Correct way to measure shirt collar?

[Midnight Blue]

My understanding is that the the neck size of a shirt is determined by laying the shirt collar flat then measuring from the middle of the button to the farthest end of the buttonhole. However, I recently dealt with a (Hong Kong) MTM shirtmaker that measured to the closest end of the buttonhole instead. Is there an industry standard for this measurement or does every tailor and manufacturer have their own personal preference? Considering that the two methods result in a significant 1/2" discrepency, I find it hard to believe that an industry standard does not exist.

Your answers will be helpful when I deal with this tailor in the future!

 

[Bird's One View]

He is doing it wrong, but it shouldn't cause you any trouble as long as he is consistent and his employees or contractors know he measures this way.

The actual size of the shirt collar is the distance from the button shank to the far end of the buttonhole. This should be slightly larger than the actual distance around your neck.

I wonder if he is measuring as he does to make the shirt collar measurement match (or more closely approximate) the neck measurement.

Another possibility is that he does this to make his collar measurements better match OTR (e.g. Brooks Brothers) shirts, which are often larger than the stated size.