Dress shirts ... just dress shirts

Matt Deckard · Jan 26, 2005

The club collar. You see them alot in the 20's

The tab collar. Snap or button the tab under the tie. You see alot of these on 60's preppy students.

The button down.

The cuttaway. Very british... Not my favourite!

Semi spread or point collar. I am more of a fan of the shirts which have less spread and a longer collar and more of the sculpted cut underneath... very 30's hollywood.

The point collar
My favourite.

LetterJ · Jan 26, 2005

The cutaway is also known in my house as the style that can make my 19 inch neck look like it's closer to 25 inches.

Slicksuit · Jan 26, 2005

I'm not all to crazy about the club collar. I perceive my hed as large, and a collar like that just accentuates it.

I tend towards the cutaway (English) or tab collars myself. My neck isn't exceedingly large (15 1/2"), so they seem ok. But I can see those with larger necks having a problem. The collar necessitates at least a half-windsor knot when wearing ties...a four-in-hand would look too small.

Most of my shirts are tab-style, meaning without the button clasps (modern). I will have to check around for one with a button clasp, as your picture has.

Fuente · Jan 26, 2005

The club collar also had a variation that had eyelets in the collar for a tie bar that lifted the knot a bit. This option was also seen on straight or long point collars.

For those with a large neck size but short neck, when you have a shirt made ask for a disappearing neck band. It has a standard height neckband in the back but tapers way down as it goes around to the neck button.

Rich

up196 · Jan 26, 2005

Button downs

Matt, when did button-down collars become popular?

Matt Deckard · Jan 27, 2005

According to Brooks Brothers, they started selling the first ones in their stores around early 1900. Don't recall seeing them in many movies or pictures before the 70's, though they were around.

The style is more of a preppy look that students wore. 20's 30's and 40's 50's and 60's, though mainly in the 80's.

You find some 30's ads showing button downs too.

SappySwami · Jan 27, 2005

I really like the club collar. When I get some shirts for this summer I think I'll grab a few of those, as well as the cutaways, which I usually wear. The more tapered 30's style I have a hard time finding a lot of the time.

Thanks for this thread, by the way, information like this is always useful. I didn't know the button down was actually around that long.

Mr. Rover · Jan 27, 2005

I was watching The Legend of Bagger Vance with my parents the other evening, and Matt Damon sports a shirt like the tab collar. I'm not entirely sure, because he wore a tie.

Ray

Wild Root · Jan 29, 2005

Cool shirts man! I like the club collar! Very 20â€™s. I would like a shirt like that for my earlier outfits. The last one you pictured is perfect for the late 30â€™s and through the 40â€™s.

The Oxford collar isnâ€™t my cup at all! I HATE BUTTON DOWN COLLARS! They are whatâ€™s wrong with the world today. LOL. Wait, no the Cuttaway is! Ewwww It makes it look as though the collar is too tight or something. Or that it's running away from the tie.

Stripes and checks are always good patterns too!

Root.

Matt Deckard · Sep 15, 2005

Does anyone else besides me really dislike the spread collar crazy that is currently afflicting button down shirts? I like my button down shirts to fit trim (not blousy) but the only trim, affordable shirts I find are spread collar, which looks terrible with a tie imho. But then sizing is also really messed up - I picked up a Levi's Chambray shirt from their sale rack, very nice, workman vintage look, but to get it to fit right I had to get a medium (I am 5'11", 195lbs)! Oh well, at least it doesn't have a spread collar...

So where are good places to get a nice shirt without the dreaded spread collar?

-Jake

Nordstrom Rack has some good deals on shirts, and if you have a Burlington Coat Factory nearby you can get some good deals. Slim fit shirts are starting to be sold more often in the industry. I too am upset with how many makers make their shirts too blousy with super huge armholes.

jake431 · Sep 15, 2005

Matt,

I'll take a look, thanks. Spread collars are showing up everywhere, and they're great if you are a thin guy with no neck, however if you are like 90% of the population they just don't look good.

-Jake

Matt Deckard · Sep 15, 2005

True, I just think they look bad on most people. I don't know how they started coming into the mainstream.

Veronica Parra · Sep 15, 2005

Back in 1998, Calvin Klein, of all people, came out with a dress shirt that had the perfect '30s-'40s long point collar. Unfortunately, the shirts were $100 or so and I couldn't bring myself to buy any. CK dropped the style after one season, and I'm still kicking myself for being Mr. Parsimonious.

While we're on the subject, Tommy Hilfiger's first suit line (in Fall '96?) featured three-piece, single-breasted, three-button suits with '30s-esque peak lapels. Those lasted only one season too. The man was ahead of his retro times.

-- Marc

Jay · Sep 15, 2005

So its called the club collar? Ive been trying to find the name of that for like 6 monthes now- Thanks alot

Veronica Parra · Sep 16, 2005

It's also called a rounded collar, or round collar. Depends on who's selling it. There are several men's shops in downtown Los Angeles that sell striped versions for about $75.

-- Marc

Vladimir Berkov · Sep 16, 2005

I am not quite sure why so many people are down on the buttondown and spread collars. One of the few things that I actually dislike about vintage 20s-40s styles are the collars. Of course not everybody then had terrible collars, but as in the 70s it is the truly bad examples that I remember. For instance, watch a bunch of early 30s movies like 42nd Street and you will notice that there is almost always someone with a huge oversized forward point collar with this teeny-tiny tie knot stuck in there. It just doesn't look right, especially as the collar is usually floppy and deformed.

Choosing the right collar and tie-knot combination is something in which you need to take your physique into account. If you have a larger head, wearing a tiny knot will just accentuate that fact. Just as if you have a round face wearing a club collar will accentuate it.

Personally I like the cutaway spread collar but only with British outfits. I am wearing an American-style outfit I prefer the forward point collar. Largely because like the Duke, I prefer a larger, longer knot on my tie although I am not a big fan of the full Windsor.

Biltmore Bob · Sep 16, 2005

When wearing a collared shirt without a tie should one button the top button?

I like to do this, especially in the cooler months...not that there is many cooler months where I live. When I do this it really makes me look old timey.

Mycroft · Sep 16, 2005

Biltmore Bob said:
When wearing a collared shirt without a tie should one button the top button?

I like to do this, especially in the cooler months...not that there is many cooler months where I live. When I do this it really makes me look old timey.

I don't and thats because of the weather and humity. I also think it looks too uptight for my taste (no offense to anyone).

BellyTank · Sep 16, 2005

When using the term 'spread collar', are we referring to the 'cut-away' collar in the English Sartorial Vernacular?

B
T

jake431 · Sep 16, 2005

BellyTank said:
When using the term 'spread collar', are we referring to the 'cut-away' collar in the English Sartorial Vernacular?

B
T

Martin,

I think so, yes.

-Jake

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