The Italian menswear brand Caruso is not old; it was founded in 2009 when the former CEO of Brioni Umberto Angeloni bought up a little-known fabric manufacturer and turned it into one of the most desirable, esoteric brands in the country. It remains little-known though: there is still only one shop in the U.K., Trunk in Marylebone High Street where you can buy Caruso clothes over the counter.

I have, however acquired some items by a less expensive (but totally legal!) route and I can vouch that the quality is superb. All garments are entirely hand-made; both the workmanship and materials are top-notch.

Angeloni is a perfectionist; what else can you call someone who changes his watch several times a day to suit the hour? Part of an Italian outlook on La Dolce Vita that I find simultaneously immensely admirable and completely, narcissistically over the top.

Somehow, they manage to pull it off without appearing ridiculous, which is the most likely outcome anywhere else in the world. I think the secret is not to take oneself too seriously…

As you might expect, the price of such clothes is eye-watering, but I will explain how they can be obtained for a fraction of the original cost in another post. For the moment, enjoy the first of Angeloni’s adverts for Caruso: as subtle as his clothes are beautiful, and playing to all my fondest images of his home country – a thing of gentle, slightly humorous beauty in its own right…