Collar bar

I don't like the tie bar. Its purpose seems to be to accentuate the knot by raising the knot itself and bringing the sides of the collar a little closer together. This just seems too "forced" to me. This could alternately be done by forming a tighter knot and tying the tie more tightly, and making sure that the tie follows the collar band exactly around your neck. Also somewhat helpful is 0" collar space and buying shirts with taller rather than shorter collar bands. I also don't like the tab collar, particularly the tab collar with a roll similar to that of a button-down.

How did academics(esp. in the USA) start wearing button-downs and sack suits with repp ties or bowties? I think that the button-down has become almost an expectation among academics. To me it seems that the button-down-wearing professors I've had are generally more intellectually pretentious than the rest(again, a generalization). I think that some of them feel that glasses and a button-down make them somehow more "intellectual." It must have started in the Ivy League and east coast prep schools and spread from there.

Penguin Sorry to say but those Stacy Adams shirts look a little cheesy. The fly front only accentuates that. I try to persuade customers away from eyelet collars unless it is on a high round school boy collar. (Not a Reilly) Sorry no photo to attach. Also do you really want to be poking holes in your good shirts. A clip on bar looks a little better then a pin. Fred Pressman of Barneys used to always have a collar bar clipped to one side of his collar. The collar was always unbuttoned. Only he could get a way with this style and not look pretentious. I agree with Banks. I am not fond of tab collars. Recently one of my customers had me remove the tabs from his shirts. This was a political statment. He did not want to be associated with certain Republicans who are wearting tab collars.

I agree completely with Shirtmaven about the Stacy Adams shirts. The shirts also require cufflinks, and the combination of the flyfront, tab collar, cufflinks, flat finish and bold solid colors screams "ghetto flash". It's just too much. Either that, or you'd give off the impression that you are in serious need of a laxative. Further accessorize with braces and a pocket square, and use a bit of hair wax, and you may as well just go all the way and wear a monocle. "Ta ta, top of the morning to you, guv'nor."

I don't mind collar bars, so long as the shirt is made to be worn with them. The clip-on collar bar is, in my opinion, a bit tacky. A simple gold collar bar adds a nice touch I think. As for the shirts in your example, my personal preference would be for something a bit more traditional, but that's just my stodgy side talking, probably. Kai

I'm puzzled--is it only Republicans who are into "ghetto flash" styling who use tab collars? I'm getting mixed messages here. On the other hand, I do know of two men who were Republicans who did love the tab collar. One (now deceased) was a well known tv commentator/columnist, the other is reguarly on cable tv. I've only owned one tab collar shirt (a Brooks Bros.) and it didn't do much for me.

That is funny. I seeing a rather disturbing image of an Al Sharpton/Donald Rumsfeld/Pimp from 'Gonna get you sucka" hybrid. Ouch.

With deference to LAGuy, a young whippersnapper if ever there was one , I say "yeah" to the collar PIN, not bar. I've not found a collar bar that works as well, or has as spruce an appearance, as a gold or silver pin. And I agree with Shirtmaven: a club collar is the ideal collar for the pin, provided the wearer isn't as wide as he is tall. Funny, although I don't use the hair wax (or wear the monocle), I do accessorize with braces and pocket square. Guilty as charged - however, I dispense with pre-WWII Anglophilic slang.

I Had a shirt with a collar bar once. really liked wearing it. It looks even better with French Cuffs. My personal view is that its function apart from decorative and it does have a practical function is to prevent the undoing of the top button and loosening of the tie. You can`t do that with the bar or pin in place. So it is quite a good idea.

Not to say that a tailored look and interesting accessories can't look great. I saw a fortiesh guy working in a bookshop recently, wearing a blue checked shirt, gold jacquard (or was it paisley?) tie, an interesting tie bar - all vintage - and handful of rings. I couldn't pull off the look in a million years, but this guy made it look natural. And there is nothing wrong with ghetto flash either, for some people. I think that most of us would agree that the guys who look best are the guys who know what flatters them, are unconcerned with melting into the crowd or slavishly following rules, and like doing things with a bit of flair, whether with an elegant Kiton suit, with Armani's Milanese ease, or with Dries van Noten's charm.

Well said LA Guy. For more on this topic, check the threads below: How to wear a collar pin Collar Pin Survey