Do You Guys Even Know What Kind of Collar Your Shirt Has?
If you can believe it, there are different kinds of collars on shirts that men may wear to work and play. And some of them are better for you, and for situations, than others! Do you want to talk about this with me?
The Straight-Point Collar
Oh you are quite possibly wearing this. You could ideally be wearing a nice collar stay, slipped inside the collar, should your shirt have little tiny stay pockets on the inside.
The Spread Collar
Oh, hooray, a name that sounds like what it means. A spread collar has points that aren't so near! Here is a rather judgmental and detailed take on how far your collar spread should be. It should interact with the lines of your face! Thin men can wear a spread collar, not a long droopy one. Lots of websites are obsessed with this! Me, less so. Make yourself happy.
You can go too far with a spread collar. As certain mayors have.
That is a lot of spread.
At a certain point, by the way, the medium spread collar is almost indistinguishable from a straight point collar.
And also, yeah: this is probably something a man should think about for eight minutes in his life: what collar shape suits me? Then, you know, do whatever you want. (Just don't wear a button-down collar with a nice suit.)
The Button-Down Collar
Right. Asked and answered. A BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR, IT HAS BUTTONS!
The Varsity Collar
The what now?
So the "varsity collar" is a kind of spread collar where its little wings point a bit out from the middle. (See the curve on the inside of the collar?) This might be great for somebody but I can't imagine.
Here's an interesting note, from two years ago, about the picture above—about Land's End rolling out a "shorter collar shape of the first Original Oxford," so as to accomodate today's skinnier ties. This makes sense! And this illustration is a fairly decent guide to collar-tie interactions. You would not want to wear a big pointy foofy collar out to your shoulders with some skinny tie.
Tab Collar
Eek, it has a small tab, that goes underneath your tie, above the button! It freaks me out! I have never!
Club Collar
The club collar is rrroundsies! I'm scared to wear these. But there is a time and a place. For instance.
Banker's Collar
This is no longer actually a collar, in most cases. They used to be detachable, the white colors on a non-white shirt! Now we say "banker's collar" to refer to a white color on a colored shirt. These are fun to wear with irony downtown, or so I hear.
Collar shapes aren't just for dress shirts. This is a spread collar on a polo!
Are your polo shirt collars long and droopy, accentuating your long and droopy face?
There, I gave you something to worry about today! My work here is done.
Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor, advertisers do not produce the content. This series/post is brought to you by Gillette. Learn more about Gillette and its products at Gillette.com.
These are always much appreciated, Mr. Sicha.
Note: anyone in a banker's collar should be drawn & quartered.
@HiredGoons : The appropriate response to anyone wearing a banker's collar is to say "oh, hey, there's something on your shirt" and then grab the collar and tear that fucker right off.
"The Club Collar has that certain Je Ne Sais Quois, it's like it screams Mingus."
@Art Yucko: Mingus is the Harvard Business School of Jazz (the obvious choice).
What kind of collar does Balk wear?
@Rosebud 'Rumpled'
oh come on. really?
@Rosebud The kind with rings around them.
Still waiting for my sponsored guide to different kinds of short pants for men.
To answer the title: no.
You forgot the vince van patten collar.
How about an edition about the scarves that are so popular these days?
I never thought I'd say this…but The Satorialist is wrong. The round collar is a bad idea (unless you are about two years old and posing for a formal portrait).
And to underscore the wrongness of the collar, just look at the photo of the man wearing it. He has a mustache that he can ACTUALLY TWIRL.
Which makes me think of something else. A column on types of facial hair…and what types are appropriate? Sponsored by Gillette, of course!
@hockeymom : The club collar is the absolute worst. It appeals to the same beard-waxing steamsters who like to wear wing collar shirts without a tie like their job title is "Bill the Butcher's second-in-command" instead of "artisanal cocktail fabricator".
@hockeymom While I agree that round collars are wrong, mustaches that actually twirl are awesome.
Signed,
Mustache owner
@hockeymom: You are wrong. Nick Wooster, the man in the photo, pretty much always looks perfect. His mustache is so good.
@hockeymom: The roundie collar is an affront to geometry.
@NotAndersonCooper: The "club collar" is actually a Peter Pan collar in disguise, only good for really conservative ladies and girls under 12. Seeing it on a grown man makes me shiver in disgust.
@Bittersweet: You are not alone.
@Craig Brownson I agree that he's got a certain dash, but isn't his suit jacket just a little too small for a grown-up man? And not in that narrow-sleeved way that makes a man look kind of young and vital?
@spiralbetty: He does the Thom Browne shunken look thing, which definitely looks a little silly and fashion-y, but is also kind of fantastic?
Really surprised it took this long to break out the Mad Men iconography. Kudos.
Also, whither the nehru?
Or mandarin?
@hockeymom i can't wear mandarin collars cause i'm asian and if i wear one, people will continually stop me and ask for refills on their water.
i like to ironically wear a clerical collar.
ALSO. BEEN MEANING TO BRING THIS UP. GODARD DISAGREES WITH YOUR BUTTON-DOWN RULING, E.G. EVERY FRAME OF MADE IN U.S.A THAT IS NOT ANNA. WHAT NOW.
(I actually agree with your ruling, but just saying.)
I surprised myself by actually knowing all of this already… but it's rather a moot point – I work in the wilds of rural Virginia, were animal pelts are considered formal business meeting attire (I'm only half joking – I have taxidermy in my office). Perhaps I'll submit a guest article identifying appropriate camouflage patterns for formal, office, leisure, and hunting wear.
THIS POST IS A JOY AND A DELIGHT. I THINK I WILL GO PURCHASE SOME GILLETTE PRODUCTS NOW.
The paper collar: for when you are spending the day in an F. Scott Fitzgerald story.
dear gillette,
please bring back the sensor. it is far superior to any of the razors you (or any other company) now offer.
thanks in advance,
shavey mcshavealot
@roboloki Oh I like the Mach3 just fine! I'm firing it up right now just to show my appreciation for this alliance!
i wear whatever kind of collar dickies come with.
@iantenna: whatever my manservant prepares.
Missed opportunity to pair this with the post about tie knots.
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Maybe I should buy some old tab collars?
@InfoMofo- Welcome back to the age of jive.
Why does this series have to be "sponsored posts." Why can't you just write about menswear because you feel like it?
The tab collar isn't for everyone but can look quite distinctive if done right.
Round collars are back? The last they walked the earth was in the 80s. And they had as their friend the collar pin.
BTW. I inherited a bunch of banker-collared shirts from grandfather, who was a banker.
Choire, what is your beef with the tab collar? From a practical perspective, they keep your collar from spreading out and looking all messy. Is it because they're too often visible under the tie?
LOL, Choire! As if you didn't know that we're all wearing bibs!!
Why is taste one area where tolerance is not only not practised but actually scorned?
But what of the Nehru collar? The very thing when you're taking your 3:00 PM laudanum!
This series is great. Starting with the button-down article, I have sent them all to my younger brother – who coincidentally needs to shave more. Thanks The Awl and Gillette.