Detached Collars and Studs

In time period reenacting or "dress up" -- authentic details mark the distinctions between the "Halloween costume people" and the committed re-creator. After 1827, the detached collar made its appearance, partly to deal with that ever-present "dirty collar" problem. Detached collars were easier to launder and re-starch. Actually people had known about this since the Tudor/Elizabethan days of the "ruff" and later other styles of "collar" like those worn by the cavaliers. These detachables developed co-jointly with "neckties" like the jabot and detached ruffles, the military stock and so forth.

The difference in 1827 was that the detached collars became a full industry on their own. At first they were made of linen, and later cotton, finally becoming the more familiar highly-starched high collars of the Edwardian period and the early 1900s. For the re-enactor a detached collar is one of those details that make the difference between authenticity and farbishness. Collars are fairly easily made at home or can be purchased from specialized sutlers or providers. Find your particular era's or style's collar or make it yourself, then get a set of shirt studs for improved and correct presentations.

Collar studs attach the collar at front and back to the shirt's collar band. In addition, the cuffs (either detached or sewn to the sleeve) may require cufflinks or studs. In formal attire, shirt studs also take the place of sewn-on buttons down the top front of the shirt. Studs can be plain or quite ornate, even jeweled and make a special fashion statement.

The photograph shows a recently purchased wing-tip style collar, popular from the late 1820s onward. You can also see the black collar studs at the center back and center front of the collar.