Time, work and dignity behind every stitch

When we wear a shirt, we rarely think about the time it took to create it. A well-made shirt, tailored to a specific size, requires at least two hours of work by an expert craftsman: careful cutting, tight stitching, internal finishing, and quality control. These two hours are never the same, because every fabric reacts differently, and every stitch must be executed with care.

Yet, on the market, we find shirts that present themselves as tailored, complete with the Made in Italy label, sold at ridiculously low prices. Is it really possible that such a price includes quality fabrics, hours of decently paid labor, carefully chosen buttons, logistics, distribution, and taxes? A quick calculation shows that no, it's not possible. If all these items have to be covered for such a low price, the value of the work disappears.

The paradox is that these shirts are often actually made in Italy. But not in transparent and regulated workshops: they are sewn in basements, in hidden warehouses, where men and women live and work in the same space, without documents, without contracts, without protection. Investigations and investigations have revealed people forced to work grueling shifts, starvation wages, and inexistent hygiene and safety conditions. It's the other side of "Made in Italy": a label that, instead of guaranteeing quality, becomes a mask of exploitation.

The difference between a quality shirt and an authentic shirtmaker's shop is seen in the details. A quality shirt has dense stitching, seven, eight, even nine stitches per centimeter. Every extra stitch adds time, and therefore value. Leno stitching is used on the sides and sleeves, requiring multiple passes and enclosing the edges of the fabric inside, without dangling threads. It's a slow, elegant, and durable process. For quick-turn production, however, double-needle stitching is preferred: quick, practical, and suitable for large chains, but less refined and less durable. Just look inside a shirt to understand which approach was chosen: meticulous, clean finishes tell a different story than sparse, imprecise stitching.

At Agenorie, we work differently. When we say made-to-measure, we mean truly tailor-made , not simply "made to measure" based on a pre-existing design. With our method, every shirt is created from scratch: we design a pattern on the customer's body, follow their posture, and listen to their needs. We do a first fitting, a second, and as many times as necessary until we achieve perfection. It's a process that goes far beyond the hours of sewing: it's a human and artisanal journey that leads to a unique, one-of-a-kind garment, tailored to the wearer.

Even the shirts available on a made-to-measure basis are sewn with the same care: select fabrics, tight stitching, and impeccable finishing. The difference is that they start with a standardized cut, but without compromising on quality or time.

For us, time is value. Value measured in the minutes and hours spent perfecting a stitch, finishing a collar, or refinishing a seam. Value that signifies dignity for those who work and authenticity for those who wear it.

A cheap shirt doesn't tell a story of value. A shirt born from respect for time, for the hands that craft it, and for the body that will wear it, instead, tells a story of care, identity, and beauty. This is our idea of luxury: time transformed into perfection.