THE COLLAR

Evening Star, Issue 22209, 11 December 1935, Page 6

THE COLLAR

SYMBOL OF RESPECTABILITY TRUE MARK OF CIVILISATION Stand at a busy corner any day in any great city and watch the necks go by. Watch the necks of the White Collar Men. At Times Square or Potsdamer Platz, at Piccadilly Circus or the Place de I’Opera; in Buenos Ayres or Los Angeles, even in Tokio and Manila they go past—the men wearing collars.* These necks—these millions of necks —must be draped according to the dictates of fashion, and a thriving industry meets the demands of what advertising men might' call the “ neckconscious ” public. But neck-con-sciousness goes back much farther than the phrase. Before the advertising business ever was, even before the industrial revolution, masculine necks were being fenced in with collars of a sort. Industry can be proud of itself, however, and so can the advertising business, for together they have put a halter on almost every discernible neck—and with the least possible bother to the neck. Together they have made a sort of cult of the collar, depending for its power upon the pride of men, until scarce any man would dare appear in public without a proper strip of cloth about his neck—whether* it be of linen or silk, broadcloth or cotton; whether it be soft or stiff, white or blue, black or brown, gray or—green with pink stripes! And if some eccentric man decided to appear decollete there is little doubt that the decision would be reversed by his “ best friend and severest critic.” What long finger nails were to ancient Orientals, the white collar has been to Occidentals. So, even in prehistoric times, the achseologists have learned, both men and women bedecked themselves with necklaces, sometimes for superstitious reasons, but more often to make themselves appear more attractive. Why something about the neck should have that effect it is difficult to explain, but the Neanderthal woman considered it chic to string bits of shells, coloured stones, feathers, flowers, and perhaps old razor blades about her neck. This made her irresistible to the Neanderthal Man, and over since then the Daughters of the Neanderthal Age have followed _ her example with only minor modifications. As to the men, they hung about their necks strings of teeth and bones from the animals they captured. The more such trophies they could display, and the fiercer the animal represented, the greater their prowess and importance. So, with men, the collar became an index to importance, as well as an adornment. The human neck is rather funny when looked at realistically. Particularly the necks of men. So perhaps collars are all for the best. It was when the Renaissance brought a more

general appreciation of beauty that the collar as we know it began to appear, and the relationship between these two factors is not without its significance.

During the Dark Ages the collar, even in necklace form, had disappeared from costumes. Some believe that is why the period was called the Dark Ages. The first gleam of light aHer the collarless era appeared in a sort of rudimentary neckpiece during the thirteenth or fourteenth century. By about 1400 an elaborate type of fur neckpiece on a cloth cape was for a time relished by the best of men. But it was replaced by a ruff—and in the toids of the ruff there was concealed the definite division between Medievalism and the Renaissance—the rebirth—of civilisation. Hence one may say (if one wishes) that the collar is the true mark of civilisation. This is made doubly clear when one stops to realise that no savage ever, wore a proper collar. The advent of the ruff encouraged the smooth gallant of the fifteenth century to express something of his finer nature by working wonders with his neck adornment. The result was a veritable revolution yi costumes. Portraits of the period, now to be found in the galleries and salons of Europe, attest to four centuries of neck-decking individualism. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries inventiveness had full latitude, particularly in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and England. If any comparisons of international elegance were to be made, it may be surmised that—thanks to Lord Chesterfield and Beau Brummell—England would lead by a neck. It was only in the nineteenth century that the ruff—much modified by. that time—was replaced on the best-dressed necks by a long piece of silk wound abftut the throat to form a sort of high collar. This led, by a natural evolution, to the high stock fitting around the neck. Further modification brought about the forerunner of the present demountable rim for automobiles. It was in the form of a detachablebut' very high collar with much of the flexibility and comfort of a neat band of cast iron steampipe. Statesmen and clergymen wore these contraptions, but,' so far as is known, nobody wears such a collar to-day unless it be Mr Herbert Hoover. To be sure, there was some .disaffection from this kind of collar even when it was considered “ correct,” and some rather grudging concessions' were made. The corners were bent outward and even were folded down in what were called the “ gates ajar ” and the “ wing ” or “ tab ” collar. These were produced and condoned mostly in deference to a group of men almost unreasonable in insisting upon what they called “ the inalienable right to swallow.” This group threatened to force through a law establishing a collarless Roman toga as a national costume unless they were granted this right. Collar manufacturers naturally were alarmed. By then they had invested huge resources in their looms and steel rolling mills. They hastened to placate the aroused element. The result was an overproduction, if anything, of collar styles in an effort to please everyone. _ In actual fact, one prominent American collar maker, until quite recently, had more than 500 distinct styles in his catalogue. There

was a collar for the busy business man, for the business man. who was not so busy, collars pour Is sport, collars for necks of various lengths and circumferences, Buster Brown collars, collars for interlocutors in minstrel shows, collars for clergymen of every denomination and degree of impressiveness, collars for young men who wanted to look dashing, collars for older men who wanted to impress tKir wives. There is no telling ' where it might all have ended if the World War had not taken place. ' The war put millions of men into soft shirts with soft collars attached,, and many enjoyed the new comfort and freedom of this costume. ■ When they, were demobilised, eager as most of them were to don civilian clothes' again, they preferred the soft collar, and many_ of them wanted it attached to the shirt. The old-fashioned detachable cuff bad vanished almost entirely, and the collar button seemed no longer to have much charm for these veterans when they rejoined the white-collar brigades. Collar button manufacturers had as bad a time as hairpin manufacturers were experiencing due to the bobbed hair fashion. Collar makers found that they had to make shirts, too, and hastened to meet the new demand. _ From cotton field and flax field to the little dry goods store around the corner, there was a movement based on a demand for comfort, economy, and convenience. To-day the collar is more than an article of clothing, more than an adornment. It is a symbol—a symbol of respectability and of success in a material world. The man who is a “whitecollar worker,” ■ although sometimes paid less, fancies himself somewhat higher in the social scale than the nocollar worker of the rough-collar worker —even though his own white collar may be frayed or soiled. Men often strive to become white-collar workers, wives rejoice when their men don this neckband of gentility and march off to tasks no longer entirely manual. The census of every country lists millions of these men, often so pathetic m the belief that a hand of white round the neck means greater happiness. So they have come in the past from plough and lathe into the crowded cities where they might’ wear white collars daily. And even if they continue at the plough or lathe or return, thereto, they, have a white collar for Sunday because it is the proper thing. Perhaps it is a celluloid collar— but it is .white! A 1 whole social history could be written about the collar , as a Symbol. Collar manufacturers offer one sure index to national prosperity. It is 4 better index than freight car loadings. That is the sale of collars. When a person is downhearted and discouraged he ceases to care very much for his personal appearance. But when he is hopeful and happy he wants to look well. His first desire, then, is to hare a clean collar! '

Reports in the industry now reveal an unusually large demand for new collars and shirts. The collar so be* comes the symbol of prosperity in this instance. It reflects an increase in employment, more money in circuhu tion, and a revival of hope. The collar is the key by which economists may learn that the depression is on the way out. .