The place on the corner of Santiago del Estero and Mexico, in Monserrat allows you to take a trip back in time. Upon entering the shop with some windows without great fanfare, one comes across old counters, a large radio with a wooden cabinet, and an old cash register.
And on racks, and neatly stacked on shelves that reach the ceiling, there are pants, jackets, belts, shirts, espadrilles and the inevitable "country pumps." Thus, from generation to generation "Aux Charpentiers" has dressed thousands of people since its foundation, back in 1888. Today Carmen and Roberto carry out this undertaking that for more than 60 years was led by their father, Don Juan Robiglio, who inherited the Maybe his dad's business.
"The house was never sold as a business, but always passed from family to family," Carmen tells La Prensa. Aux Charpentiers was founded by a Frenchman, Louis Pot, who associated his cutter Juan Maynard. Then his son-in-law Juan Luis Fevre and Alfonso Lanata joined. Finally the dynasty was completed with the grandfather of Carmen, son-in-law of a son of Fevre.
An old photo on the wall shows the opening day of the current business. Carmen says that there is no exact date, but it is estimated by the characteristics of the photograph that it dates from between 1910 and 1915. Before, it worked in the Barracas neighborhood.
Aux Charpentiers translated into Spanish means "To the carpenters". It happens that one of the garments with which this business stood out in its beginnings was work clothes. ""The Charpentier pants were made with large pockets to place the ruler, tools used by carpenters", "says the owner.
An old catalog of the store allows us to see the diverse clothing made in times when there was a uniform for each job. For example, blouses for jewelers and typographers, suits for postmen, bankers. In Aux Charpentiers the suits were made for the doormen of the Alvear Palace Hotel or for the staff of the Jockey Club.
PERSONALITIES Over the years, and as society changed, abandoning work uniforms, the place began to specialize in field clothing. This made it possible to create high-quality designs in this area, and attract the attention of important personalities.
Among these can be named Prince Charles Radziwill, Marilú Marini, Antonio Gasalla, Sandra Mihanovich and China Zorrilla. Regarding the latter, Carmen remembers that "she came with a French couple, and it was the couple who had the address here, that is, they brought the actress. And when she came in she said: 'I missed this house,' she didn't know. that existed. She was a lover of everything old".
Also as clients Aux Charpentiers has several politicians who like to wear country clothes. Also, many Argentine guests at the wedding of the brother of Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Juan Zorreguieta, traveled to Vienna with typical clothes made in the store. The period costumes of the award-winning film Miss Mary, by María Luisa Bemberg, was another important productions that the centennial house was in charge of.
HANDCRAFTED The current owner says that over time the characteristic of Aux Charpentiers has been "to make clothes that are a little more handcrafted and made to measure, which is something that doesn't exist as much today. Until now we managed to maintain ourselves. At first we didn't change this style because the previous generation was more conservative, but now we don't want to change it anymore because it has its charm. Very big people come in here and they get excited because it's a return to the past, a time tunnel"- Do you remember when was the first time that Did you enter this business? - Well, I came as a girl, I loved helping my dad. At that time the business had a very young public that was fanatical about pants that were the boom of the moment. People queued in the street to get a light blue shirt and cream-colored pants that was what was used in those years.- Besides your grandfather, did many people pass through here? Did they always have cutters, designers?- Here there was always a cutting workshop and sewing took place outside. The fabrics and everything that covers the subject of manufacturing were bought. Today we do the same. The fabrics, the buttons, the zippers, the lining are bought, they are cut and sent to be sewn outside
THE CHOICE - The client comes and chooses the fabric from the catalogue. Well, here it was born as tailoring, country clothes and work clothes. But work clothes and tailoring are no longer made. At one point we had to choose what we focused on and in this field of highly specialized clothing, we do not have much competition. I do not know of another house that makes so many varied and tailored country clothes. We focus on this, which is the hallmark of the house.- And how does Aux Charpentiers come to be related to the world of the countryside?- The French founders incorporated country clothing. There is already an old catalog that includes it. They were already selling and remained over time. And by the 90s, my dad and I were already there, there was a lot of imported clothing and we realized that what was going to characterize us was going to be country clothes. And who were those first clients from the country? The information I have is that it was sent by parcel to the interior because there was always a public from the countryside, and people who lived here and before going to the countryside provided themselves with clothing. And today the same thing happens. With the internet they send us emails, we send them photos, the distances have shortened- Is the fabric the most important thing?- Yes, we work cotton gabardines, not the work fabric but the gabardine dress fabric. The trench coat of the typical panties but that is a little more premium. And there is also the variety of fabrics, we work linens that are not for work. This has its audience. There are people who come in the summers, spend the summer in their country and provide themselves with country clothes, more fun, with a fantasy.- I understand that many people have married with clothes from Aux Charpentiers- Yes, many times people get married in the field and seeks to be typically dressed in a pant and a corralera or a bag, and then they come and with time they order a model with a better fabric. A cashmere.- Do you also make clothes for women?- Yes, we make women's and children's panties.
THE CLOTHING - Has the way of making clothing changed over the years in this world of fashion and the countryside? - I remember that before, if a woman bought a field pant, it was a plain, standard, gabardine pant. On the other hand, now they search with more fantasies, striped panties, checkered, they look for fashion within the field. That did vary. And the man also changed his choice. He was able to use wool if it was colder, but he didn't go through looking for something more beautiful or showy. Can the production of fabrics be national or imported? -No, most of the fabrics are imported. The national textile industry was gradually being lost. In his grandfather's time, were more national fabrics available? Yes, there were a lot of factories. My dad always told me "Castelar made this fabric" or "Vandenfil" made it. He named me fabric factories that gradually disappeared over time. Today many fabrics are imported- And where do the fabrics usually come from?- From Brazil. We also work linens from Europe, some fabrics will come from China, some like corduroy or gabardine are still manufactured here, but most of them come from Brazil- The textile industry also suffered like other industries- Yes, it is not something of today- What makes it distinctive to a garment from Aux Charpentiers?- The molding here practically did not change, the width changed a little, but we have very good molding. And in clothing we have people who do it very carefully. The closure, the pockets that are spacious. This is something that the house has always had as a characteristic and to this day we try to maintain it. That makes a difference, fabric is not saved, we are not looking for the mold to take advantage of the fabric to the millimeter, and that is seen in the finished garment- How many panties could Aux Charpentiers have sold in all these years?- That is impossible to know. - Were there times when it was sold more than others? - Yes, when there is a lot of tourism, that also has an influence. Many want to take something typical of the country they are visiting. And there have been times when it has sold less, perhaps in the 90s there was a standstill. When the field is in the doldrums, it is also noticeable.
FROM THE WORLD - Any anecdote that you can tell in all these years working here? - There are many people who come because an Argentine friend brings them and when they return they pass on the information and come from very remote places. This is how they have made us notes even in a Japanese magazine. The incredible thing about the house is what it transmits. They even come to see the house- Is it very expensive to dress at Aux Charpentiers?- No, if one compares it with a common work pant, yes, but we have factory prices. The price has to do with the fabric, it does not come out the same if we make a gabardine than a linen one. The linen one is expensive- How much does a linen pant cost?- It costs a little more than 5 thousand pesos. The difference is the fabric- Is the future of the house to maintain its essence, the history?- Continue to maintain ourselves this way so that the house does not disappear. Many people tell us "never go away". There are families that since their great-grandparents dress here. Grandchildren of grandchildren of those first clients come. We have a record of measurements and one sees surnames that have been repeated for many years here. That is cute. It is a tradition that continues.
