Sergei Prokofiev was a very stylish man.

Prokofiev’s suits were made perfectly with close attention to every little detail, including the cufflinks.

In his diary, Prokofiev mentioned cufflinks that caught his fancy, “In the afternoon, Mama and I went to buy some cufflinks for my name-day. They are very nice indeed, semi-precious ruby, or rose quartz as it is called.” The composer treasured his cufflinks.

In 1941, Prokofiev went on a one-day trip to Leningrad where the Kirov Theater was working on the production of his opera “Betrothal in a Monastery”. The composer shared the train compartment with Dmitri Shostakovich. During that journey, Prokofiev lost one of his favorite cufflinks and was very upset about it. In the evening, he was returning to Moscow on the same train. Prokofiev informed the train attendant of his loss, and the responsible employee took care to find the cufflink and return it to the owner.

Prokofiev liked to dress extravagantly.

The conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky also shared his memories about Prokofiev’s fashion, “All of a sudden, I noticed people on the street turning to stare at someone. I also turned my head. They happened to be looking at an eccentric man: he was tall, handsome, wearing a broad-brimmed hat resembling a sombrero, and a stylish short car coat. He was carrying canary-yellow leather gloves and swinging them rhythmically, without paying any attention whatsoever to the onlookers. I believe he was composing something.”

During his student days, Prokofiev enjoyed dressing up. He wrote, “By tradition, the annual party arranged by the Academic classes of the Conservatory takes place on January 4. I put on my dinner jacket, white waistcoat, brilliantly shiny shoes, found myself to be the epitome of style, and went to the party.” Going on his Italy trip in 1915, he also dressed fashionably, “I was immaculate in my short-trousered Swiss suit, a grey scarf, green overcoat, and English check cap.”