Figure 1.--Here we see a 1908 advertisement for detachable collars. Notice that there were no Eton collars which is rather surprising as it was a popular style at the time. |
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This is a very interesting ad illustrating the variety of boys' stiff detachable collars worn with their shirts and attached by means of collar buttons at back and front. Since collars soiled more easily than the rest of the shirt, they could be removed and replaced without sending the worn shirt to the laundry. Detachable collars remained in existence into the 1930s in America and continued to be worn with evening dress shirts much longer than that. The collars advertised here look like linen but are actually made of a discardable material (like stiff paper) and can be discarded after use.
These collars were made by the Reversible Collar Co. in Boston, Mass." Linene appears to be a brand name suggesting linnen. The company, however, does not explain jyust what it meant.
There were numerous ads for "President Suspenders" in 1901 issues of The Youth's Companion. The magazine described itself as "An Illustrated Weekly Paper For Young People and the Family." It was established in 1827. The magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, by the Perry Mason Company, 201 Columbus Avenue. It appeared under this title until 1929. It was in the late 19th century one of the most popular weekly periodicals in America and known for the quality of the writing. The magazine catered to teen-age boys and girls especially, containing articles on sports, on hobbies, and on various literary and cultural interests. But it was really a family magazine and had many advertisements for clothing, both adult and children's. The magagazine had a very strict policy about the advertising carried because its readers were mostly children.
This is a very interesting ad illustrating the variety of boys' stiff detachable collars worn with their shirts and attached by means of collar buttons at back and front. Since collars soiled more easily than the rest of the shirt, they could be removed and replaced without sending the worn shirt to the laundry.
Detachable collars remained in existence into the 1930s in America and continued to be worn with evening dress shirts much longer than that. The collars advertised here look like linen but are actually made of a discardable material (like stiff paper) and can be discarded after use. The turnover styles can also be reversed so as to double the wear. Such discardable collars continued to be sold in London shops as late as the 1960s. I used to buy them for my so-called neckband shirts (shirts made without collars attached and quite popular in Europe up until the 1970s). I believe we begin to see shirts with collars attached (in America in the 1920s. They were slower to arrive in Britain and continental Europe, as I recall. This was probably because the labor costs of laundering in Europe tended to be higher than in America.
This ad here appeals to mothers who had the time-consuing task of laundering and starching the stiff collars of their sons' shirts. Boys wore stiff collars in the first decade of the 20th century
from very early ages (7 or 8) up through their teenage years.
The ad copy read, "Mothers of Boys Will Find in Linene a solution of the collar problem. Collars with a dull luster finish, collars that look just like linen, but are so cheap that they may be thrown away when soiled. Collars that are accurately molded to the neck, that are cool and perfectly flexible, that do not fray or chafe, that are up to date in style. Collars that suit the boys because they are always comfortable, that suit the mothers because they save laundering, are inexpensive and always new. Collars that are finished on both sides alike, that in the turn-down styles
may be reversed and worn both sides, thus costing only 1 1/4 Cents for the wearing of each side.10 for 25 cents at Stores: by Mail 30 c., or Sample 6 c., in U.S. Stamps. Give size and style."
Notice the several different styles of collars offered here. Interestingly there is no Eton collar, a style that was commonly worn. The names of the different styles seems to be a peculiarly company name rather than the accepted generic name at the time.
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