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RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -- Finding high-quality Italian handcrafted ties and accessories in the Biggest Little City is now easy to find. All you have to do is log onto Pasquale lovinella website.
He spends hours on the second floor of his Damonte Ranch home where makes ties one cut and stitch at a time. He uses the skills he learned as a child in his Italian hometown of Orta Di Atella, which is a roughly 17-mile-drive north of Naples.
Pasquale most recently traveled to Como, Italy in April of 2019 to personally selecting silk fabrics for his ties.
One of Pasquale's many customers is Dr. Andrew Pasternak. His Italian mother-in-law, who prides herself in knowing how to identify high quality clothing, gave him one of Pasquale's signature ties as a gift.
Dr. Pasternak said, "I love it. It was great. Since then I bought at lease another four or five. Planning on buying some more." The ties sell for about $99.
"The Italians have an expression, 'fatto a mano' (which means) made by hand and you know you look at some of these designer ties that may be the same. Maybe more expensive. They're being made in big factories. You know and the quality is not there and these are. You're paying someone to make fantastic things," Dr. Pasternak continued.
Now for more detail about Pasquale's process to create designer ties. It starts with the fabric selection. He buys them from an area of the world known for high quality silk-- Como, Italy.
Once selected and transported to his Reno home, Pasquale traces the parts needed for just one tie with his patterns.
Making just one tie takes about an hour and a half of meticulous work. Each step is so detailed all of his attention is focused on the task because just the slightest mistake is costly.
"If I do something wrong I risk to damage the fabrics and then I have to throw it away," said Pasquale.
Each tie is made from three main pieces of fabric that are sewn together. This process gives the tie some elasticity allowing it to be tied around a wearers neck without it knotting up. It also allows for the user to more easily remove the tie.
"When you knot the tie the neck ties come back in the right places-- right order," Pasquale said.
He uses pins to hold the tip of the tie in place and then sews the fabric together in-side-out with his Bernina sewing machine. Then he turns the tie right-side-out and uses a little screw driver to pop the tips of the tie back in place.
Next, Pasquale puts a liner inside the tie. This liner is thicker than what you will find in most manufactured ties. This fabric gives his ties a heft that most other manufactured ties simply don't have.
Pasquale then folds the tie's outer fabric around the liner and then uses just one thread to bring it all together. Each move it made with precision. This is one of the most important steps in making a tie and gives Pasquale's ties a signature handmade high quality look and feel.
Next, he sews a tag on the tie which reads, "100 percent silk. Handmade in the USA. Imported fabric from Italy".
A keepers loop is added to the the back side of the large end of the tie. It holds the smaller portion of the tie in place once it's put in place around a wearers neck. This loop has another name in Italian, "We call it a passantino," Pasquale said.
Finally an Italian Flag is sewn on the back side of the tie to make sure the wearer knows where the materials to make the tie come from along with the man who made the tie by hand.
Pasquale also makes pocket squares, pre-tied bow ties, narrow ties, and key chains.
Click here to learn more about Pasquale lovinella and the Italian crafted products he makes and sells from northern Nevada.