, Belvest, Barbera, Brioni and others) and their products are definitely better than the ready to wear products made almost anywhere else in the world. But, outside of these great brands, there are also many schlock level manufacturers in Italy who prey upon consumers who assume any Italian brand with a lot of vowels in its name is also one of the great, sort of a reverse prejudice; so "Made in Italy" can be promising, but a product still needs to be looked at closely to determine if it is really a quality product - and if it's not from one of the big names, I'd consider it suspect. The quality items will generally be very expensive.

 

[galopede]

I know of one thing that is definitely made in Italy and is the best in the world. Castagnari melodeons! Take a look at my avatar. That's a Castagnari Tommy squeezebox, made by hand by mostly members of the same family with a few extra long serving employees at their little factory (a row of converted houses) in Recanti. They've been making them in the same place since 1914 and they are recognised as the best. Almost all of their different models are named after the family and their employees! I also have a Lilly.

It's my most prized possession!

Gareth

 

[commanderkeen]

Made in Italy doesn't mean high-quality, it means 'Made in Italy' (and sometimes assembled in Italy). Italians make a bunch of products, some very good, some not so good, like stuff made in the US. Although, seeing something in the US that was made in Italy might automatically mean that the product was selected for sale because of its exceptional qualities, so we have a case of selection bias.

 

[KM-instructor]

Slap an Italian name on a Chinese made product designed in the high heel boot, have some buttons and labels sewn on in Italy, it will sell faster and for more moolah.

Buy clothes from the Dung U Wun company or get it with a leonardo Costabunchio label.

 

[Doraemon]

I love Italian clothes. I prefer the cut of the suits, which I think is more stylish and better-fitting than the usual variety I find in the local shops (I live in Tokyo). I have suits by Brioni, Kiton, and Zegna. Borrelli is my favorite shirt maker, I love the fit, and how smooth the cotton is. I also like Incotex, the quality of their clothing is superb.

As nice as Italian clothes are, Italian shoes are better. Prada, Ferragamo, Bruno Magli,and Zegna, all are wonderful, though my favorite shoes are by John Lobb, and are not made in Italy.

Obviously, I spend too much on clothes...

 

[TheMaxx]

Made in wherever is a rather subjective matter, take for example my caterpillar work boots. Made in China. But the quality is all there, I know there are probably many red wing lovers on here or maybe danner boots. they both offer made in the USA with US sourced materials. Or assembled in the USA with imported materials or just straight up made in faraway lands. However for me personally I don't find the enormous price tag on these made in the usa boots worth while when my Cat's cost half or less and just as good IMHO. This even applies to those which these company's have made in China mine would still cost considerably less. Not to say I wouldn't buy Red Wing or Danner boots, they are very good products. But the details for me are what count, price and the quality of workmanship & materials used. So if my boots say made in china oh well the quality in this case the quality is still superb