A Surprise From Norway
Today I finally get to Review a pair of Cavour Trousers for you all.
More specifically, a pair of their Mod 2 Bottle Green Single Pleat Trousers I picked up during their latest sales.
With an elegant, classic look and exceptional VBC fabrics, I had high hopes for this review.
As always, I will do my best to give you my opinion by going in-depth once more!
Let’s begin!
Who Is Cavour?
It’s very interesting that they omit this information from their website, but I did find some more information about Cavour on LinkedIn.
Cavour is a Norwegian retailer, established in 2013 by two brothers: Sebastian and Richard Scharnke.
As most family shops begin, their aim was to bring a more custom, high end feel to the RTW menswear segment without paying a fortune.
When you look at their non-sale prices however, you do see they are quite premium but at the same time, the products seem excellent.
It’s great to see that their presence increases each year, with 5 stores in Oslo and even a London Showroom.
The first time I heard about them was when I was looking for Scandinavian shoe retailers and eventually learned more about them in Styleforum.
Interestingly, I mentioned them very recently as a great potential Suitsupply Alternative.
What Can You Buy At Cavour?
Without going too much into detail, I will go through what Cavour sells.
Their gamma is pretty impressive and features not only clothes, shoes and accessories for men, but also women.
Specifically for men, there is a whole range of RTW Suits, Trousers, Jackets, Outerwear and Footwear.
You can even buy underwear there. What makes them interesting is that they work with high end brands such as Edward Green, Bontoni and Cesare Attolini.
If you find yourself in one of their stores, you can even make your own Made To Measure garment.
It’s really a great one stop shop for us Scandinavians and fairly accessible all over the world online as well.
Cavour Mod 2 Trousers Review | Specifications
Just before we dive into the review and the quality, I always like to make a short recap of all the details of each article:
- Brand: Cavour
- Type: Trousers
- Style: Mod 2 Single Pleat
- Color: Bottle Green
- Fabric: Vbc 886.601
- Fineness: S110
- Size: 38R (48 EU)
- Rise: Medium
- Features: Side Adjusters
- Details: Handmade Buttonholes, Bar tacks, Pick Stitching
- Made In: Italy
- Price: $325 (€275/2799 SEK)
I should also mention that I bought this garment myself during their sales for 50% off.
Unboxing & Packing
Shortly after my order, I got the shipping confirmation from UPS.
The good thing with Cavour is that the goods are DDP (Delivery Duties Paid) as far as I am aware.
The packaging was simple and nice, with a branded dark green branded box.
Inside you get a small card with some instructions in case of a return and your item.
In this case, the trousers which they folded nicely and arrived in good condition.
The first thing I noticed was the color and I am going to talk about it in detail soon.
And the second was how silky smooth the fabric was. Seems like a very formal material.
But then again, trousers like these cost over $300 new so the fabric better be good.
Initial Impressions
Not going to lie, my first thought was what an idiot I am for choosing that color.
It says bottle green, but there’s absolutely almost no light condition that hints of green.
An extremely dark color, you would be excused to think it’s black.
The problem is apart from shoes, I absolutely despise black clothes. Keyword here is “I” since YOU might love them.
If I could turn back time, I would choose navy, proper green or brown.
I put them on to quickly gauge the sizing and it was fine.
For the love of baby Jesus though, they are extremely long.
It gives you a great option to adjust the length though or make the turn up of your choice, but it does mean you will have to add alteration costs to your purchase.
The VBC Fabric
When it comes to the fabric, the only clue you get is when you look at the details.
It says VBC which is Vitale Barberis Canonico, a very renowned Italian mill.
Most of my suits use VBC fabric so I am very familiar with their quality.
Suitsupply uses VBC for a lot of their mid range suits and jackets as well.
The quality is what you would expect and a little more.
I would really like if Cavour gave some extra information about the fabric though.
After doing some research, it looks like the fabric has the codename “VBC-Perennial Super 110” with the following description:
100% Pure Vitale Barberis Canonico Superfine Italian Wool creating a soft, heavy and warm wearing experience.
You will not be disappointed by the fabric, that’s for sure.
It drapes well, has just the right amount of weight to it and the weaving is pretty nice.
Cavour Mod 2 Trousers Fit
Nothing really matters if the fit is bad.
Now that I think about it, I have noticed a lot of inconsistencies on the same size of Suitsupply trousers.
But all those depend on the fabric, which luckily is rather consistent in worsted wool trousers.
I mention them a lot, because they are my point of reference when I buy other brands.
My usual Havana trousers are 38R (48 EU) and I chose the same size on the Cavour Mod 2.
The fit is very nice, maintaining a slimming effect without being overly tight like the Suitsupply cuts.
The single pleat is discrete and tasteful, but it does seem to give some extra space around the thighs.
So if you are the type of person that puts their phone or things in their pockets or have wider hips, pleated trousers might be for you.
My biggest gripe with Suitsupply is the abominable low rise, so this time I was looking for a higher one.
The Cavour Mod 2 has a medium rise, sitting around the natural waist and the difference is noticeable for me.
