White Collar Crime
This week, I was reminded (yet again) of a particular sartorial violation that makes my eye twitch every time I see it happen.
The news that made me twitchy was that a disciplinary panel found that former high-ranking Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark violated ethics rules for lawyers in his attempt to aid Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.
It wasn’t the violation of ethics rules by Trump administration officials that made me twitchy. If that were the case, I’d be in an endless loop of terminal fasciculation.
No, it’s the photograph that’s always used when Clark is mentioned in the news:
Do you see it?
Aside from the left sleeve of his suit that’s bunching up, there’s something else that sticks out — literally.
The collar. Collars are supposed to lay flat.
It’s not like this is some sartorial crime against humanity, but it’s distracting and looks sloppy. So what’s to be done?
A Little Collar History
From the 1820s until the early 20th century, detachable shirt collars became popular and common. They were designed to be removed so they could be washed separately (they soiled more quickly than shirts), thus saving work and the wear and tear of an entire shirt.
Detachable collars were stiff, so they held their form.
When Brooks Brothers introduced their Oxford cloth polo shirts in 1896, they had soft collars with a unique new feature: buttons. This was so the wings of the collar wouldn’t blow up into the face of the rider in the wind.
But dress shirts without buttons don’t have the same level of stiffness as the old detachable collars, and need help retaining their form.
Here to Stay
In 1908, collar stays (or, “collar supporters” as they began to be called in 1953) were introduced to add weight to collars and to help them retain their shape.
The collar stay is a small metal band with a pointed end that is inserted into little pockets behind the collar. Stays come in various lengths to match the size of the collar.
When you buy a dress shirt from the store you’ll find that it typically comes with an already-inserted set of plastic collar stays. I always throw these away and use my own set of brass collar stays.
Shirtmakers that have an eye for detail tend to sell shirts with complimentary collar stays. Charles Tyrwhitt has done this for years. You can also find stays as standalone products from them, as well as from makers like Thomas Pink, Turnbull & Asser, and others.
They can range from the $10 functional brass stays to sterling silver for $205 or mother-of-pearl for $155.
Stick to This
The most durable, versatile, and essential collar stays for my money come from Würkin Stiffs — designed for dress shirts worn without ties.
When you wear an open-collar dress shirt, even with traditional collar stays, the collar might fall down or become a little unruly. Würkin Stiffs stays are made with steel and powerful magnets that hold your collar in place.
Simply insert the says into the collar seam and then place the magnet behind your shirt material (next to your skin). Voila! Your collar stands up and holds its position.
I’ve been using these for decades and aside from losing a magnet every now and then (you can buy replacements), I’ve found them to be invaluable — particularly when traveling, as they don’t set off metal detectors at the airport.
And in case you were wondering, I also own detachable collars, which I bought from a mail-order company years ago. I later discovered that when I worked in Harvard Square, the building of my agency was the former site of the manufacturers of those collars.
But these days, I find more reasons to use collar stays — mostly to minimize sartorial crimes.
And that’s Classy AF.