Figure 1.--These German children were from Wilhelmshaven. The portrait is no dated, but was probably taken in the 1900s. We see quite a number of German children wearing detachable collars when they dressed up.

The immaculate white collar reached extremes for both men and boys in the early 20th century. We see them in both the the 1900s and 1910s. They were worn by boys, men, and women. They were less common though for girls. We see them when boys went to school as well as dressed up. for various occassions. Men common wore them a work. There were variations here as to social class. The 20th century trend toward more comfortable, casual clothing began to be increasingly apparent after World War I. One of the areas most obviously affected was the detachable collar. They were still seen after the War in the early 1920s, but very likely declined in popularity. Here there were social class differences. We still see them at some private schools, but even here they gradually declined. Comfort ws a factor, but also boys began seeing them as old fashioned. We no longer see setachable collars for boys after World War II with only a few exceptions.

Early 20th Century (1900-19)

The immaculate white collar reached extremes for both men and boys in the early 20th century. We see them in both the the 1900s and 1910s. They were worn by boys, men, and women. They were less common though for girls. We see them when boys went to school as well as dressed up. for various occassions. Men common wore them a work. There were variations here as to social class.
Men: At the turn of the 20th century, fashionable men wore a "high-band" collar. The high-band was a turndown collar which was usually about 2 to 3 inches high. This in effect literaly encased a man's entire neck in an inflexible cylinder of shiny, starched linen. It is difficult to understand why this style was so popular. It must have been very uncomfortable. Indeed sharp turn of the head could actually bruise the bottom of the jaw. Even so, one report indicated that over 60 percent of the collars sold in America during 1900 wre these high-bands.
Women: Stiff detachable collars were no strictly for men. Although not as dominant as for men, many women also wore blouse and dresses with detachable stiff collars.
Boys: There were also detachable collars for boys. The most common was the Eton collar. Many in America and England did not consider a boy to be well-dressed with a soarkling stiff Eton collar. Eton collars were worn on the continent, but was less dominant.

Inter-war and War Years (1920-45)

The 20th century trend toward more comfortable, casual clothing began to be increasingly apparent after World War I. One of the areas most obviously affected was the detachable collar. They were still seen after the War in the early 1920s, but very likely declined in popularity. Here there were social class differences. We still see them at some private schools, but even here they gradually declined. Comfort ws a factor, but also boys began seeing them as old fashioned. In the United States neckband shirts more or less went out of style by the early 1940s (maybe even the late 1930s), and certainly boys in the 1930s and afterwards wore shirts with collars already attached.
Men: Siff detachable collars continued to be worn after World War I (1914-18), however, they no longer dominated men's fashions. Men increasingly turned to more compfortable soft collared shirts. Even by the 1940s a few conservative dressers and older men wore detachable collars, but most men had switched to comfortable soft collars.
Boys: The Eton collar was still quite commoin in the 1920s immediatly following World War I. They were, however, rapidly replacd with soft collar. Some boys from aflluent families or attending conservative scools might wear Eton collars in the 1930s. They were by the 1940s, epecislly after Wprld War II (1939-45), rarely seen.

Post-War Years (1945- )

We no longer see setachable collars for boys after World War II with only a few exceptions. You can still buy neckband shirts at expensive shirt places in England, and some upper-class men still have shirts custom made with detachable collars. And Americans continued to wear neckband full-dress shirts into the 1970s--i.e. shirts with holes for studs,specifically designed to be worn with formal suits such as dinner jackets and full-dress suits (tails). A reader writes, "When I was about 17 (during the later 1940s) I used to get engraved invitations to formal dinners and dances (coming-out parties) that specified formal dress--"white tie" or "black tie". These occasions required full dress shirts with studs and starched detachable collars to be worn with hand-tied pique white or silk black bow ties." An English reader writes, "I wore detachable shirt collars at my Public School in England from 1945-49. Some Public Schools still have stiff wing collars as part of their uniform." A Scottish reader tells us, "We had to wear shirts with detachable collars for formal occasions when I was at my public school (Glenalmond) during the 1960s. They weren't Eton collars - merely stiff white collars in shape like ordinary ones. Most of us loathed them, of course."

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Created: 3:41 PM 4/2/2008
Last updated: 7:53 PM 4/2/2008