I like how the trousers drape, there is potential for adjustment if my weight fluctuates and I love the addition of side adjusters.
My only problem with these pleated trousers is that if you have a sizeable salami, it will bulge especially when you are sitting.
You might think I am joking, but remember my words.
Overall, excellent, comfortable yet modern cut and true to size.
Stitching & Details
Honestly, I am running out of things to say about these trousers.
But it is worth taking a quick look at the stitching.
Cavour does proclaim a few nice handmade touches, but it isn’t something that will really make or break the quality.
In other words, it’s probably something only you will see or know. I really doubt someone will look at your zipper with a magnifier.
Overall, the stitching is nice as you would expect at this price point.
Nice touches at the zipper, the side and back pockets and a rather tasteful button.
The pleats are really well done too, they don’t have the “dad” look of old times.
When I look at the zipper, it also feels like higher quality, if you can say that for a zipper of course.
The inside lining is also tasteful, with a nice earthy dark brown color.
Any Negatives?
Hmm, I feel I really have to nitpick about this but yes there are a few things that bug me.
To begin with, I already covered my feelings about the color.
Then again, it was my choice, plus there were a total of 8 more colors to choose from.
A second part for most people would be the price.
At just over $300 it becomes quite difficult for me to justify a purchase just for trousers.
If you are on a stricter budget, you can get some great trousers for much less, or pick these up during sales.
Lastly, I found that this fabric is quite prone to picking up some stains or dirt easily.
But I am not 100% sure on that as it could have been my own fault sitting somewhere I shouldn’t.
Other than that, nothing was really worth mentioning.
I suppose you could say that due to the fact that all Cavour trousers have pleats, the style is not for everyone.
And maybe if you specifically want a slimmer cut or lower rise trousers (why would you though?) these might not be for you.
Wow, look at that I actually found a few things to say!
How To Wear Them
If I am honest, being alone with torrential rain outside, it was really hard to take full body shots inside the house.
Instead you get a few clips above and one from my first wear, using the Highbury Derby from Crockett & Jones and some Viccel Socks.
Trousers like these are super easy to wear with lighter shirts and honestly you can just take inspiration from Cavour’s photography.
For this color, your best bet is probably charcoal or black shoes or maybe some darker burgundy or oxblood.
The Cavour model wears loafers which is a type of shoe I don’t like, but it looks nice.
Derbies, Oxfords, Chelsea Boots or monk straps will all work well, just keep a nice balance.
Tip: Find all of those types of shoes at The Noble Shoe!
Buy Or Pass?
Another very subjective question that depends on many factors.
If you are looking for high quality, pleated but modern trousers with a more contemporary cut and good fabrics and have no budget constrains, you can’t go wrong with Cavour.
However if the opposite is true (or you can’t find them on sale) you might want to look at something else.
At this sale price, I don’t regret my purchase but I would totally choose another color next time.
It really depends how much use I feel I will get out of them.
For now, the jury is still out.
Last Thoughts
I think Cavour is a nice store to deal with.
While I don’t have experience with their customer service, the presentation, choices and quality were certainly top notch.
Overall I like them much more than the off the rack Suitsupply trousers, mainly because of the rise and fit.
I am not sure I will be covering trousers soon again, but I hope you enjoyed this shorter article of these trousers by Cavour.
Check out their website, or let me know in the comments what you think!
Also, do you have any topics or guides you would like me to cover?
Thank you for reading,
Kostas Mandilaris,
Misiu Academy
Hi Kostas – I have been pondering over Cavour trousers for some time so your review is most welcome and enlightening
With your 38R sizing did you have to adjust/use the side sliders or were they a perfect fit without them……..thanks
Hey Dave,
I don’t have to adjust them yet no. But I have gained 5 kg over the past 6 months. If I was in my normal weight, I might have to take in the waist a little but I have slim hips too.
I might consider selling this one purely because of the color not working for me! They are good trousers for sure. Let me know if you get any! I also have some SuSu suits and spier in your size if you are interested!
I have tested their trousers and found them to be too boring. They are well made, but they look just OK and they were actually giving me the old man vibe or a bank clerk. I had to return them.
I think Pini Parma offers a much better trousers at a lower price. But I prefer Italian flare over boring British style.
Hey Dmitriy,
I don’t know, I don’t consider them old looking. But then again it’s only my second ever trousers with a pleat.
I’ve been looking at pini Parma a lot, but I’ll have to pick something during sales.
We just have different preferences, I prefer Italian style, it’s more modern, more sleek, so everything else might look old for me. I bought a classic dark navy suit recently from Suit Supply and it looked fantastic on the model, but when I wore it I was like WTF?! I look like an old bank clerk who hates my job, had to return it. Although I still like how it looks like.
Pini Parma had a sale recently, they were running 20% off on many items. But there were only a few pairs of trousers and only in big sizes.
can i know where is the trousers made in
Hi Jack, Cavour makes their tailoring in Italy as far as I know. These particular pants are for sale for $100 from me plus shipping if it’s your size.