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Collar Stays – The Most Important Accessory

Henry A. Davidsen is proud to continue its partnership with Career Wardrobe as the COVID-19 pandemic has such a profound impact on employment in our region. Please read about Career Wardrobe’s OutFIT for Work campaign and how Henry A. Davidsen is supporting it.

Like so many things, the effect that our image has on our lives is greater than the sum of its parts. There isn’t one single recipe for success, but most successful people claim that caring about the little things – that is, attention to detail – is part of that recipe.

In this spirit, we’d like to discuss what is arguably a man’s most impactful accessory: his collar stays.

What Are Collar Stays?

Known in sartorially esoteric circles as “collar bones,” these are small strips of material, typically plastic or metal, that rest inside a special pocket on the underside of your shirt’s collar points. They’re very common – most RTW shirts are sold with removable plastic collar stays, and nearly every custom shirt we make for our clients can accommodate stays.

How Collar Stays Affect Your Look

shirt collar with one stay missing
One magnetic collar stay, one without.

Collar stays play a simple but important role: prevent your shirt collar from curling and looking unsightly. When your shirt collar is askew, curled, or otherwise tired-looking, it gives the impression of someone who’s disheveled and perhaps overwhelmed. A collar that looks neat, symmetrical, and stays in place, on the other hand, says that you’ve got your act together.

It says that you pay attention to the details, even the smallest ones.

Our Preferred Collar Stay

collar stay magnet inside custom shirt
This hidden magnet makes all the difference.

The best stays will help your collar stand at attention when you aren’t wearing a tie. In our opinion, you simply can’t beat magnetic collar stays when you’re not wearing a tie (which is quite a lot, nowadays).

These are simply metal collar stays that come with two tiny-but-extremely-strong magnets. The stay itself goes in its pocket as it normally would, and the magnets go underneath the shirt where the collar point touches it. We sell them in three different sizes, and we even have versions that double as buttonhooks and bottle openers.

There’s no other product on the market that can give your collar such a finished look, and we recommend them to every client we work with.

Get In Touch

Your face is the most important part of any outfit, so it’s ideal to position yourself to look your best in this area. In the age of Zoom calls, this is all the more important. Give us a call at 215-310-0219 or email us at info@henrydavidsen.com to start a conversation, about collar stays or anything else related to clothing and your image.

In the meantime, enjoy these other style and image blog posts:

Please consider supporting those that have been displaced due to COVID-19 to get back on their feet with a donation to Career Wardrobe’s OutFIT for Work campaign.  $50 provides a full interview outfit for an individual seeking employment.

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