Volpe Sartoriale look fine for five minutes and then fall apart. At the very top end, you can pay huge markups without always getting the quality or service you imagine you are buying.
After almost 30 years in the business, Adrian has dressed business leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs, and has developed close relationships with some of Italy’ s best suppliers, many of them small family-run businesses. That means he can get hold of things you are unlikely to find anywhere else, whether it is shirts, gilets, outerwear or suiting fabrics, at a level of quality and value that is hard to beat.
So yes, it may cost more than you are used to paying on the high street, but I still wear things I bought from him years ago, and they still get compliments. If anything needs adjusting, or your physique changes, he can help with alterations. Buy cheap, buy twice. With quality, you only cry once.
I know one construction business whose sales team made a real effort to look smarter and more professional when visiting clients. They arrived well-presented, showed the plans properly and treated the meeting like it mattered. Their sales success rate went up significantly.
That should not surprise us. Clients want to feel they are in safe hands.
So no, dressing well is not vanity. Whether you are on site, pitching for work, meeting a client or representing your company in a room, look like the professional you are. And if you want help building a wardrobe that works for the way you actually live and work, go and see Adrian at Volpe.
www. volpesartoriale. com
Richard Beresford CEO, National Federation of Builders
Issue 22 | 2026 93