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Linen Save Me
Welcome to my Review of my recent purchases from Luca Faloni.
Specifically, a really nice Olive Green Linen T-Shirt and some much needed navy linen shorts.
Read on to find out if I’m satisfied with my purchases.
Yet Another Luca Faloni Purchase
If you follow the blog, you know that once I find a brand that satisfies me and delivers quality I stick with them.
Luca Faloni has been the mainstay in my collection since my first acquisitions last summer.
Back then, I ordered two versions of the same linen polo (Review) which I heavily use weekly in Italy.
While they do cost quite a fair bit more for seemingly simple articles of clothing, they make up for it with Made in Italy designs and top notch quality.
Specializing in cashmere, linen and cotton pieces, Luca Faloni is a good way to build a quality capsule wardrobe.
Given that my summer wardrobe was severely lacking, I decided to splurge on a few new pieces.
Despite the fact that I am showing you two pieces today, I actually bought 4 in the last few months.
Specifically, I got a pair of dark blue jeans, a navy cotton polo and today’s review pieces (T-Shirt & Shorts).
For those of you wondering, I have bought all my Luca Faloni articles myself and never received free review products from them.
However, I do have an ambassador code that can save you $50 if you use my link.
Specifications
Let’s take a closer look at what I got today:
- Style: T-Shirt/Shorts
- Color: Olive Green/Navy Blue
- Fit: Relaxed
- Size: M (EU 48)
- Material: Linen
- Crafting Location: Brescia, North Italy
- Cost: 120 Euro
I should also mention that both pieces at the time of writing come with a choice of 8 colors so you can choose something else.
Shipping & Unboxing
It’s always a quick and smooth experience for me, especially since I live in Italy.
It takes just 1-2 business days to receive my products with DHL in a nice package, a handwritten note, dust bag and even biscuits.
They surely know how to make you feel welcome and that is a definite plus.
It will be interesting to see however how the customer service will respond to my exchange question as you will find out later.
You should be very careful in the sense that you should save the original packaging.
Quality Of The Linen
I already have experience with the linen quality of Luca Faloni from my other two polo shirts.
The T-Shirt appears to be from the same material so expect it to perform similarly.
In the week I’ve been using it nothing seems wrong and it washes well and easy in the washing machine.
The shorts should be from the same exact linen source, but they feel a little thicker.
Maybe it’s my imagination or a mirage created by the navy darker color.
It doesn’t matter though since the bottom line is that all my articles from Luca Faloni have been top notch quality when it comes to material.
And they should since you are paying over $120 for a T-Shirt.
Details
There’s nothing really specific to say about the T-Shirt.
It’s….a T-Shirt alright, the most plain clothes you can get.
It has a crew neck design and that’s about it and that’s exactly what I wanted.
A no-nonsense, simple, every day, smart looking and versatile piece of clothing.
The shorts on the other hand do have a few details we can talk about.
First of all, they feel much better quality than what I had from Suitsupply.
The zipper in particular feels so much more sturdy and robust.
They are also a bit longer, reaching around my knees which I really like.
However there is one specific detail that throws me off and I am not sure how to feel about it.
There are no belt loops, nor side adjusters.
Instead, you get those drawstrings that honestly don’t do shit.
I tie them in a nice knot for decoration but even if you pull heavily they won’t really hold your trousers more.
You will see that it becomes a problem later when I speak about fitting in the next section.
FiT Check – Luca Faloni Medium
Let’s get the easy thing out of the way first.
The shirt fits great and just as it should.
Relaxed but fitted and not in the silly modern skinny-fit of this decade.
It’s a size M (EU 48) which is exactly what I usually wear and already had from my previous polo shirts.
The shorts on the other hand start to feel like a disaster.
If I wear the shorts by themselves, they feel slightly loose but they will stay in their place.
However, if I put my phone or anything remotely substantial in them they will just drape down.
It’s just too big and the strings are useless.
I plan to exchange them if possible with a size S (though I threw the original packaging box).
If I cannot, it’s not the end of the world as I can still use them.
My advice though is that if you go for the shorts, size down from what you usually wear.
This is a shame since my jeans are also size M and they fit perfect.
I must say that looking at the pictures, the T-Shirt looks a bit long so maybe I’ll prefer wearing it with trousers.
Taking Care Of Luca Faloni Linen
Every product page has care details, which you should totally follow.
I do not recommend dry cleaning since you will be wasting tons of money and these clothes need to be washed regularly.
You have to wash your shirt after 1 wear in very warm conditions (like here in Italy).
Worry not though, all you have to do is use the low spin cycle in max 30° (86 Fahrenheit) in a handwash gentle program.
Styling & How TO Wear
I’m no expert on casualwear but I will still tell you how I wear them.
Building a capsule wardrobe full of key interchangeable colors makes it so easy to match them.
Colors like light blue, navy, pink, olive green and brown do so well together in almost any mix.
Whether you want to wear them together or change to a Hawaiian tropical shirt it’s up to you.
I like to keep things simple by using the T-Shirt and Shorts together.
When the weather becomes more tolerable I can simply change to linen chinos or even the dark blue jeans I got.
For the shorts it becomes more tricky with actual shirts since you have to roll the sleeves and the fit has to be good.
One thing is for sure, if you go for shorts there are only a few options for the footwear.
Good minimalist sneakers, espadrilles and of course loafers.
I am not one to stir the no sock controversy but the look is just better.
Wearing visible high socks with loafers and shorts is downright ridiculous in my opinion.
