In Thunderball, villain Emilio Largo played by Adolfo Celi wears a double-breasted navy blazer that has eight buttons with three to button. It’s a very rare style that recalls naval uniforms more than the standard double-breasted blazer does, and as a blazer it’s most famously associated with Prince Charles. Largo treats this blazer like a dressing gown and dons it without a shirt underneath when he gets out of the water after a dive. The only other things he wears with it are his black diving trousers and a burgundy silk day cravat. It’s not an ordinary way to wear a blazer, but aboard his own ship Largo can wear whatever he pleases. There is one scene, however, that shows him more dressed in his blazer, with a white button-cuff shirt and stone-coloured trousers, along with the day cravat.
The blazer is most likely English-tailored and has an appropriate structured, military cut with its padded shoulders, roped sleeve heads and clean chest. It has double vents, jetted hip pockets and three-button cuffs. The shanked buttons are made of polished brass, without any ornamentation.
Dear Matt,
A very royal blazer indeed. I found pictures of the Duke of Windsor sporting one. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, has an interesting variation with 8 buttons and 2 to button, fine for a tall figure.
Best regards
Adolfo Celi wore it perfectly. A bold sartorial piece for a very distinctive and stylish villain.
Absolutely, beautifully complimented by the magnificent Claudine Auger!
You’re right ! His white outfit is quite interesting too… -and contrasts well with the navy blue !
Dear Matt,
Thank you for the post. Largo is without any doubt one of the best dressed bond villains ever. There are some other pieces from his wardrobe which are also quite interesting (e.g. the tan overcoat worn in Paris and his Palmyra leisure outfits etc.). Indeed a very rich source of information, this blog of yours!
Regards
He is very well dressed indeed. His black three-piece outfit with the black tie with white dots suited him well too, making me appreciate black lounge suits again, when they are worn with taste.
It’s a very nice suit, but it definitely looks charcoal, not black. Compare it to the black eyepatch.
Thanks for the information, Matt. I am both reassured and a little disappointed… As a matter of fact, after seeing it I find it to be a midnight blue… but I don’t have the Blu-Ray version.
A truly stylish and timeless double-breasted blazer indeed. I have always thought Thunderball to be a quintessential “summer” Bond film.
A fine blazer. Criminally abused by Largo as he executes his evil plan. It reminds me of some outfits Moore appeared in, which suggest the style of a military man who is most comfortable in uniform. Wonder if Largo flew a British tailor over to measure him for his clothes, as Sinatra did. It makes Largo look taller and thinner.
Strange that Largo, who is known to hang around the Mediterranean, wouldn’t choose an Italian tailor… Is it a very British cut that makes you rule out our Italian friends or does it have many distinctive British features? Interested to know.
It has a British cut, and the overall style is a British naval style. Also the double vents make me think it’s British and not Italian. Most continental jackets were cut with no vents.
Interesting.
Most interesting…
It’s a Guards officer-pattern coat known as a “boating jacket.” When you see the royal men wearing one, they’ll be buttoned appropriately to the regiments of which they’re a Royal Colonel, with gilt uniform buttons. So Prince Charles and the late Duke of Windsor would have worn five-cuff-button versions that indicate the Welsh Guards; Prince Phillip wears the Grenadier Guards version. They’re worn with a number of different combinations, most strikingly with mess dress trousers, white shirt, and black bow tie for an informal dinner ensemble.
Almost always made by military tailors in London, particularly Dege & Skinner, Davies & Son, and G&H.
Classic, and very exclusive.
Thank you for the information!