A collar refers to the part of a dress which is fastened around the neck. In the course of time, various types of collars have been developed with the changes in fashion that have taken place. This article aims to explain in brief about the different types of collars.

Understanding the parts of the collar

There are certain terms commonly used in the apparel world in relation to collars. One of these terms is ‘Collar stiffeners’, which refers to strips of metal or plastic which are used in the collar to keep it stiff. They are also called ‘stays’ or ‘bones’. A ‘band’ refers to a piece of fabric which is used to attach the actual collar to the garment. ‘Points’ refer to the corners of the collar in case of a flat collar. The distance between the two points of a collar is referred to as ‘spread’.

Categories of collars

Collars can be broadly classified into 3 categories:

1) Flat collars, which are collars that lie flat against the garment.

2) Standing collars, which are collars that do not lie flat, but stand up against the neck.

3) Turnover collars, which are collars that can be used both as stand-up collars and as flat ones.

Collars are usually stiffened by using interfacing, which means attaching folds of fabric to the other side of the collar that is not seen. When a collar is not stiff, it is referred to as a ‘soft collar’.

Main types of collars

The following are some of the major types of collars popular all over the world. Some of them were in vogue in the fashion world in the past, while some are commonly accepted styles now.

Chinese collar: A Chinese collar is a standing collar, which is open in the front. It is generally short. A Chinese collar is also called a Mandarin collar or Cadet collar.

Nehru collar: A Nehru collar is similar to a Chinese collar. It is a standing collar which can be fastened together in the front. This style of collar was popularized by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1960s.

Chelsea collar: A Chelsea collar is a flat collar, which has long, pointed ends. It is usually used along with a V-neck. This type of collar was very much in fashion in the 1960s. Later on, it again became popular in the 1980s.

Cape collar: A cape collar refers to a collar that is designed like a cape. It falls over the shoulders in a frill.

Detachable collar : A detachable collar means a collar which is designed separately from the garment. It can be easily attached to the garment and removed. It is attached to the garment by way of buttons. It is also called a false collar.

Poet collar: A poet collar refers to a soft collar that has long, pointed ends. This collar is called the poet collar because it was generally worn by poets in the 1970s.

Button-down collar: A button-down collar refers to a collar in which the points have buttons attached to them. The collar ends can be buttoned to the garment.

Turtleneck: A turtleneck refers to a type of neck that extends up to the chin of the wearer. It is also called a Polo neck.