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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Friday, March 18, 2022

Collar stays—yea or nay?

 

Dear Editor,

Question for the community: “Collar stays—yea or nay?”

Thank you.

20 comments:

  1. I'm just glad to see "yea" spelled correctly. I wear stays when they're necessary to make the collar look good, and I don't when they aren't.

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  2. I tend not to like collar stays in my own shirts. If the collar itself is lined, it's substantial enough to keep its shape when folded over a tie, but there's something just a little more relaxed and natural about that look to me, which I prefer. I usually wear shirts with button down collars anyway, so the point (pun intended) is mostly moot for me.

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  3. I prefer the sprezzatura of no stays and an unlined collar, but I am retired and free to dress as I please.

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    1. Being a newcomer to this site (and a foreigner) I am finding it very educational. I had never heard the word "sprezzatura" but will use it in future. A very descriptive word. I am becoming aware that we are indeed two nations divided by a common language!

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    2. No collar stays. They are not natural.

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    3. "Not natural?"

      Yes, unlike 100% cotton shirts which grow on trees in nature - in different sizes.

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    4. Robert, when I was a youngster, school would be dismissed for a couple of weeks during harvest season so all the kids could help out. The thing we feared most was an outbreak of the haberdashery beetle. Those days are long gone, but to this day, whenever I see an all-cotton dress shirt, I think of the old call-and-response songs we used to sing during those weeks in the fields when our arms and backs hurt but our hearts were light because we didn't have to spell and cipher.

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    5. Very well said, Garner.

      I'm currently waiting for the Gingham Trees to come into bloom so I can pick up some lightweight summer shirts in a size 17/36.

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    6. Fabric is made from bamboo these days, although bamboo is not a tree.

      I have a photo of my father wearing a shirt and tie with a collar pin, an alternative to either a plain collar or a button-down collar. There used to be tab collars, which my old boss was still wearing 20 years ago.

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    7. Robert, I am encouraged by the variety of trees now available. It used to be hit-or-miss for people your size, but now we can grow vast quantities in any given size just by careful seed selection. My wife is very petite and hard to fit, but we finally found some Japanese varieties that are hardy enough to live in Virginia, and she doesn't even need alterations anymore. Hats off to the USDA, which has also perfected the hat tree; I have one in my front hallway.

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  4. Only when need be!

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  5. For a while, I had a few shirts made to measure in the U.K. that had stiff collars. I think they were called "Trubenized." I liked them but I haven't been able to find any since then, which was a while ago. I rarely wear a shirt and tie now and, anyway, I guess stiff collars went out with sleeve garters. One was of oxford cloth and another was nylon.

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  6. Why is this even a question ? Is someone pulling the pin on a hand grenade to get the natives stirred up. Any self respecting he man wears them. Shirt needs to be starched with gig line aligned with zipper & buckle...for further instructions contact USMC. No slackers or prisoners.

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    1. The USMC currently wear wool-blend shirts that are not starched. Neckties, as worn with long-sleeved shirts are kept in place with a tie clasp. French cuffs optional. This blog has not provided much guidance regarding tie clasps or tie tacks.

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  7. I prefer button-down collars but am in favor of collar stays for those collars without a button! Stiff or curled-up collars make no sense. :)

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  8. most of the shirts i wear have button down collars; i decided a long time ago it was an acceptable level of informality for me with a suit. The few shirts I still wear with straight collars and cufflinks, i use the stays - have an old (now partial) set of metal ones.

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