Naples is not a place one usually thinks of as being the most fashion-conscious city in the world. Indeed, when I was there, I even saw middle-aged men rollerblading in the streets in nothing but their underwear (briefs, I might add). Also, anything your average American would consider even half-wearable women's clothing is nearly impossible to find. BUT, the city has a saving grace: men's clothing. (It's worth adding that most of what I say here I found to be true not only in Naples but in most of southern Italy). Enter Viamargutta. There were quite a few men's clothing stores around the Piazza Plebiscito in Naples-- I'm sure most of them offer good clothing. (I did, however, go into one store, get into a heated argument over the price of a shirt-- very normal in Italy-- and then leave. The guy looked none-too-pleased). Anyways, the second I entered Viamargutta everything felt very professional-- at least, as professional as things can be in Napoli. But there was a real sense in the store that this is where the classy older generations go to shop. The gentleman in the store, an older man, was extremely helpful. Despite our mutual lack of lingual understanding, I was able to make known what I was looking for, and the man was able to get me everything I wanted, allowing me to try it all on, and fetching me the correct sizes when something didn't fit (that said, he got almost everything exactly right the first time round just by eyeballing it-- Napoli is the sort of strange town where both nothing seems to work in any sort of logical or orderly way and yet things somehow always end up working. It's part of the magic of the city). I walked out with an entire suit-- jacket, pants and dress shirt-- for something like 250 Euros. And what a suit. So much so that I didn't even bother haggling over the price. The Italians have a way of tailoring and cutting their fabrics such that everything fits just right. The suits never have that ridiculous bulky look of your typical British or American suits. I have several suits and blazers from high-end Italian fashion lines, but the Viamargutta suit is easily my favorite and the best made, while being the cheapest by some way. A similar suit in the United States would probably run about $1500-2500. I was told the suits at Viamargutta are all made in Italy. That is difficult to verify, but the quality is certainly there and Naples is a town where many things are indeed made locally so it's very plausible. It's also worth mentioning that there was no charge for the alteration on the pants I purchased to make them shorter, and when I told the gentleman at the store that I was leaving the city the next day in the afternoon, he said he would have them ready first thing in the morning. As it happened, he actually got it done before then and had them ready to pick up later that evening. Oh, and they actually take credit card. All in all, I had a fantastic experience at Viamargutta. I picked up a fantastic suit for a fantastic price, and the service and experience were terrific (ask anybody, that's a huge rarity in Napoli). If you live elsewhere in Europe and need a new suit, don't waste your time shopping in your country looking for high-end labels. It is actually cheaper to cut a flight to Italy on a budget airline and buy yourself 2 or 3 suits while you're there. You probably don't even have to go to Napoli-- just from my brief perusing stores in other cities, everything looked very good. But considering how mindblowingly amazing the food is in Italy's culinary capital, it doesn't hurt to go to Napoli. 5 stars for Viamargutta, a great little hidden gem for men's fashion. read more