Collar tips not touching body - Faux pas?

[Guest]

Hello all,

I would like to know whether it is a faux pas if the collar does not rest on the body of the shirt. A (younger) salesman at the store where I buy most of my clothes told me he thought 'that it is not disturbing to the eye', where I think that it is essential to the fit of the shirt as is, for example the cut of the armhole.



The shirt in question is a Borrelli shirt, basically the same as depicted but with different colours. Also, can this be fixed by adapting the shirt? It is a RTW shirt.

Thanks in advance.

[Guest]

If you are wearing the shirt with a tie, the collar tips should definitely touch the
shirt.

If you are wearing the shirt with the top button open (no tie), it doesn't matter.
It really depends on the cut of the collar.

[Guest]

You might try using heavier (brass, silver) collar stays. Make sure you don't use too thick a tie or too large a tieknot given the shape of the collar and the available tie space.
If this doesn't work, then the collar is poorly cut (possibly in relation to the collarband height, too). A well-cut and -structured collar should work somewhat like a spring, snapping into position (tips resting on the chest, even when you turn your head) once the top button(s) is buttoned. And it IS disturbing to the eye to have the collar tips suspended in mid-air.
You may ultimately resort (at least in theory) to putting a set of buttonholes into the collar wings, turning it into a button-down collar, but only IF the spread and the length of the wings allow it (it doesn't work with widespread, short-winged collars) and if the cut, style (cuff design?) and cloth type/design could work as a "sporty" shirt.
Costi

[Guest]

Please do not believe everything a salesman tells you. An UFO like flying collar is not a pretty sight, whether with or without a tie. In the former case, it is quite definitely a fit / cut issue. In the latter, it may also be a very stiff interlining that requires a tie to be bent around your neck.

With a shirt that is a beautifully made as the expensive Italian ones you mention, it is unlikely you can find any alterations tailor who could (if at all possible) adjust the cut without ruining the finish. Stay well clear would be my gut feel.

TVD

[Guest]

TVD... you have hit upon the major downfall of those shirts for me. I have a few Italian RTW shirts of that level (Barba, Truzzi, etc.) that fit almost perfectly except for sleeve length. I am afraid of taking them to an alterations tailor who surely could not do them justice (but of course would never mention this). It is a difficult situation. Unless: is shirt sleeve shortening particularly simple with the evidence of the alteration concealed from view? Otherwise I am still stuck.

[Guest]

Please do not believe everything a salesman tells you. An UFO like flying collar is not a pretty sight, whether with or without a tie. In the former case, it is quite definitely a fit / cut issue. In the latter, it may also be a very stiff interlining that requires a tie to be bent around your neck.

With a shirt that is a beautifully made as the expensive Italian ones you mention, it is unlikely you can find any alterations tailor who could (if at all possible) adjust the cut without ruining the finish. Stay well clear would be my gut feel.

TVD

Thank you for your sound advice. I brought both shirts back and went MTM. I picked a shirt made by Emanuele Maffeis. Better one shirt which fits 100% than two who are not quite 'that'. The store where I bought the shirt does sell Borrelli as well, but currently their delivery times are not as sharp as Maffeis'. From the feel and the look of the Maffeis shirts that were available in the store, it appears that they can be compared to Borrelli.

[Guest]

The sleeve of a shirt can be shortened without any damage - I have seen it being done - BUT, after unstitching the cuff, the sleeve placket MUST be detached completely, the sleeve slit deepened and then the placket re-sewn in its new higher position - so that the sleeve slit is NOT shortened along with the sleeve. On a checked shirt however (or any pattern containing horizontal stripes) it may prove difficult if not impossible to re-match the sleeve placket pattern horizontally. If there is a buttonhole cut into the placket... you can forget about shortening the sleeves.
Costi