When it comes to putting the finishing touches on your suit, picking a shirt collar style complements your style and fits the event is crucial. Different collar styles fit your unique bespoke suiting needs, and choosing the right one for your upcoming event can make or break your style for the evening. A button-down collar might be perfectly suitable for a date night but would feel out of place in the boardroom.
Fortunately for discerning gentlemen, multiple shirt collar options are available to make your custom suit the perfect fit for every occasion. Knowing which style works best in a given situation will help pick the right one every time. Here are some of our favorite and most versatile options.
The Point Collar
One of the most traditional and versatile collar styles available, the point collar can be found in offices across the country and at happy hour after a long workday. Perfect with your wedding suit, date night, or even dressing down with jeans and a blazer, the point collar is your safest option for a well-put-together look.
Windsor Spread Collar
First found in Britain, the Windsor spread collar represents a classic style that fits all occasions. Easily found inside and outside of the office, the Windsor spread collar provides a conservative bit of fashion for the discerning gentleman.
Button-Down Collars
Found in the halls of academia, the button-down collar has provided gentlemen with a versatile and sportier collar style since the 1800s. Keeping the collar in place with stylish buttons, the button-down collar has remained a staple of every gentleman’s closet.
Cutaway Spread Collar
The collar’s points rest roughly at 45 degrees, making it wider than the traditional Windsor spread. The cutaway collar works best with wider and prominent tie knots that you want to show off during your event. It’s the collar of choice for formal events where you want your black-tie to make a statement along with your bespoke tailored clothing.
Club Collar
Sometimes you want a collared shirt that can work well with or without a tie. The club collar shirt offers unique versatility for your suit styling needs with the short rounded points and wide stance. Thinly knotted and minimally patterned ties work well with this style, but it can be equally as stylish when you forgo the tie with your suit.
Extreme Cutaway Collar
Wider than the Windsor collar, the extreme cutaway collar works best with larger tie knots and the most formal occasions. While some shirt collar styles fall in and out of fashion regularly, the extreme cutaway collar still finds a consistent home on your most formal events, like your wedding day.
Band Collar
Sometimes you want to embody a less formal shirt with your highly stylized bespoke suit. The band collar lacks the points of the other styles and is meant to be worn without a tie. The clean style helps set your sartorial style apart from the rest of the men around you, drawing attention to your bold fashion choices in the modern fashion world.
Picking and choosing when to wear the band collar remains a personal choice that you need to make based on the event you’re attending and what kind of statement you want to make.
Picking the Right Shirt Collar for Your Suit
The best thing about having a bespoke suit from Commonwealth Proper comes from the style versatility that our expert tailors provide our clients. We work with gentlemen in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta to find hand-selected men’s styles that reflect their personality and worldview in unique ways. Our suits allow you to have a closet full of differing shirts and collar styles that fit every occasion possible.
Contact the Commonwealth Proper team to schedule your first fitting for custom men’s formal wear and get started on the road to taking your shirt collar game to the next level.