The short, stiff round collar has been an obligatory part of the Eton school uniform since the mid-nineteenth century
Originally a separate stiff white collar that attached to a banded collar shirt body, early on the collar signified membership in one of the world’s most exclusive men's clubs, hence its moniker name, the "club" collar. The famous arrow collar ads in the early twentieth century helped to elevate this style of collar to the pantheon of classic dress shirt collars.
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The West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield is situated at the convergence of the rivers Colne and Holme. Inhabitants of these river valleys discovered that the water – which flows from the Millstone Grit Pennine hills – gave excellent results for the washing of raw wool.
And so the wool textile industry was born. The industry was traditionally cottage based, with spinning and weaving often taking place in the same dwelling. Many of the workers operated from smallholdings, supplementing their income with the manufacturing of wool textiles. The finished cloth they produced was then sold through merchants who regularly attended the town’s Cloth Hall.
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With the exception of the Italians, who border on the fetishistic relative to the fit of their dress shirts, most men wear theirs too tight in the neck, too short in the sleeve, and too full around the wrist.
The explanation for this is relatively simple: successive washings shrink the collar size and sleeve length, while most manufacturers allow enough cuff width for a large Rolex-sized watch to drive through.
The collar
Unless its collar fits comfortably, the best dress shirt is useless. With the top button closed, two fingers should be able to slide comfortably between the neck and the collar of a new shirt. Most fine shirt makes add an extra half-inch to the stated collar size to allow for shrink age during the first several washings.
Should the collar of a new dress shirt fit to perfection when first tried on, return it or risk being strangled before too long.
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