From Classic To Mandarin – Dress Shirt Collars Explained

Below you will find a detailed guide to men’s dress shirt collars from our friends/shirt experts at TailorInStyle.com. If you’re looking for more information on men’s shirts, you can download the TailorInStyle Men’s Shirts – Free eBook Guide.

The choice of shirt collars is rather limited on off-the-rack apparel. However, tailored or bespoke dress shirts open a wide range of possibilities. Here we examine five common collar variations, and how to wear each.

Classic / Standard Collar

Most of your dress shirts have this common collar. It has a clean look and it keeps things simple. A tie is fine with this collar, but be sure to check if your tie slips out of the collar on the back side – especially with wider ties.

This collar suits most faces and works fine with slim and medium width tie knots.

The Double Button Collar

This collar tends to have a more sophisticated look, especially when worn without a tie. It shows that one has paid attention to the detail of the collar, and may imply that you know a thing or two about dress shirts.

This collar is higher. For men with longer necks this collar makes the neck appear shorter, which is generally a good idea.

Long Point / Mafia / Soprano Collar

This collar is less extreme than the Godfather collar worn by Robert De Niro. It matches well with rounder faces and is great for thin ties.

The Cutaway Collar

This dress shirt collar is great for narrow faces and it is most suited for the famous Windsor knot tie. As you can see, the flips of the collar are wider apart and rounded, making the face look rounder.

The Mao or Mandarin Collar

Originally from China, this collar is in a completely different world. With no flips, this Western world attire makes for a unique and casual dress shirt. It looks especially good on a white, summery shirt.