Collar Bars

[Flat Foot Floey]

HBK this fashion blogger looks are surprisingly good! I guess they are american and not italian? The first is really cool. Could be vintage.

If this would be the current state of menswear I seriously would stop complaining. Except for the trousers maybe.

 

[Fastuni]

The top one looks vintage (and looks best). The others have good features and overall look, but the narrow and sloping shoulders are not my cup of tea.

 

[herringbonekid]

Flo, i think there's a mix of American and Italian in those pics.

i often look on various modern men's blogs, and i'm frequently surprised at how good and how 'vintage' looking many of the outfits are.

my take on the images above:

A: perfect.
B: collar pins on spread collars are somewhat redundant as it looks like the collar is pulling the pin apart, rather than the pin pulling the collar together.
C: good, but collars should be soft enough to look comfortable being 'pinched', and not crease awkwardly.
D: good, but a smaller tie knot would help.


VM, your collar looks great. fairly thick, but not throwing awkward creases all over the way Steve Buscemi's in Boardwalk Empire do.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Did some reverse image search...

Here is the photographer of some of them and a Blog post about the occasion when the shoots were made.

Doesn't old time FL member Mr Rover work at a Ralph Lauren store in New York? I don't think that it is really him in the first picture but it sure reminded me of him. He always posted great (!) outfits.

 

[herringbonekid]

Flo, yes, Mr Rover used to work at Rugby in NY but i have no idea if he's still there or not.
not really surprising that the shots came from a Ralph Lauren show is it ? (except D. he's Nick Wooster who works / has worked for JC Penney and Bergdorf Goodman).

 

[TSP13]

So is it safe to pin a double stiched collar with a collar pin? I really prefer the pin over the bar.

 

[Luxire]

These collar-bars are made in silver and can be made to specifications. They can also be plated in gold. Each for $50

And yes, we do make shirts with hand-made holes for pins/bars.

 

[Vampyre Master]

Flo, i think there's a mix of American and Italian in those pics.

i often look on various modern men's blogs, and i'm frequently surprised at how good and how 'vintage' looking many of the outfits are.

my take on the images above:

A: perfect.
B: collar pins on spread collars are somewhat redundant as it looks like the collar is pulling the pin apart, rather than the pin pulling the collar together.
C: good, but collars should be soft enough to look comfortable being 'pinched', and not crease awkwardly.
D: good, but a smaller tie knot would help.


VM, your collar looks great. fairly thick, but not throwing awkward creases all over the way Steve Buscemi's in Boardwalk Empire do.

thanks Herringbonekid ! long search, tried many but this is as near perfect as I could get
VM

 

[Retro Spectator]

Is this Stacy Adams collar bar any good? Will it slip off? The reviews on the silver one don't mention slipping.

 

[Boinciel]

I'd be wary of 100% cotton collar bars that are to be clipped halfway down the tie.

 

[Patrick Hall]

Is this Stacy Adams collar bar any good? Will it slip off? The reviews on the silver one don't mention slipping.

The brand on an item like this probably doesn't matter much. Clamping collar bars like that usually slip a bit, but the problem gets worse the wider the collar spread, and the thicker the tie.

EDIT: Just saw the 100% cotton - I'm a bit baffled what that even means. Obviously, if a collar bar's made of cotton it won't do you much good. But my bet's on a typo somewhere.

 

[EliasRDA]

I miss my collar bar shirts, had some awesome ones back in the mid-late 90's. Just wish they had taken off better. And no, I no longer have the shirts, time is one thing & an mad ex gf is another.

 

[Retro Spectator]

I didn't notice that 100% cotton thing until you pointed it out. That makes no sense. The fact that they show it on a tie like a tie clip also makes no sense. The silver one says the same stuff, and has the same odd tie image, but it has reviews. Since I wear gold colored tie clips, and suspenders with gold details, I assume I should get the gold tie bar. Both are sold by Amazon, so I somewhat doubt that it is a scam.

Since I really only wear my homemade ties (they are very thin, due the fact that they lack lining), and I don't wear spread collars, I assume that the slipping would be minimal?

 

[Patrick Hall]

Since I really only wear my homemade ties (they are very thin, due the fact that they lack lining), and I don't wear spread collars, I assume that the slipping would be minimal?

Yes, you'll probably be fine. An adjustment a day at most.

 

[Fading Fast]

A Collar Bar in Action

This morning, I watched a "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in which Leslie Nielson plays a DA trying to prosecute a mob boss - but whatever, the really cool thing is that he was wearing a collar bar in a shirt that had holes sewn in it for the bar to pass through. And here's where it gets super cool (for an insane person like me), he came home exhausted, unscrewed the collar bar, undid his tie, then re-screwed the open end of the collar bar so that the bar hung lock onto one side of the collar. He, then, wore it that way for the rest of the scene.

My favorite collar bar is the one that is made to work with pre-sewn holes in the collar - so to see one in action was great (I did mention I'm insane). In general, these "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" have great 1950s / early-1960s clothes.

 

[EliasRDA]

Fading,
That's the style my shirts were, they had open holes at both tips of the collar & the bar had ball shaped endings. One of which I could unscrew to put in & remove the bar. I never left it hanging as it bothered me, but I could see Mr Nielson doing that & looking good.
I have no idea if my shirts were brought back to life from the 50's/60's or just a fashion style for African American men at that time. For the life of me I've been trying to remember where I brought them, I want to say it was either somewhere in NYC or down in Atlantas 5 corners area. My GF used to take me to weird spots I would never normally go. (shrugs)

 

[Fading Fast]

Fading,
That's the style my shirts were, they had open holes at both tips of the collar & the bar had ball shaped endings. One of which I could unscrew to put in & remove the bar. I never left it hanging as it bothered me, but I could see Mr Nielson doing that & looking good.
I have no idea if my shirts were brought back to life from the 50's/60's or just a fashion style for African American men at that time. For the life of me I've been trying to remember where I brought them, I want to say it was either somewhere in NYC or down in Atlantas 5 corners area. My GF used to take me to weird spots I would never normally go. (shrugs)

A couple of seasons ago, a clothing company, Eton, made a shirt like we are discussing with a collar with pre-cut holes (and they sold the collar bar with the shirt). They had one model like this and it was very expensive, but I got bought two on a season-ending sale (still expensive, but well worth it as the material is beautiful and I love the collar).

Other than that, I haven't seen them in years (Brooks Brothers did one several years back but it was only one style of shirt, in a loud a pattern and, also, very expensive - I didn't buy it). I mainly just use the safety-pin-style collar bar and that works fine. I don't like the collar bars that slip onto the collar ends as they always slide off during the day when I try to use them.

N.B. A good girlfriend usually knows the cool, off-beat, fun, get-something-different places to shop.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

This company still has them (didn't try em yet)
http://savilerowco.com/white-pin-collar-slim-fit-shirt-348wht

I think Luxire or Natty could do them too. Just ask and make sure the shirt doesn't have too much spread.

 

[dh66]

I remember this style being pretty popular back in the 80s, the bar being included with the shirt when purchased. I had one, as did nearly everyone I knew. I haven't seen one in years. Seems like something Stacy-Adams would probably make.

 

[1mach1]

I remember this style being pretty popular back in the 80s, the bar being included with the shirt when purchased. I had one, as did nearly everyone I knew. I haven't seen one in years. Seems like something Stacy-Adams would probably make.

I remember that phase. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko in Wall Street wore them.