The London Lounge

Dear fellow members of the LL,

As a new comer to the classic styles, I am still experimenting. So please forgive me if my questions seems elementary! I am currently considering venturing into the realm of tie pins and collar bars. According to Alan Flusser, at one point in the 30s, half of the men in US wore their dress shirts collar pinned, commonly with a safety pin.

I would like to hear some thoughts from fellow members of the LL as to how they feel about these "accessories".
Watson[/color]

Others may not agree,and this is fine,however,it is not for me. I could not wear it without looking contrived. The only jewelry that I ever wear is a wedding band,studs (with evening clothes),and cuff links. Even the latter is rare, being reserved for special occasions such as weddings and the like.

Thank you rodes,

Anymore input from other fellow members?

Watson

I'm not one for tie pins but I like a pinned collar a couple times a month. Tab collar perhaps weekly. A trivial thing either way.

Although I have never worn a tab collar,I like it and could easily go with it. It seems less fussy to me. Here in Pennsylvania our very down to earth Governor,no dandy by any means,always wears a tab collar to pleasing effect. One very practical device that I miss and have not seen in many years is the "spiffy". It was the trade name for a very simple and cheap spring that fit behind the collar points and under the tie knot. It always remained unseen but held everything in place neatly and perfectly. I would very much like to find one today. Can any London Lounger help here ?

First of all welcome to LL Dr. Watson:

I think you'll find a great deal of informational wealth here at this fine site.

The only jewelry I wear on a regular basis are cuff links, but every once and a while I do enjoy sporting a collar bar or pin with my 6 on 2 DB suits.

Most of my shirts have collars that are medium spread or cutaway, but I do have one point collar shirt with eyelets to accommodate a safety pin style collar pin or a collar bar that has a ball or other design on both ends that needs to be screwed and unscrewed on one side to put on and take off.

I enjoy the look very much and it works well with my ties that do a good small four and hand knot.

One collar bar look that looks nice is a collar bar made to look like a polo mallet or riding crop and worn with a paisley tie or sported theme tie with a sports jacket.

Paul Stuart has these type of collar bars on their website.

http://www.paulstuart.com/product_info. ... RODCATID=0

http://www.paulstuart.com/product_info. ... RODCATID=0

If you're going to wear a collar pin without eyelets, make sure the collar is soft enough so the safety pin style bar can make it through the fabric ok. The screwed bars need eyelets. Also, pins used without the eyelets will fray up the collars pretty bad.

Cary Grant and Fred Astaire wore collar bars and pins very well. Although I saw a photo of Astaire wearing collar pin or bar with a button down collar, I wouldn't recommend that look at all.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

I really like tie pins, collar bars, pins, cufflinks, etc., but I don't wear them. I wear suits every day to work but I live in a very casual beach town in Southern California, where coats and ties are rare. I draw enough attention to myself already, so these things would put me right over the top. Cufflinks for a special evening event is is far as I can go.

But If I lived in a more formal town--New York, San Francisco or the like--I'd go for it.

C

One very practical device that I miss and have not seen in many years is the "spiffy". It was the trade name for a very simple and cheap spring that fit behind the collar points and under the tie knot. It always remained unseen but held everything in place neatly and perfectly. I would very much like to find one today. Can any London Lounger help here ?

http://www.darcyclothing.com/shop/acces ... st900.html

Rodes - was this the sort of thing you were looking for ?

A

A. Hacking, Thankyou for responding but this is not it. Check the "1948 Guy Lombardo Spiffy shirt collar stay down" ad on Ebay for a drawing of it. The spiffy cost 25 cents in 1948,maybe 6.00$ today,if one could find it. Anyone who went through officer's training for the US armed forces in the 1970's would most likely be familiar with it. The spiffy was not jewelry in any manner, it was merely functional,always completely hidden behind the collar points. It made even the cheapest shirt collar look MTM. Most practical and cheap thing I ever saw. Of course, we all hated them back then. Peahps that is why I cannot find one now.