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Where the Pope Gets His Socks :-)

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
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Ever wonder where the Pope gets his socks (besides his wardrobe)
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By Jessamyn Hatcher - The New Yorker - April 12, 2018

"On a recent cloudy afternoon in Rome, two young priests from Ireland, dressed in simple tab collars and black pants, stood with their noses pressed against the display window of Ditta Annibale Gammarelli, purveyors of ecclesiastical clothing and tailors to the Pope since 1798.

Gammarelli, nestled behind the Pantheon, is the oldest and most famous shop in a district that is to Roman Catholic clerical garb what the streets between the Via del Corso and the Spanish Steps are to la moda. In the window hung a sumptuous red-and-gold silk damask chasuble, the outermost vestment a priest wears to Mass; a hat shaped like a Gothic window, worn by bishops and the Pope, called a mitre; and red silk socks for cardinals. There was also a jewelry case of bishops’ rings and a sign that read “Shop Tax Free.” “Do you think they’re made of real gold?” one priest asked, about the rings. “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” the other replied.

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Outside the Vatican, a shop stewards the flourishing art of papal couture. Photograph by Alessandra Benedetti / Corbis / Getty

Inside, the store was thronged. Lorenzo Gammarelli, tall, bearded, courteous, was fielding walk-ins as the phone rang off the hook. “It’s been like this for three days. I don’t know why. Last week was extremely simple,” Gammarelli said. He wore a brown tweed blazer, a sweater vest, and a tie the color of purple crocuses. Lorenzo and his cousins Massimiliano and Stefano Paolo are the sixth generation of Gammarellis to run the shop, which has been located on the Via Santa Chiara since 1874, when the cousins’ great-grandfather Annibale—grandson of Giovanni Antonio, the first recorded papal Gammarelli tailor—opened its doors. The Gammarelli showroom is a deep rectangle, fitted with glass counters and shelves in a dark, glossy wood.

Along one wall are small wooden drawers with labels like “red skull caps” and “braided cinctures.” Above the drawers is a row of photographs: Popes dressed by Gammarelli, from Pius IX to Francis. “Our most precious customers,” Lorenzo said. He gestured toward Benedict XVI [who was one 'sharp & snazzy' dressing Pope], who, when he was still Pope, was voted the 2007 “Accessorizer of the Year” by Esquire. This prompted the Vatican’s official daily paper to publish a response: “The Holy Father is not dressed by
Prada, but by Christ.”

It would also be accurate to say that he is dressed by Gammarelli. Before a papal election, the shop displays papal robes in small, medium, and large in their window. The site becomes as closely monitored as the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. Even before the conclave is convened, the Gammarellis are prepared to dress the Pope-elect for his first public appearance. “We go to the Holy Father,” Lorenzo explained. “Everybody else comes to us.”

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Pope Francis, named the best dressed man alive in 2013, by Esquire, is one of the Gammarellis’ patrons. Photograph by Wojtek Laski / Getty

Papal apparel has remained largely unchanged for two thousand years, with even small shifts—John Paul II donning plain loafers, Paul VI consigning the papal tiara to a museum, Benedict reintroducing the mozzetta, an ermine-trimmed red velvet shoulder cape—sparking scandal in the faith. Lately, though, holy couture seems to have gained currency in the culture at large.

In 2013, Pope Francis was named the best dressed man alive by Esquire. In the recent HBO series “The Young Pope,” Lenny Belardo, [played by Jude Law], the suave, chain-smoking American Pontiff, announces himself to the cardinals by wearing ornate regalia from the Middle Ages.

And, beginning in May, the Met will host the biggest fashion show in its history, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” The exhibit will pair high-fashion confections with objects from the museum’s medieval Christian collection—papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside the Vatican, will also be on view".

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"
The shop offers ecclesiastical socks in three colors: black for priests, purple for bishops, and red for cardinals [and of course white for Pontiffs, but Pope Francis prefers black]. Eligio Paoni / Contrasto / Redu

Read More: Where the Pope gets his socks

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"Modesty in dress is best". CBJ
 
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The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
[...]“Our most precious customers,” Lorenzo said. He gestured toward Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI [who was one 'sharp & snazzy' dressing cleric], who, when he was still Pope, was voted the 2007 “Accessorizer of the Year” by Esquire. This prompted the Vatican’s official daily paper to publish a response: “The Holy Father is not dressed by Prada, but by Christ.”
Inserted Link in Red above.
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"And about clothing why are ye anxious"? Matthew 6:28
 
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Very Good Man... happy that he wears excellent socks.

Being that I don't shop there, I prefer Darn Tough socks or Gold Toe wool.
 
Very Good Man... happy that he wears excellent socks.

