The Suits of James Bond reader David Marlborough has kindly allowed me to write about his bespoke shirts from Frank Foster, Roger Moore’s long-time shirtmaker who also made shirts for George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. Foster’s relationship with Moore began during his tenure on The Saint, and through the years Foster has made many unique pieces for Moore, including his shirts in The Persuaders with button-down cocktail cuffs and his controversial safari shirts. Foster is still one of the world’s foremost shirtmakers and operates from Pall Mall, London.
Mr. Marlborough bespoke a number of shirts from Foster in various cotton poplins, all with his familiar spread collar. He requested a taller collar similar to what Foster made for Roger Moore, though not so tall that it would ever look outdated. The height is slightly taller for a taller neck and the points are long enough that they stay under the suit’s lapels. One unique point of the shirt is the placket design—the stitching is rather close to the centre of the placket. Most shirtmakers have their own way of stitching the placket and their own preferred width, and not all shirtmakers would be willing to stray from their norms. The shirts are all adorned with simple 4-hole mother of pearl buttons, with the exception of 2-hole buttons on the blue shirt. Marlborough chose a 2-button mitred cuff for his shirts, the same as what Roger Moore wore in For Your Eyes Only. Foster’s standard includes gauntlet buttons on the sleeves.
Mr. Marlborough also ordered a dress shirt (for black tie) from Foster with a fly front and cocktail cuffs, the regular kind of cocktail cuffs with 2 buttons. Foster’s cocktail cuff design has changed over the years, and the difference can be seen between his cocktail cuffs in The Saint, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. Marlborough’s cocktail cuff design is the same as the cuff Roger Moore wore in The Man with the Golden Gun and Moonraker, the last time cocktail cuffs are seen in the James Bond series.
Beautiful shirts, David, I must say I'm jealous.
Do these have any back pleats?
They do. I didn't request this particular feature but he included them anyway. I assume they're probably a standard for Foster.
Considering the quality of the finished product his price per shirt, in comparison to his rivals, is actually pretty reasonable.
They look well made, but the way the placket is sewn looks like it would be just a little too floppy to stay crisp throughout the day. (That and it just doesn't look attractive to me.)
Based on my recent research, I think David is right, Foster is the most affordable of all of Bond’s shirtmakers. His are less expensive than Turnbull and Asser and substantially less expensive than Brioni or Tom Ford. Yet based on these pictures, their inclusion in the Bond films, customer testimonials, celebrity clientele, and the simple fact that they are bespoke, these Foster’s shirts are of the same quality as 007’s other shirtmakers.
Wish I owned a few myself and I will definitely have to make his shop a destination the next time I’m in London!
David…is your collar spread also on specific request? FF’s standard collar has a spread of 90 degrees (as in Matt’s Nov 2011 post of his blue shirt), so do the Moore versions on film…but yours seem to have a 120 degree spread. Looks great anyway. Many thanks. BW
Actually I think it might be the angle of the photograph…upon further inspection I note that even my sample is probably somewhere between 90 and 120 degrees…so it is probably the standard pattern.
Does Mr. Foster make soft collar shirts ? The ones that do not utilize collar stays at all ?
I don’t know, but I doubt he does. It’s not something English shirt makers often do anymore.
Do you know anyone who makes soft collar dress shirts anymore ? I often see my grandfather wear soft collar dress shirts which he has had since the 1950s. But l cannot find anyone who makes these shirts anymore. Many dont believe this but he also has a soft collar shirt with french cuffs. Is there any shirt maker you could suggest who makes these ? Otherwise l will just stick to my regular Turnbull and Asser shirts and remove the collar stays when l am not wearing a tie.
Frank Foster can make this and has made this style, but I wouldn’t count on him to do it now. He mostly just makes what he wants to make and doesn’t vary far from it. You need a shirt maker who does costumes. CEGO in New York can probably do this. Luxire, an online clothing maker, is also able to make these collars and I’ve been considering trying them (but not for this style shirt).
It’s kind of like Cary Grants dress shirt from North by North west. I find soft collar shirts very appealing…. when l find them ; that is. So far ; Hartford is the only company l know that makes soft collar shirts but these are all button cuff shirts.
How long should the points be on the collar so that they stay underneath
the suits lapels? I’m currently here in the Phillipines and the tailors here made me three dress shirts with a beautiful cotton fabric, the only problem is the collar points are not long enough to stay underneath the suits lapels. My second question is, can I still wear with a suit or should I just use them as sport shirts?
The point length to achieve this depends on how tall the collar is and how wide the spread is. A narrower and taller collar needs longer points to be able to sit under the lapels than a shorter and wider collar does. I feel that 2 3/4 inches long is the minimum collar point length necessary for an adult man, but the collar has to be wide enough with points that length to sit under the lapels.
As long as the collar suits your face, you can wear it with a suit. It isn’t necessary that the collar points sit under the lapels.
I have commissioned my cutter to bespoke three more shirts in the spirit of sir roger and sir sean. I asked you concerning the length of the collar points. Your answer read sir rogers collar points were around 3 1/8 inches , the problem is my tailor said the company he commissions to make the shirts only go by quarters. So should I say 3 inches or 3.25 inches?
One more thing, and I speak for all of us. What can we do to make sure this website stays running?
Connery’s collar points are around 3 inches and Moore’s are around 3.25 to 3.5 inches.
I plan to keep this site running as long as I can!
What did Frank think of T&A shirts?
I came in wearing a Classic T&A Collar. He didn’t think the shape made any sense and thought it was backwards.
Funny! Thanks for sharing. I tend to agree with him… its a distinctive collar, and for the Patrick Batemans among us can more easily allow for recognizing those wearing T&A, but probably not a great “default” for the generic customer.