A Guide to Shirt Collars

The collar of the shirt is the closest thing to one’s face, serving the purpose of framing the tie and harmonising with the facial features of the wearer.  It is one of the elements an outfit which can have a hugely disproportionate impact on the overall outfit, determining whether the jacket, shirt, and tie all interact harmoniously.

Historically there have been two main types of collar - those which expose the neckband of the shirt, and those which turn down to cover it.  These days, almost all collars we see are turned down to cover the neckband besides wing collars which are only worn with formalwear such as black tie, white tie, and morning dress.

For a turndown collar, a point length of 3” or more is required in order for it not to look out of balance with a man’s face, and to allow the collar points to lay flat against the body of the shirt.  At this length or longer, all but the most narrowly spread collars will lay inside the jacket where shorter point lengths may create an unsightly gap.

With a reasonable point length being presupposed, collar spread is the main thing which determines how the tie knot is framed.  The wider the spread of the shirt (meaning the collar points sit further apart) the more space there is for the tie knot.   This means that a more closed collar, with the points sitting closer together, will only really work with narrower tie knots such as the four-in-hand or the old bertie knot.

Smaller tie knots can still be worn with more spread collars.  A general principle to follow is that the wider the spread of the collar is, the more options one opens up to themselves for larger tie knots.  A half windsor, full windsor, or even a double windsor should all be worn with collars that have a proportionally wide spread.

Without a tie, cutaway collars (any collar where the points sit behind the collarbone) or button-down collars will help the collar not to feel like it is flapping around, especially when one is not wearing a jacket.  In fact, button-down collars were invented expressly for this purpose - to prevent collars from flapping around when playing polo.  A less spread collar, such as that which one might wear with a tie, can still look great without a tie if the wearer is not concerned about the collar being less controlled underneath or without a jacket.

Regarding face shape; most wearers will be complimented by a narrowly spread collar and a slimmer knot, with options for larger tie knots and more spread collars being available proportionally to the roundness/softness of one’s face.  For example: a man with a slim face will always look best with a slim tie knot and the points of his collar sitting on or in front of his collarbones, whereas one with a fuller face will have the additional option of a wider knot framed by a collar that sits much more spread.