Being that I don't shop there, I prefer Darn Tough socks or Gold Toe wool.
Yep. Darn Tough for me to.
Kind of a neat article. If I’m ever in the neighborhood, I’d probably stop in and buy some socks.

I have great respect for the present Pontiff. Seems a brilliant and compassionate soul. I wish him great success, and a long and healthy life.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
[...]Kind of a neat article. If I’m ever in the neighborhood, I’d probably stop in and buy some socks.[...]
Hoka:
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When the Mrs. and I got married at the Vatican (a must see and a wonder to behold...simply breath taking), in Saint Peters Basilica (in the Chapel of the Choir), and had our honeymoon in Rome and pilgrimage in the Vatican City State...one of our trips was to 'gawk'
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& go into Gammarelli's many, many years ago (should have 'pick-ed-up' some socks)! :thumbsup:

OUR V ATICAN MARIAGE CERTIFICATE.jpg


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“Dressing well is a form of good manners”. Tom Ford
 
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Hoka:
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When the Mrs. and I got married at the Vatican (a must see and a wonder to behold...simply breath taking), in Saint Peters Basilica (in the Chapel of the Choir), and had our honeymoon in Rome and pilgrimage in the Vatican City State...one of our trips was to 'gawk'
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& go into Gammarelli's many, many years ago (should have 'pick-ed-up' some socks)! :thumbsup:

View attachment 875813

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“Dressing well is a form of good manners”. Tom Ford

That’s got to be a fantastic memory!
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
That’s got to be a fantastic memory!
Hoka:
You're right and not to be
Going Off-Track Imgae.jpg
, but the Mrs. and I were filled (and still are) with such joy and happiness that we wrote to His Holiness (then JP II), and "...humbly ask of you or your appointed representative, if either of you are not too busy dealing with the business of State and the Church, to grace our Wedding Ceremony with your presence".

We had Faith back then that we would get a reply, but from what office and would this reply be received before our Journey to Rome
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We had Faith it would. :yesnod:

There's an old saying...“Belief is heavier than a mountain yet faith is lighter than a feather”. CBJ

To our surprise, we received a package from the office of the Nuncio in Berlin, Germany. In that package was a letter from the office of the Vatican Secretariat of State expressing His Holiness's regret (conveyed by Monsignor Caccia, Assessor) in not being able to attend our Ceremony, but closed this letter by stating that "He invoke[d] upon you both [us] of God's abundant blessing".

Our Vatican Reply Letter.JPG


We also received from the above office, two (2) 'blessed' Vatican Rosaries w/ Cases (with His Holiness's Coat of Arms), and two (2) signed 5 x 7 portraits of Himself.

It was truly a great honor that had been bestowed upon us— confirming our belief that all things can be accomplished by having Faith, but also hold special esteem and prayers to have been remember by Him. :thumbsup:

well-dressed-man-jpg.783377
"You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure". Zig Ziglar
 
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Hoka:
You're right and not to be View attachment 876108 , but the Mrs. and I were filled (and still are) with such joy and happiness that we wrote to His Holiness (then JP II), and "...humbly ask of you or your appointed representative, if either of you are not too busy dealing with the business of State and the Church, to grace our Wedding Ceremony with your presence".

We had Faith back then that we would get a reply, but from what office and would this reply be received before our Journey to Rome
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We had Faith it would. :yesnod:

To our surprise, we received a package from the office of the Nuncio in Berlin, Germany. In that package was a letter from the office of the Vatican Secretariat of State expressing His Holiness's regret (conveyed by Monsignor Caccia, Assessor) in not being able to attend our Ceremony, but closed this letter by stating that "He invoke[d] upon you both [us] of God's abundant blessing".

View attachment 876104

We also received from the above office, two (2) 'blessed' Vatican Rosaries w/ Cases (with His Holiness's Coat of Arms), and two (2) signed 5 x 7 portraits of Himself.

It was truly a great honor that had been bestowed upon us— confirming our belief that all things can be accomplished by having Faith, but also hold special esteem and prayers to have been remember by Him. :thumbsup:

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“Belief is heavier than a mountain yet faith is lighter than a feather”. CBJ
Christopher,
Thanks for sharing these moments. Sounds like the blessing was effective!:a17:
 

tankerjohn

A little poofier than I prefer
Great story Count!

I love there's businesses like Gammarelli's. Seems very European to me. I suppose a few if tailors on Saville Row have similar lineages. In the popes, I appreciated Benedict's efforts to bring back some of the traditions papal garments. Pope Francis has his own, simpler, style.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
"The shop offers ecclesiastical socks in three colors: black for priests, purple for bishops, and red for cardinals [and of course white for Pontiffs, but Pope Francis prefers black

I knew about "that special company that makes the red socks" aka "that special company that makes socks for the Pope" ... but I always thought it was red for the pope. Guess not.
 
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