Let us discuss a problem.
You go out and get a stunning shirt. Maybe you’ll find it on sale, maybe you’ll pay a little more, maybe you’ll have something custom made.
You have big ideas for the shirt, don’t you?
You want to wear it out at night, without a tie, and you want to look beautiful while doing so.
You order the shirt, have it delivered to your home. You put it on, your sports jacket on, and you look in the mirror, and guess what?
It’s a flimsy, frail collar that falls over.
What is the significance of this?
Because the collar frames the face.
You want to appear great if you’re going to spend a lot of money on a great shirt.
So, what’s the best way to get that perfect collar? What is the proper fit for a shirt collar?
I’ve got five tips for getting the ideal collar when you’re not wearing a tie.
Get a Strong Placket
The first step for getting the perfect shirt collar has nothing to do with the collar of the shirt.
What exactly do I mean?
It all comes down to having a strong placket.
When it comes to shirts, most people don’t consider about plackets unless they’re going custom and have complete control over the design.
However, a strong placket is the foundation, the heart of your shirt, and if you want to wear a shirt without a tie, with one, two, or three buttons undone and still look beautiful, you’ll need a strong placket.
All of the other suggestions I’ll make are useful, but they’re not as vital as this one.
So, what’s my recommendation?
Purchase a shirt with a strong placket.
If you’re getting a custom-made item, be sure it’s double-material reinforced.
This is going to be crucial in ensuring that it appears fantastic.
Unfortunately, the majority of shirts have flimsy plackets. Even shirts with a strong placket at the start loosen up after five to ten washes and no longer keep their shape.
The Right Collar Style
The second tip is to select a shirt with the right collar style.
You may get away with a variety of collar styles if you have a robust placket. You’ll want to be cautious if you have a weak placket.
There are only going to be certain styles that are going to work and essentially the placket that’s weak is not going to be able to support them.
You should opt for collars with a wider spread or a shorter tip.
The spread and the point length are the two factors that determine collar styles.
In both of those cases, you’ll want to help ensure it is something that it is not too close together, so narrow point collars and anything with a longer collar point length should be avoided.
You’ll want to keep those two things to a minimum because the placket can’t support that much weight.
There is an alternative. A shirt with an attached collar is available. You can also take it to a seamstress and get a stronger collar sewn on. There’s a chance they’ll put in reinforcements. In this situation, it might be able to stand on its own a little better. However, if the placket is weak, it may begin to fold in on itself.
Let’s discuss about the button down collar quickly. The button down collar will do a good job of holding the points in place, but it may cause them to lean to one side or the other. As a result, it will not fully solve the problem.
Collar Stays
The next piece of advice I have for you is to seek for collars that include collar stays.
Collar stays are what they sound like.
Guys, they’re essentially the bones beneath the collar.
When you’re looking for a shirt to buy, be sure it has a spot to put this and that it will operate well.
If you already own a shirt that you like but doesn’t have pockets for collar stays, you might be able to have them put in.
Use Starch
The fourth tip is to utilize starch.
You want to starch the front of the shirt, exactly there at the placket. Go ahead and starch the collar. Starch is a temporary stiffener.
This is going to help keep it in place.
It’s important to note that I mentioned temporary since the problem with starch is that it loses its potency after a few hours.
It can also irritate the skin, and in rare situations, if overdone and used frequently enough, it can ruin the garment.
However, it is a very low-cost and quick solution to the problem.
Button Positioning
The fifth tip involves button placement and fastening.
The general rule is that the more buttons left undone, the more likely the collar will fold in on itself.
One option is to button it up a little further and see if it helps to support the collar.
Another thing to consider is that if you’re having a shirt custom-made, you should tell the tailor that you’d like a little less space between the buttons.
The distance between the second and first buttons can frequently be reduced, resulting in a slightly improved hang.
In this article, I went over a number of helpful hints. But, first and foremost, make certain you obtain a sturdy placket.
