Collar styles

Recognize common collar shapes and follow each style from its name and origin to where it is worn now.

Collars frame the face and change how a garment reads from the neck up. Each Style Library collar entry covers how to recognize the cut, where the name and construction come from, where the style has been worn, and what is still in use.

How to choose

Start with whether the collar lies flat, stands up, or falls in a square flap. Then look at corner shape, how the front closes, and whether the garment is civilian, uniform, or ceremonial.

  • Mandarin collar

    A short, unfolded stand-up collar that meets or slightly overlaps at center front, known in the West as a mandarin collar after Qing-era ...

  • Peter Pan collar

    A small, flat collar with rounded corners and no upright stand, named after Maude Adams’s 1905 Peter Pan costume even though similar roun...

  • Sailor collar

    A large square collar that lies flat over the back and chest, taken from enlisted naval dress and later used on children’s sailor suits, ...