Pope's tailor has all cassock sizes stocked for successor
Outfitters make three sizes of cassock ready for whoever is picked as successor to Benedict
Making bespoke clothes is tricky when you don't know who will wear them. But Gammarelli, the Roman tailor that has dressed every pope since 1922, gets around that by catering for every eventuality.
Unveiled in its window on Sunday were three ivory cassocks in small, medium and large - a choice which it hopes will keep all options covered no matter who emerges from the Sistine Chapel as the next leader of the Catholic Church.
Alongside the robes would go a white skullcap, a red velvet cape and four or five pairs of red shoes, said Lorenzo Gammarelli, one of the business's owners.
"We are providing more than three pairs of shoes because you can adjust a cassock or a suit but you must wear the right size shoes," he said.
We are providing more than three pairs of shoes because you can adjust a cassock or a suit but you must wear the right size shoes
Cardinals have yet to fix a date for a conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor, but once they do, the cassocks and other papal paraphernalia will be sent from Gammarelli to the Vatican.
They have to arrive before it begins, said Gammarelli, as the new pope will need them for his first appearance before the faithful in St Peter's Square and they will not be able to enter once the secretive proceedings begin.