Rodd & Gunn vs Santoli Napoli: Linen Compared

Australia and New Zealand

I make one of these two, which you should factor in. Rodd & Gunn is genuinely good and this comparison is closer than most on price, so the differences worth talking about are where the shirt is made and how it is cut rather than quality.

The quick version

	Rodd & Gunn	Santoli Napoli
Price	AU$159 to AU$199, as of September 2026	Around AU$229
Origin story	New Zealand, 1946	Napoli, Italy
Published weight	Not published, sold as lightweight	145 GSM Ischia, 180 GSM Positano
Composition	Mostly 100% linen, some linen and cotton	100% linen, always
Cloth and making	Albini or Italian cloth on some styles, made in Vietnam	Albini cloth on Ischia, cut and sewn in Napoli
Stores	AU and NZ	Online only
Returns	30 days, in store, or by post at your cost, as of September 2026	30 days, return postage paid by you

What Rodd & Gunn does well

Founded in New Zealand in 1946, and the house style has stayed coherent in a way plenty of brands lose. There is a recognisable Rodd & Gunn look, slightly rugged, well finished, more considered than the average mall brand.

The shirting is well made. Good collar construction, a choice of fits, and on some linen styles the same Albini cloth I use for the Ischia line. They also merchandise well, so the linen sits alongside knitwear and outerwear that works with it, which makes buying an outfit rather than a shirt easier than it is from a direct brand.

Stores across Australia and New Zealand, returns in store within 30 days, and staff who can tell you about the fit. For a lot of men that closes the argument before fabric enters it.

The weight question, and what can be checked

Linen is sold by grams per square metre and the figure is almost never published, which is why this is hard to shop for.

Rodd & Gunn does not publish a weight. It describes its Albini linen shirts as lightweight and breathable, as of September 2026, so I would not assume either shirt is the heavier one.

Santoli publishes its weights. The Ischia line is Albini cloth at 145 GSM. The Positano shirt is 180 GSM, woven in Italy. At 145 GSM the Ischia moves plenty of air in a Sydney or Brisbane summer. In a Christchurch spring it can read as slightly underdressed for the weather, and the 180 GSM Positano is the better pick there.

Pick the weight for where you live, because New Zealand and Australia are not the same climate. My guide to linen in New Zealand goes into why mid weight matters more there than most people expect, given how sharply evenings drop.

Composition, and why I keep going on about it

Rodd & Gunn compositions vary across lines. As of September 2026 most of its linen shirts are 100% European linen, and the Twin Falls sold alongside them is 57% linen, 43% cotton. The label tells you and the range name does not.

Every Santoli shirt is 100% linen because that is the entire point of the fabric. Flax fibre is hollow and highly absorbent, so it moves moisture off your skin and releases it into the air, and the open weave lets air through. Add polyester and you keep the look and lose most of the function.

If you are buying linen because of heat rather than appearance, this is the check that matters most. More in linen versus cotton in summer.

Price

One of the closest comparisons in this set, though Rodd & Gunn is now the cheaper of the two. Its linen shirts run AU$159 to AU$199 depending on style, as of September 2026. Santoli's Ischia shirts are around AU$229 and the Positano shirt around AU$199. In New Zealand the gap is wider: the Cathedral Cove is NZ$159, against around NZ$279 for an Ischia shirt.

For AU$30 to AU$70 less, Rodd & Gunn gives you a store, returns in person and a coordinated wardrobe. Santoli gives you the same Albini mill on the Ischia line, a shirt cut and sewn in Napoli rather than Vietnam, and guaranteed composition.

On importing, goods under AU$1,000 clear into Australia with no duty or GST at the border, and New Zealand works similarly with GST collected at checkout by registered overseas sellers rather than at the door. Details in where to buy Italian linen shirts in Australia.

Fit

Rodd & Gunn cuts its linen in more than one fit. As of September 2026 the shirts in its linen category are Sports Fit, which it describes as fitted across the chest and shoulder and slimmer through the waist, and some linen styles come in its boxier Weekend Fit with a slightly shorter body. Sizes run XS to XXXL.

Santoli runs M to 2XL on a Neapolitan cut, relaxed through the body, and drapes rather than structures. Between sizes, size up. The cut is close through the shoulder and armhole, and linen has no stretch. The first wash softens the fabric without changing the fit.

Conversion tables in linen shirt sizing for Australian and NZ men.

Which one to buy

Rodd & Gunn if you want to try it on, you want a fitted Sports Fit cut or a size up to XXXL, you want to spend less, or you want to buy a coordinated outfit in one place. Also if returning in person is worth more to you than where the shirt is sewn, which is a perfectly rational position.

Santoli Napoli if you want the shirt cut and sewn in Napoli rather than Vietnam, you prefer a Neapolitan cut relaxed through the body to a fitted one, you want composition guaranteed rather than checked, or you want the weight published before you buy.

The range

Shirts are $139 in the Italian collar collection and mandarin collar collection. Linen trousers are $99. Worn with a shirt in the same linen they make a set, both sold separately in the men's collection, and there is a suede hat for the sun.

The Positano Capsule runs thirteen colourways at $119, each colourway made once, no restock, so the page reflects what is actually left.