Adolfo Celi’s villain Emilio Largo in Thunderball has one of the best tailored wardrobes and one of the best casual summer wardrobes in the Bond series. The briefly seen striped shirt that he wears at his Palmyra poolside in the Bahamas is an elegant companion to the white shirt he later wears at his home. This shirt is white with thick, widely-spaced bronze stripes, likely in a fine cotton. Compared to the stripes on James Bond’s striped camp shirt later in the film, Largo’s stripes are bolder and give him a flashier, more villainous look. The colour of the stripes complements his deep tan.
The shirt has an elegant one-piece collar without a separate collar band. This collar is also known as the “Cooper Collar” after Gary Cooper or the “California Collar”, and it has an old-school Hollywood look. The collar piece continues down the inside of his shirt, which shows through the collar’s elegant roll. The sleeves are long with rounded one-button cuffs. The collar, cuffs and front edge are stitched 1/4 inch from the edge. The body has a straight cut with a straight hem and side vents. Largo wears this shirt outside of his trousers, giving it a casual look for the poolside. This shirt also works well tucked an under a jacket for a dressier look. This shirt was likely made by a costumer especially for Adolfo Celi.
Largo’s trousers are beige linen with a flat front and a trim, straight leg. The shoes are only seen from a distance, but they are dark. They are likely the same blue suede derbies with tassels on the laces and crepe soles.
Dear, old, Adolfo Celi.
A very enjoyable man and a great actor.
He was from my city,Messina,and his sister lived nearby my home.
Celi’s sister was IDENTICAL to his brother,same face (the dear good lady would not have won a beauty contest).
When i was a kid and me and my mother met she,i said “Look mommy HE is the enemy of 007 in disguise”.
Another fun story is Celi that in the sea of Messina was almost drowning under the eyes of his friends.
Arrived at the boat with difficulty Celi said to his friends “Damned,why you didn’t help me”?
And the friends “we have see Thunderball and we believed that you were a good swimmer now”
And Celi “Idiots was a stuntman not i” !!
Thanks Matt!
I have been waiting for quite some time for an article on this outfit. A nice summer look – simple, effortless elegance.
Could it be that Foster made this shirt?
Best,
Renard
I asked Foster and they said they didn’t do his shirts.
Finally this amazing outfit is covered !
Thanks Matt !
I am having a hard time differentiating the camp collar from the Cooper collar.
Both have no collar band, is that right ?
But the Cooper collar is less flat than the camp collar and looks more like a common turndown collar ?
The Cooper collar has a curve while the camp collar lays flat. The camp collar looks more like notch lapels while the Cooper collar stands up.
Deo Veritas (https://www.deoveritas.com/shirt-collar-styles/one-piece-collar) explains it in detail with a photo of the actual collar type!
Matt,what do you think about these two champions of British style?
Prince Charles seems to have converted to single breasted three buttons,lapels are slenders (as in 60s) but the fit is classic.
Our 007 have the usual slim fit (but is still in fashion?) with the tie bar too much high.
The ideal in my opinion coud be the cut of Prince Charles’s suit in two buttons.
https://i.postimg.cc/xCwyPBkN/j581-n.jpg
I do wish Charles would stop resting his hands in his jacket pockets. That suit likely costs close to what I make in a year and just look at the drooping it’s caused!
If it makes you feel any better, I believe Prince Charles switched from bespoke to made-to-measure several years ago, so the suit was probably not quite that much.
Yah that’s right – he used to wear Anderson & Sheppard but a few years back switched to MTM Turnbull & Asser suits (to go with his longstanding history of wearing T&A shirts).
He still gets bespoke suits and coats, and this one is by Anderson & Sheppard or Steven Hitchcock.
@Matt – I looked at Steven Hitchcock and noticed his prices are about a thousand pounds lower than what I’ve heard most other Savile Row tailors charge, and less than what some off Savile Row tailors like Benson & Clegg charge. What determines the varying prices that the high-end British bespoke tailors charge?
Re: Largo’s “deep tan” – I grew up around the Mediterranean (Italy and North Africa) and was always around people tanned like Largo. I realize that now we are all more careful about exposure to the sun, but I must say there is a certain slightly louche glamour to the combination of a deep tan with casually elegant summer clothing!
Great article, thanks Matt!
There’s a video of Prince Charles visiting Bond 25 set. I found it unusual that Daniel wears a tie bar. Could it be a hint towards Bond’s new style choices?
He appears to be dressed in character, so the tie bar is back!
I saw those photos yesterday. Looks like they are channeling Pierce’s glen check to the office from Goldeneye, although I am sure they are going for the Goldfinger-glen check/1960s look, based on the last two films. It would be nice if Craig found his own style, but does the the suit looks a bit better fitted than the suits in the last two?
I am seeing a slightly better fit this time. It’s not perfect, but it’s not bad either.
So is the tab collar by the look of things. I like that Craig has finally settled on a style with his suits.
Craig’s jacket might fit ok – it’s hard to tell with his hands behind his back. His trousers, however, are too narrow and too long, and they “puddle” around his ankles. Charles’ suit isn’t bad, but the trousers seem a bit long – maybe they slid down a tad? Also, what is the matter with his shirt cuffs?
there are substantially more pictures on the mi6-hq.com website.
Tab collar and tie bar look more American early 60s style than something British. Mad Men and some Hitchcock movies come to my mind.
I like the cloth a lot, but on the picture the jacket still looks way too tight, with pulling at the waist and bottom. The low rise trousers don’t help. The shoulders look fine though. I hope the defects are only due to Craig’s posture and that the suit will look better onscreen ! They can do better than Spectre that’s for sure !
IMO that jacket is actually very nice. It’s a little tight around the chest, and a little short, but the waist suppression gives it a very nice hourglass shape. The button stance is also pretty low by today’s standards. It’s too bad the trousers don’t have a full rise; if only they were a few inches higher the suit would look so much better.
Daniel Craig’s black and white prince of Wales check suit in Bond 25 isn’t the most formal suit you can wear to the office but not the least formal either. Considering Bond has most likely been on the in-active list for a few years I don’t think he is too worried about formalities. It’s a good look and recalls the many check suits Sean Connery wore as Bond.