The “Prince Charlie” 8×3 Double-Breasted Blazer

Notes

Men’s navy blue double-breasted blazer in tropical weight wool featuring a rare 8×3 button stance (8 front buttons, 3 rows closing), and 5 working buttons on each cuff, flap pockets, and a cross-stitched Latin cri-de-guerre embroidered under the lapel. Handmade in Portugal.

Details

Handmade cloisonné buttonhole badge included. Eight brass bee buttons struck from a vintage die on front. Five working brass beehive cuff buttons struck from a vintage die on each cuff. Double vents. 8×3 silhouette. Two flap pockets. Single-welt pocket at chest. Cross-stitched Latin under the lapel (VBI MEL IBI APES, “You catch more bees with honey”). Rowing Blazers house lining (navy with narrow green stripes). 100% tropical weight wool. Made in Portugal.

Care instructions: Dry clean only.

Size & Fit

This blazer has a modern cut. 36 runs short.

Stanford is 6’1” and is wearing a 38R.

Provenance

H.M. the King, formerly the Prince of Wales, has an 8×3 double breasted blazer he has worn often for the past several decades. It looks as great today as it did in the 1970s. 8×3 refers to the total number of buttons on the front (eight) and the number or rows that button (three): this is a sharp, old-school cut that few have had the cojones to make in recent years. Ours is hand tailored, and, like Charlie’s, has five working buttons on each cuff (a feature of many blazers worn by British royals which dates back to the Duke of Windsor — whose five cuff buttons were a reference to the uniforms of the Welsh Guards). The Drones Club buttons on the front and matching beehive cuff buttons complement the secret stitching under the lapel, VBI MEL IBI APES: ‘You catch more bees with honey.’