Love in the time of collar-uh-wearing.

Get the 411 on collars and why they're the built-in-accessory of your style needs.

Apr 05, 2024

Above from left top down: Whoopi Goldberg in *Sister Act* (1992); Robert Shaw in *Jaws* (1975); Winona Ryder in *Mermaids* (1990); George Harrison at Shea Stadium (1965); Diane Keaton in *Annie Hall* (1977); Prince in his “Purple Rain” shirt (1984); Anya Taylor-Joy in *The Vvitch* (2015); Marilyn Monroe (1950)

Call her (me) for advice on collars.

What is it about adorning your neckline with a ruffle, bow, or bib expansion of your garment that makes you feel like you’ve taken an extra step to get ready? Why does a collar feel so put together? And why is it difficult to resist the urge to regress to—conversely to my previous statement—a baby-like state and play with your collar (especially in bib-form), folding the edges aimlessly? Maybe you even reach a condition of fussiness which is taken out on your collar during moments of stress, i.e.“pulling your collar”?

These are questions I have to ask myself when I constantly find the urge to collar. Yes, I’m using collar as a verb because it feels as though there’s an action with the addition of that extra neck detail in the form of a collar. Additionally collars have, possibly more than any other garment detail, indicated status and occupation throughout fashion history—hellooo reference: “white collar”, “blue collar” jobs; or the nuns!

What’s in a collar?

Collars can be understood as a separate piece of fabric attached to the garment around the neckline, unlike lapels which are a continuous folded piece on the bodice. Most collars weren’t even attached to the garment historically—remember Elizabethan neck ruffs? But the classic convertible collar (meaning it can be flipped up or down) was sewn to the garment from the 16th century to 20th century and onward; with a detachable collar stint from 1827-1896. Another collar-conscious Hannah is attributed with the invention of the men’s detachable convertible collar in 1827; she was sick of washing her husband’s entire shirt when just the collar was dirty.

THE BIG THREE COLLAR TYPES: to stand, roll, and lay flat?

Convert to rollin’ on over and read about convertible roll collars.

Like any design, the number of pieces, the shapes of the pattern pieces, and the interlayers used will influence its final execution. But the parts which compose the collar shape need defining before we proceed. I found the most amazing document which reviews all things collars from University of Kentucky by Nadine Hackler “Emeritus Extension Clothing Specialist” (1985): “The stand is from the neckline seam to the roll line. The fall is from the roll line to the outer edge. The roll line is where the collar rolls over.” Line illustrations are also via the the University of Kentucky Clothing Specialist.

The roll collar family contains the most most well-known (and aforementioned) version of the convertible collar, most commonly seen on shirts. Note that you can incorporate a convertible—flipped up or down ability—collar design into a multitude of collar styles, but the partial roll convertible collar is definitely most prevalent. Roll collars, more generally speaking, are where the stand and fall are nearly the same measurement at center back (the most well-known full roll collar is the shawl collar). Convertible collars can include a separate collar stand, or not, but when they do include a stand, the style is just called a “shirt collar” (I know; not super helpful). There is more construction involved with a convertible collar that includes a stand than one without, because there are more pieces to sew. A convertible shirt collar with a separate stand piece is easy to spot because it “stands” higher up parallel to the neck, and is usually built for a necktie; hence the name shirt collar.

The stiffness and structure of a collar is up to those pesky interlayers, called interfacing. Unfortunately for the customer, interlayers are not indicated in the item description so you have to go entirely off of feel. The starchier the collar, the more rigid the interfacing. You can, however, spot if there was not a good match between fabric and interfacing if the fabric wrinkles along the interfaced areas. This is yet another clothing pet peeve of mine.

The other main design & fit features to be aware of with collars are: neckline shape, spread and collar shape. Neckline shape is pretty self-explanatory but it’s worth calling out that if you’re wearing a higher-necked layer over top your shirt collar, it’s good for the top layer’s neckline to follow that of the shirt’s.

Shirt collar w/ separate stand. Image via Pinterest

Shirt collar sans separate stand. Image via “real men real style” lol

Less considered is the collar spread, which is the distance between collar points. Within convertible shirt collar varieties, the “spread collar” style has the widest distance between collar points/edges. Technically a “club collar” style has a wide spread, but it is just referred to by its collar shape, which is shorter and rounded. The club collar was commonplace for men’s shirts in the late 1800s-1920s but is more rare today (but it’s so cute, right? Sadly I don’t own any club collars). How wide to go with your collar spread distance is generally a preference, of which I prefer less spread—at least for convertible shirt collars with a stand. There are plenty of other neckline opportunities for doing weird stuff with collar distance and shape so I recommend keeping your shirt collars classically spread.