However I’d rather not let the sweat from my feet leech into the footbed of the shoes so I choose some cheap loafer no show socks.
They are very low cut and do the job perfectly.
Should YOu Buy?
In terms of quality absolutely.
I could not believe for the life of me I spent 120 Euro on a T-Shirt but it’s good and it will last.
You do pay a little more for the Made in Italy aspect but I think I am done with most Chinese made items from companies like Suitsupply.
Plus, I live in Italy now and want to support local businesses.
The shorts are quite nice but I wish they fit me better.
It might not be visible in the pictures because I had no phone in my pocket but I could use half a size down.
If they fit well, the drawstring design wouldn’t bother me but it’s a minor stylistic preference.
Thinking about it, I might have preferred to buy another shirt instead.
If you do have the budget and look for some quality items, you cannot go wrong with Luca Faloni.
Conclusions
This brings us to the end of my latest (and not last) Review of Luca Faloni.
The T-Shirt in particular is very nice and airy but make sure you wash it regularly to not stain the armpit area.
During my next Review I will try to remember to update you all about my exchange attempt.
Until that, have a lovely rest of the week and see you soon!
Thank you for reading,
Kostas Mandilaris,
Misiu Academy
Been eyeing some garments from Luca Faloni on the website. The clothes look attractive. Went ahead and bought some portofino long sleeve 100% linen shirts. Not cheap at all, at $260 each. Also bought some Lipari 100% linen pants.
Shirts: They are stellar. I have 100% linen shirts from Suitsupply which utilizes linen fabric from Italian mills such as Albini as well as Tessitura Monti. Somehow, the linen shirts from Luca Faloni feel even softer than the ones from Suitsupply. One detail about the LF shirts that goes a loooong way for me, is the one-piece collar which has extra fabric reinforcement. This gives the collar (and upper front of the shirt) some structure, whereas the Suitsupply upper front of the shirt just looks…. kinda lackluster after seeing these LF shirts. Let’s move on to pricing: one LF shirt = $260. One Suitsupply shirt = $139. Does the attention to detail + marginal extra softeness of the LF shirt really justify a price that is nearly double that of a Suitsupply 100% linen long sleeve shirt? The extra attention to detail on the LF shirt makes it a truly beautiful shirt. If I had infinite loads of disposable money, i would absolutley purchase my linen shirts from Luca Faloni. I don’t have infinite disposable money, so most of my linen shirts will be from Suitsupply, and I’ll just have to learn to be happy with that 🙂
100% pants: To say the Luca Faloni Lipari linen pants were a disappointment, would be an understatement. Oddly enough, whereas the linen shirts from LF were softer than the linen shirts from Suitsupply, the complete opposite is true with regards to both brand’s linen pants. The linen fabric Luca Faloni’s pants were constructed of, felt just a touch rough in contrast to the linen drawstring pants I have from Suitsupply. What’s worse is that, on the LF pants the right leg was a little bit longer than the left leg, and both legs were long enough to warrant a visit to an alteration specialist to have them hemmed. This comes from Luca Faloni, a brand that touts “proudly made in Italy” as though it’s the final destination of tailoring perfection. With a full retail price point of $245, i’d say this is utterly unacceptable. As far as 100% linen drawstring pants, without hesitation my money goes to Suitsupply ($199 for one pair, back before they discontinued their linen drawstring pants)
My overall evaluation of Luca Faloni: I have to take into account the pricepoint as well as quality. Overall, it’s so~so. At full retail, the price is steep and I don’t think the value they offer in return is fully justified. Moreover, it has been coming to light more & more how that Italian and French designer houses have been engaging in oppressive exploitation of laborers, from those who cultivate and harvest the raw materials which go into the production of the garments, to oppressive exploitation of the artisans who stitch the garments we love to purchase and wear. See the following articles:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/fashion/italy-luxury-shadow-economy.html
(If you copy the above NY times link and paste it to the web bar, it should let you read the article without requiring you to subscribe to the news platform. Worked for me that way ¯_(ツ)_/¯)
https://www.thefashionlaw.com/italy-targets-fashions-dirty-secret-labor-abuses-in-luxury-supply-chains/
Is “made in Italy” becoming synonymous with “oppressive exploitation of workers?” Among some of the offenders who are being exposed in the fashion industry e.g. Loro Piana, Dior, etc, Luca Faloni loves to tout “made in italy” as well as signal the idea that their garments are crafted by skilled artisans. That may be true and that’s great, but I’d love to see some transparency as far as the working conditions (and pay) of the artisans. Otherwise I’m left to think Luca Faloni may be just another brand engaging in egregious acts of laborer exploitation, pricing their garments ridiculously high and pocketing insane margins whilst the “skilled artisans” are toiling away for modern-day slave wages. I’d feel much more comfortable spending $260 on a single shirt if there was transparency as to how much their artisans earn, as well as working conditions. So far, LF’s customer relations team has deflected from any questions I’ve asked about this. They have, however, kept pointing to their website and claiming they offer transparency on their website. Luca’s website offers no transparency, just more signaling as to “made in italy”…. skilled artisans…. all of which could be carefully curated nonsense to sell the consumer an idea that they are purchasing something which is justified by the steep cost. No transparency whatsoever @LucaFaloni ????
After years of using Luca Faloni shirts, polos and most regrettably jeans, I have been extremely disappointed at them. I do not know about their working conditions, however I cannot endorse them anymore. I plan to write a follow up article when I have more data and probably it’s time for me to update this one as well.