TODAY IN IMPORT CHAINS: Camicissima's Commodity Clothes

Just after Thanksgiving, the Italian men's shirt chain Camicissima opened its first American store on Madison Avenue in midtown, and after the holidays, Fashion Week and some blizzards, The Shophound finally made our way to check the place out.
Will the stripped-down specialist's fast-fashion bulk approach to businesswear take America by storm? It's hard to argue against a flat price of $49.90 per shirt and four for $99.90 (There's certainly no point in buying three shirts with that system.) The obvious question is are these shirts worth just under $25 each, and, as far as we can tell, you could do a lot worse for the price. While we can't endorse the black or navy blue dress shirts, the bulk of the assortments seem to be comprised of classic styles in the kinds of whites, blues and stripes that form the backbone of the American business wardrobe. The shirts appear to be made well enough, though the cotton fabrics aren't the finest we have ever felt. Camicissima doesn't quite compare to UNIQLO when it comes to the price/quality ratio, and we don't expect that they will be stealing any customers from Charvet or Turnbull & Asser. For someone with limited resources, however, who needs appropriate clothes for work, however, the store could be a boon.
The shop couldn't be more straightforward. It's a minimal box with shirts tidily stacked by size as if in a supermarket. When we stopped in, the small store had just been hit with a big new shipment, and we imagine that they are probably doing a brisk business in 4-unit bales of white shirts. At those prices, who cares if the laundry ruins one?
Camicissima 509 Madison Avenue At 53^rd Street, Midtown
Previously:
Upcoming Imports: Fast Shirts From Italy Coming To Madison Avenue