Celebrity Shirts by Bob Fletcher

Celebrity Shirts by Bob Fletcher

I was excited to get my hands on three Bob Fletcher shirts recently. One labelled Fletcher of London, another with the super cool Celebrity Shirts styled by Bob Fletcher - shirtmaker to the stars label and the third sadly unlabelled


I asked the lady who I bought them off if she knew anything about the history of the shirts. She said they belonged to Engelbert Humperdinck who wore them in the 60s/70s and who she is related to somewhere down the line. Oh how I wish I could prove it!


Bob Fletcher owned Esquire - a menswear shop in Glasgow that was popular with trendy locals and touring musicians whenever they found themselves in Scotland. As apparent in the label shown, Bob Fletcher was a shirtmaker to the stars. He dressed The Beatles, Peter and Gordon, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Hermans Hermits and Manfred Mann along with so many others. The Rolling Stones were reportedly once seen leaving Esquire and entering a taxi. Fletcher was certainly proud of his many accolades and hung numerous pictures of his celebrity encounters inside the shop.

 

Esquire shopfront on Cambridge Street, Glasgow

A Rock Hudson lookalike modelling a Bob Fletcher shirt in Esquire

Fletcher often visited his friend Dean Martin on set in Hollywood - always making sure to take a picture for the shop of course!

From Rave magazine April 1965



From the Kensington and Chelsea News 28th June 1968

It could have been the next big thing. Alas, I wouldn't want a shirt impregnated with a formula of eau de Cologne either!


Here's a Bob Fletcher shirt from 1964 made for John Lennon that came up for auction at Bonhams, with the same Celebrity Shirts label as mine!

 

Here's a better look at the shirts I bought. They are absolutely fabulous and I can totally picture a big star wearing them on stage - be that Engelbert or not!

Although Bob Fletcher had what seems to be an exciting and thriving business throughout the 1960s, there is very little information out there. If anyone has any more information on the elusive Bob Fletcher, please do get in touch!

 

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2 comments

Hi, Thank you for posting regarding my father. He would have absolutely loved the recognition and for someone to have appreciated the impact he made during this era. Just to say also the ‘Rock Hudson’ lookalike in the leopard print shirt is my father ! He was a great showman and extrovert !
To Raymond: my father spoke of your mother Celia (apologies if I got the name slightly wrong) and you often. He always spoke so fondly of your mother and never forgot her.

Abby Fletcher

Bob was my mother’s brother,,I have lived in Australia for 60 years and desperately seek information on him

Raymond Capkin

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