False-collar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A false collar (better known as a detachable collar) is a detachable collar fastened by two metal studs, one attached at the front and one at the back to hold the collar to the shirt.
Some believe that Hannah Lord Montague invented this collar in Troy, New York in 1827, after she snipped the collar off of one of her husband's shirts to wash it, and then sewed it back on.[1][1] Rev. Ebenezar Brown, a businessman in town, proceeded to commercialize it. The manufacture of detachable collars and the associated shirts became a big industry in Troy, and the general popularity of this type of removable, washable collar led to use of the terms white collar to describe clerical workers and blue collar for factory or other manual workers.
Having a false collar benefits the shirt to be washed without the chemical washing method that a collar requires. Although they have fallen out of favour for everyday use, starched collars are often worn when wearing a white tie. Having a false collar ensures that the wings of a winged collar don't droop. Starched, detachable cuffs are rarely worn in the 2000s. Starching of detachable collars involves the dipping of the collar into a solution of starch and water before cooking the starch with a hot iron and curling the stiff collar by slowly drawing the collar between the board and the iron (though this is difficult to achieve at home as a professional collar press does it better). The result is a pristinely white, smooth, stiff collar that holds its shape. Collar studs are usually highly decorative, often made of precious or semi-precious metals, and can come in many of designs. Detachable collars are typically kept in a collar box; a small, circular box (resembling a cookie tin) in which the collars keep their shape. A clerical collar is a special kind of false collar, which closes in back rather than in front.
==References== This collar is also often worn by Etonians with bowties.
- ^ A fictionalized account of this invention can be found in Grandfather Stories.
