A NEW IDENTITY

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Romualdo, the team decided to undergo a full rebrand and create an identity that would harken back and honor the opening days of Romualdo Pelle’s quaint tailor shop

Working with Durham Brand & Co., our goal was to rebrand the overall look, tone, and feel of our identity to a place of maturity and modernity. Inspired by our 50 years of history, our team looked to hang our jacket on details that won’t go out of style any time soon.

When Romualdo Pelle opened his doors in 1968, brand identity was certainly not at top-of-mind. The humble master tailor’s namesake simply needed two signs hanging out front of the shop. One that told prospective guests where he was located, and one to let people know he was open. And Romualdo was ALWAYS open.

Romualdo’s original sign still hangs in the window today. A hand gilded simple mark that carries with it a sense of post modern timelessness and elegance. From the usage of that sign, the core color of Romualdo has always been blue. Originally true dark navy, over the years the blue hue has changed with the times.

We used this opportunity to bring back an overall familiar but fresh look and feel to visual language; a modern update to an established brand. We move back to saturated hits of pure navy to dial the appearance to a more mature space. Further, this was the perfect time to bring back the use of gold. Both as a hat-tip to that original hand gilded sign as well as a hint to our Golden Anniversary.

MOVING AWAY FROM ‘BESPOKE’

It seems in recent years, ‘bespoke’ has become somewhat of a buzzword, the “catchword du jour.” A word used to cloak and distract from true authenticity. In our opinion, using the term bespoke to describe the notion that one can choose a fabric, a lapel style, a lining, a stitch color, under collar messaging, etc., truly takes away from the original meaning. We believe that customization of a garment fit, look, and style is absolutely essential for a man’s wardrobe, however, without the multiple in-person basted fittings and personal decisions made in conjunction with the tailor who is personally making one’s garment with their own hands, the usage of bespoke seems to be watered down if not unreliable.

The word itself, which dates from 1583, is a past participle of bespeak, and is chiefly British, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The opportunity to re-identify our brand gave us the chance to re-focus and celebrate our Italian tailoring heritage.

ONWARD

The core of our business has been, and always will be our in-house alteration and re-crafting services. We do not wish to confuse our friends, guests, and clients of who we are by using buzzwords. As we look toward the future with this new identity, look for us to remain steadfast in our history while adapting to the future. We will continue to bring you the best ready-to-wear brands in the world that have their own stories. Our custom clothing will never be mass-produced and will always carry with it the quality you have come to expect. We will increase our in-shop experiences including educational events, in house barber services, bourbon, and wine tastings, and women’s custom clothing, to name a few.

Similarly, we continue to build our out-of-store services including but not limited to: In-office visits for your convenience, corporate dress educational events, and in closet edits.

We are excited to move toward 50 more years of service in our community. If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns, we are always here with open ears. We are just a phone call away, or you can drop in to catch up. Our home at 7121 Romualdo Way has always been, and always will be your home.

Never settle,

The Romualdo Team