The London Lounge

Dear all,

After many years of prevarication, I should be at last reading for the Bar in the near future. I hope to have some shirts made in traditional manner, with detachable turndown collars that can be replaced for court with a wing collar.

I was hoping that someone (Mr. Storey, perhaps?) could give me some pointers on fit and finishing. The two questions, in particular, that are troubling my mind are these:

1. Am I right in thinking that the turndown collar 'buttons' on the inside of the neckband, whereas the wing collar buttons on the outside? If so, how should I size the neckband so as to be comfortable with both?; and

2. I have gotten it into my head that it is appropriate, if not most appropriate, to have a covered placket front?

Sadly, in Australia the vast bulk of barristers wear a 'bib' with a fake shirt front, collar, and bands, over the top of their usual shirts (even some Silks and judges engage in the practice) and the rest seem to wear attached-collar wing shirts, so advice is not really forthcoming.

Thanks in advance,

-Bird

There used to be a TV advertisment which said something "Don't procrastinate, investigate!" So: you need some plain white neckband shirts (sometimes they are called tunic shirts but they are not necessarily in a tunic style). I suggest a placket but not a (covered) fly front and double cuffs. Both collars fit around the outside of the neckband and you will need to go up 1/2"in size from neckband to (separate) collar size.
NJS

With the exchange rate between AUD and GBP as it is at the moment, TM Lewin have a small range of quite high quality tunic shirts available online (google: TM Lewin Tunic Shirt). For stiff/wing collars try Stanley Ley, who has a very good selection online.

If it will be a while until you're in practice, I doubt there is any great rush to acquire shirts with detachable collars to wear now in everyday life on the basis that they might come in useful in the future. The starch in the collars tends to mean they yellow with age and the shirts, in turn-down collar mode, can only be worn with ties so they're not particularly versatile. That said, detachable wing collars are infinitely preferable to the soft, attached variety and you might have a use for these with formalwear prior to commencing practice. Once you do require a handful of tunic shirts and wing collars, the earlier suggestions are all good. Stanley Ley tends to be pretty competitive price-wise and it is usually the cheapest place to buy the whole wig and gown ensemble. There's also Ede & Ravenscroft. I suspect the collars themselves are made by Luke Eyres who can supply them via mail-order in boxes of six starting at 14 1/2" (if you happen to take a 14" collar normally). There are two types: the standard Windsor and the slightly-taller Grafton. Most of the RTW tunic shirts I have seen have a very full cut. If this is an issue for you, then some of the online shirtmakers will make tunic shirts to order based on the measurements you provide. I have one from Curtis & Dyer and am happy with it. I believe Messrs Hemrajani (mytailor.com) also offer the detachable collar option. The fully-bespoke option usually has to wait until one's practice has taken off.

Azdak

You can get a bunch of white tunic shirts cheaply from Darcy's (previously, Vintage Shirt Co.). They are very good IMO (though you might need to shorten the sleeves a bit as they are made extra long). Afterwards, you could then start shopping for coloured ones once you get going.

As for collars, Luke Eyres by bulk. Grafton is better than the Windsor.