“Too many wrong ties” goes Paolo Conte’s old song. Maurizio Marinella of E. Marinella knows something about this, who with typical Neapolitan verve told me an anecdote. One day a client came to his shop in Naples in a shimmering bronze dinner jacket, asking for the right tie to match. Maurizio’s answer: “Sorry, I wouldn’t know how to help you”.
Created in the seventeenth century as a distinguishing mark for Croatian mercenary soldiers, used by the Sun King to send coded love messages to his lovers, from the seventeenth century onwards the tie became an accessory as futile as much as it was an indicator of male elegance.
And, despite what one thinks, elegance has it rules (see Luxury Tips).
“It seems today that people have forgotten, or better still, are unacquainted with the basic rules of style. When I was small I learned that what you wore in the morning was different from what you wore in the evening, aboveall if you had to go to the theatre or simply out to dinner. Today we have lost the pleasure of expressing good manners via how we dress”.
What rules though did your grandfather Eugenio or your father Luigi pass on to you?
Rigeur, rigeur and more rigeur, also in how you dress. I started working in our shop at the age of eight and I wasn’t allowed distractions because one always had to guarantee a high quality of product and service to the client. I entered the shop at 7 in the morning and left in the evening, a habit I still stick to today. Family, dedication to work and the high quality of the product are the roots on which my life has grown.
Hence, what is luxury for you?
Conceding myself those moments of freedom in order to practice sport. As soon as I can, I go to the Posillipo Nautical Club, where for years I was in the rowing team. And since my life revolves around the family, practicing sports with my son Alessandro is my greatest luxury.
