The Art of a Tailor Passed from Master to Apprentice

Giovanni Batista LaRuffa is a 102 year old Master Tailor from Catanzaro, Italy.  He and his mother, father, sister, brothers, wife and daughter came to America and settled in Ambler in 1948.  Many Italians that made Ambler their home are also from this same region in Italy, and continue to have a close bond with one another.  Frank Laguda’s family, who owns Tony Laguda Formalwear and Giovanni have been friends for years, and it is through this friendship that they are connected as Master Tailor and apprentice today.

When Giovanni was 6 years old, his older brother Joe, who was working as a tailor,  taught him how to sew by hand. Giovanni told us that in his town in Italy, most people worked with scissors and were subsequently taught skills that led them to become efficient tailors and barbers, trades that they brought with them to the United States.  He continued to learn the art of tailoring throughout his young life, only taking time away from his growing profession when he fought in WW1 for Italy and served his country as a Sgt.Major for 10 years.

Immediately upon coming to America in 1948, he was hired as a foreman at a manufacturing plant and remembers making over 400 coats a day.  Giovanni spent time working at a couple of other manufacturing plants in the area, and in the 1960’s owned a company that made military uniforms in a facility located at 51 North Main Street in Ambler, where Flowers by Veronica is now.

Giovanni has taught many Italian immigrants the tailoring trade, which allowed them to get jobs, and has shared his expertise with many fellow tailors and seamstresses throughout the years.

Giovanni and Frank Laguda’s family initially became friends because they belonged to the same local tailoring circles.  A few years ago, Frank Laguda wanted to advance his trade beyond the level he was working, and approached Giovanni about coming to Laguda’s shop to be a Master Tailor so Frank could learn as an apprentice.  Giovanni agreed, and each week, Laguda picks him up at the nursing home where he lives, and brings him to work.

LaRuffa not only insists on putting in a full day of work, but in the process, passes his vast knowledge of the art, attention to detail and immeasurable work ethic on to Frank.  Frank adds, ” I believe that tailoring is truly an art…What I have learned from Giovanni is absolutely invaluable.”

Laguda’s ultimate goal is to learn the finer points of making custom suits from Giovanni, whose history and skill in the trade is exemplary.  But along the way, a deeper bond between Master Tailor and apprentice is proving to be just as important as the trade that is learned.