Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Collars Up?

 A reader question:

The Breton Rouge Guernsey looks great.  Thank you for sharing that.  I also have a question, and I hope this is the right place to ask it.  I notice that Muffy almost always has a turned up collar.  (Side question - is "popped collar" a traditional term, or is it newer like trad or OCBD?) She turns up her shirts and her coats and jackets.  Except for Barbours.  Interesting.

What are there tips for when to turn up my collar?  I am male and in my early 30s.   Are there better collars for turning up?  And turtlenecks are scrunched not folded.  Also interesting.  

 Sorry for rambling.  And thank you for any help!

 

30 comments:

  1. Pop everything, all the time.

    https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/4560574984_30b433c714.jpg

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    1. Hahaha! His torso is certainly well-insulated!

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  2. As a man, I do it with polos when the sun is shining on my neck in the summer, otherwise I'll get burned. When the sun isn't shining on my neck, I turn the collar down. With jackets, I got in the habit in New York to block the cold wind in the winter, and also because it looks better.

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    1. Exactly my approach to popped collars, too.

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  3. I pop collars on the boat or on any coat when there is a cold wind blowin"

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  4. Popped collars were very popular at my prep school 20 years ago. Also layering, whereby people would wear 2 or 3 polo shirts in top of each other with the collars popped. As 30 something man, I would m be measured with any collar popping. This is a very casual look that could perhaps be worn on the beach or a boat. Women can more easily look good deploying the look.

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    1. Agreed that a popped collar can look like an affectation on a man of a certain age and that women can more easily deploy the look.

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  5. I live in Florida and am on the water a lot. I've learned the hard way (sunburned neck) to wear lightweight, cotton Polo's with the collar up. I love Florida sun (and any sun), but it will fry you in no time. In Northern Michigan, on a 90 degree day in July, the air is hot but the sun is really only warm. In Florida at even 75 degrees in February, the sun is HOT on your skin. Sunscreen, hats, and (prep or non-prep) collars up!!!

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  6. I have a short neck, so I don't generally pop my collars. It's all about proportion - size of sweater, collar, and body. It really suits Muffy.

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  7. Pulling on a polo automatically pops the collar. Turn it down if it is night or you are staying indoors.

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  8. Worn them popped occasionally since the '80's. Temps in the sixties here on the coast of Virginia so wore a popped white RL polo, Bill's khakis, Alden for BB unlined loafers in color 8 with an older heavy navy OCBD from Land"s End (3 1/4" collar) unbuttoned and untucked. Compliments from two female clients.

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  9. I've always thought the look was supposed to be that you just threw on the shirt without paying any attention to the collar, so if part of the collar is sticking up you don't know it and wouldn't care if you did know it.

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  10. If you have to ask...

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  11. Unless there is a practical reason to "pop" one's collar, doing so is a bit pretentious. That said, whether it actually looks good depends on age, gender, and location. Women, whether younger or older, can get away with it. Men, not so much, regardless of age. But, younger men (boys really) are better able to pull it off than older men. It's also harder to pull off the more north you go. It always seemed to be more of a southern-prep thing to me, and while "popped collars" were a "thing" in the Northeast in the 80's, it was more of a fad, and practically non-existent by the 90's. For some reason, it seems to have persisted much longer south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

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    1. New Jersey shore. You misspelled New Jersey shore.

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  12. If you are wearing a Schott Perfecto over a white T-shirt, with jeans and engineer boots -- then pop the collar. Otherwise, nope (at least as a middle aged man, imho).

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  13. Some may think my comments are sexist but it looks good on females but not on males. On males it looks like they are trying to be preppy.

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    1. Agree. Tends to look a bit pretentious on males, like they are trying too hard.

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  14. When I was young, it was one of many affectations of "studied carelessness" unless there was a functional reason to do it. Forgivable in youth, not so much as an adult.

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  15. I am a 66 year-old woman who pops her collar infrequently. I like the look but feel inauthentic.

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  16. I agree with the others who describe it as affected depending on the circumstance. It's one thing to pop the collar when you are out on the water with the sun beating down on you and you need to keep your neck from getting burned but on land it looks ridiculous.

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  17. My polo collars are always popped. Some non-button down shirts look more elegant when the back of the collar is popped and the front points are folded.

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  18. If you have to ask!

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  19. It's funny that this thread follows the thread about living simply. If you have time to worry about the collar of a polo shirt, or perhaps your fingernails, your life isn't really all that hectic or complicated.

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  20. Was not the 'polo' shirt invented in India back then with the collar designed to be 'popped' while playing polo under the brutal sun...

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  21. The original polo shirt was the forerunner of the modern button down shirt. The collars were buttoned down to prevent them flapping about while playing.

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  22. A popped collar brings back memories. It's a pleasant surprise for me when I see it today; I guess I'm *too* nostalgic in my old age

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  23. In my part of California the sun is often brutal and it can also be very windy. I usually just pull on my shirts and let the collars do what they will, but sometimes the weather forces the issue. I'm a woman, but I don't give much thought to how men or women wear their collars, either way is fine . . .

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