Spear point collar shirts

[AntonAAK]

You might want to check out Jantzen while in HK. I've seen good results from those who were fitted at their shop, daizawaguy included.

Sam's Tailor is worth checking out too. I have a very nice suit from there (which I bought second hand) in a heavy blue flannel. The quality is excellent.

A

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

This one already looks not so bad...

and also thanks for the www.savilerowco.com/ link
I would buy one with the collar bar and a club collar shirt there...seems to be a perfect starter kit for the vintage look.

 

[Tenorclef]

Have not visited this thread for a while but see there is now another vendor in London making these 'Spear Collar' shirts. See-
http://www.adamoflondon.com/aol_newshop/index.php?l=product_list&c=24

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Nice. With french cuffs too.

 

[Tomasso]

That Jantzen shirt looks pretty good. Too bad they can be so difficult to deal with.

 

[Tenorclef]

I think the Tesco deal would have been great but having checked their web site they no longer do the spear collar shirts :-(

 

[Zeropositive]

https://www.wardrobesupplies.co.uk/shop/product?product_id=45180

Has anyone tried this shirt before?

Sorry if it has been posted before but I checked out a few pages back and nothing so far....

Cheers JC

 

[Edward]

https://www.wardrobesupplies.co.uk/shop/product?product_id=45180

Has anyone tried this shirt before?

Sorry if it has been posted before but I checked out a few pages back and nothing so far....

Cheers JC

Tenorclef posted a photo of one of his Wardrobe Supplies shirts at post #132, page 14 of this thread. Not handled one myself, although I plan to pick up a few eventually. From what I have been told they're great for the money. I think they're a poly-cotton blend - perhaps Tenorclef can confirm? I did speak to Angels on the phone a few months ago and they confirmed that these shirts are button cuff only. Not my ideal preference, though for everyday wear with a leather jacket or an A2 or whatever, grand - cufflinks aren't always ideal.

 

[Feraud]

Am wearing this one today. A point collar that takes a collar bar and has french cuffs.

The tie is a vintage wool by Botany.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Nice one. Where did you buy it?

Not as long as some other but it has the curve that shapes the point in a vintage way. I think the curve is more important than the lenght because the 70s had big collars too. But no curve.

 

[Feraud]

Van Heusen.
The collar shape is o.k. There is quite a variation in collar shapes noted in old catalogs.
Many otr spear point collar shirts I've enountered preclude use of a collar bar. The fact that this one also has french cuffs makes it a near perfect dress shirt for me.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

There is quite a variation in collar shapes noted in old catalogs.

Yes. Everything was around in the '30s: tab collars, button-down collars, club collars, spread collars, you name it. Long, thin spear point collars were widely fashionable for a very brief time: from the later '20s to the early '30s. Yet for some reason, they're now perceived as THE iconic collar shape of the gangster era. (Maybe it's because they look flashy?)

 

[Edward]

Yes. Everything was around in the '30s: tab collars, button-down collars, club collars, spread collars, you name it. Long, thin spear point collars were widely fashionable for a very brief time: from the later '20s to the early '30s. Yet for some reason, they're now perceived as THE iconic collar shape of the gangster era. (Maybe it's because they look flashy?)

What was typical for Hollywood film at the time? That could have influenced perceptions... I wish there was more of that sort of variety available nowadays. I'm sick of the high street being wholly unable or unwilling to provide anything with French cuffs other than the same wide spread collar shape that has been the norm since the early 90s....

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Great question, Edward. Back then, Hollywood films profoundly influenced the public's taste in menswear. (It's a credible argument that, thanks to their Hollywood connections, a handful of tailors in Los Angeles, London, and Milan changed the course of men's fashion.)

Long, thin spear point collars had been around since at least the 'teens --you can see a fine example in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1917)-- but they were most enthusiastically embraced by Hollywood from around 1927 to 1935. IMO, the longest, pointiest collars appeared onscreen from '29 to '33: "42nd Street" (1933) is filled to bursting with 'em.

Actor Chester Morris in the early '30s:

 

[avedwards]

What was typical for Hollywood film at the time? That could have influenced perceptions... I wish there was more of that sort of variety available nowadays. I'm sick of the high street being wholly unable or unwilling to provide anything with French cuffs other than the same wide spread collar shape that has been the norm since the early 90s....

I think our problem is only a British one. Modern American shirtmakers seem to offer both spread collars and pinpoint collars (not as pointed as a spearpoint but they'd probably take a collar bar). It seems we Brits are too fashion oriented in our businesswear, whilst the Americans have a more classic taste.

 

[Edward]

It is a pain. I'm a big fan of the pin collar shirts from the Saville Row Company, but unfortunately they come in white only.

 

[avedwards]

Try Paul Frederick. They do a variety of pinpoint collar shirts in a variety of colours and patterns. I have yet to try them myself as I'm waiting until I can afford the luxury of more shirts.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

These look good! http://www.jumpthegun.co.uk/product/JTG_Spearpoint_collar_White

 

[avedwards]

These look good! http://www.jumpthegun.co.uk/product/JTG_Spearpoint_collar_White

They only come with button cuffs though. This is what mine and Edward's main complaint is: spearpoint collared shirts with button cuffs are rare in the UK but can be found, but all shirts with double cuffs only come with variations of a spread collar (even shirtmakers like TM Lewin who claim to have a "traditional point collar" are nothing more than a slightly milder cutaway).

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They only come with button cuffs though.

Don't know if this will ease your mind, but here goes.

In the '80s and early '90s, Los Angeles had two leading vintage clothing stores: "Aardvark's Odd Ark" and "American Rag Cie." Aardvark's carried a fairly constant stock of vintage used 1930s dress shirts with attached spear point collars, usually white, usually made by "Arrow." American Rag imported lots of vintage 1930s dress shirts (usually colored, usually striped) from Germany. Without exception, these daytime dress shirts --the American and the German ones-- had barrel cuffs. I never once saw any with French cuffs.

A possible reason: back in the golden era, attached spear point collars were "sporty" -- and so were barrel cuffs. In short, they belonged together. French cuffs were far more likely to be found on detachable collared shirts.