For layering with a convertible collar that has a stand and is a classic high neckline on a button-down, I recommend trying out some sort of necktie, scarf, bow, bolo, or what have you, for neck decoration. For it is this style of shirt collar that was built to be ornamented! Crew neck sweaters also pair nicely with a standard button down convertible collar, with collar worn out or inside the sweater.

Collar spread got wide again following the club collar’s disappearance, but this time longer and pointed in collar shape during the 1950s, when entered the camp collar. The camp collar is a convertible collar style continued—although camp collars can be differentiated from other convertible collars because they are attached to the shirt lapels, creating a notch (instead of directly sewn to the neckline edge sans lapels). The rolled lapels and often little loop button closure make camp collared shirts more leisure, prep, pajama or vacation in vibe and thus are typically seen more in short sleeve iterations. Fun fact: 50s-60s America saw a rise in the short sleeve camp collar shirt’s popularity through the influence of Cuban men sporting these signature shirts who had migrated to Miami and New York, following the exodus after the Cuban Revolution.

Camp collared button down shirts are one of BODE’s staples, around which she has in a way built the brand. For layering: I recommend wearing a camp collar shirt open on vacation first and foremost; but I also think layered, collar out, under a V-neck sweater is a cute, preppy look. Since the neckline is more open, a V-neck combo fits together seamlessly over top a camp-collared shirt.

Stand on up to learn about stand collars.

The name describes it all: these collars stand up on their own, and they have no fold or fall. The most popular stand collar type is the Mandarin. The Mandarin Collar’s origins date back as early as 200 BC, where they were used on traditional gowns worn by the Mandarins in Imperial China. Mandarin collars are sometimes referred to interchangeably with Nehru Collars in reference to the slightly different Indian adaptation, created in the 1940s during Nehru’s time as Prime Minister. Mandarin collars and Nehru jackets both notably bear a gap between the two collar edges at center front (like George Harrison’s Nehru jacket in the first collage), but other stand collar styles can have the collar edges meet closer to center front.

The height of the collar stand and the angle of the stand (how far the collar stands away from the neck) are the greatest determinants for styling in a stand collar. However you can find a combo deal collar with stand and bow/scarf/tie/extension built-in (what can’t you do with this style)? But for the simpler version, I find a collar stand that follows the neckline shape (so it lays flatter along the body; also called a “banded” neck sometimes) easier to wear than one that stands straight away from the neck. The stand, or banded, collar transforms you instantly into a sharp dresser and so therefore, stand collars pair back nicely with less structured, more casual fabrics and silhouettes, like linen suiting or cotton twill.

OK you can lay flat now while I conclude with flat collars.

The most feminine collar group is the flat collar: here you’ve got the Peter Pans, the sailors, the bibs, the ruffled-edges—the list goes on and on. Summed up: flat collars lie flat against the garment at the neckline.

Image of various Edwardian collars via Historical Accuracy Reincarnated

It was roughly five years ago when gigantic bib collars / Peter Pan collar iterations (with no stands) went fashion-viral. As someone who’s been a long-time flat-collar-lover, even I felt inundated by their ubiquity—I needed a breather from oversized flat collars. But alas, all things style come back around, especially to those like myself who are drawn to fashion history. There is also a plethora of bigass flat collars from which to revisit, rethink, and restyle. Plus I’m always going to love a Gothic Pilgrim vibe in the form of some ridiculous, oversized collar—you just can’t stop a Scorpio girlie from magnetizing toward that aesthetic :). After all, it was from that inspiration in part that the Joan Hood was born!

For any flat collar style, layering is easy so long as your outer layer roughly follows the neckline of the flat collar neckline. A flat collar that doesn’t meet at center back also makes layering easier (look for a space between the edges at the top neckline edge). Make sure you opt for silk if you’re looking for ruffles that drape. If you want a starchy, pilgrim-y ruffled collar, cotton poplin is the way to go. Lastly since flat collars often require different interior construction than other collars in order to finish the neckline seam allowances, keep an eye out for those clean finishes. Look for facings that are either stitched down or pressed under without an overlocked or raw edge showing.

Shoppin’ collars—

Alright so there are like a million collar types and we can’t cover them all today (I also focused on the most used ones within wovens and shirting). We will of course continue the collarsation at a later date.

Once you start to notice collar details more, you may also discover styles that combine a little of both—or all—of the Big Three collar constructions; in which case you could be rollin’, standin’, and flattenin’ out all at once (with your collar, that is). Bottom line is collars are meant to be experimented with and they’re the easiest accessory you’ll ever have to not add to your outfit. xHannah