A Bit of a Collar Obsession
I’ve had a general collar obsession for a long time now, leading up to my collar necklace craze. Different decades are marked by their collar shape, size and style — from the oversized pointy collars in the 70s, the peter pan collar which pops up nearly every decade starting in the 1920s, but also the 30s, 40s and 50s. What it says about you to wear a popped or upturned collar. How many different wonderful shapes their are to men’s collars. And my favorite of all — the dissenting collars made famous by the wonderful Ruth Bader Ginsburg worn over her robes.
The Dissenting Collar
I love collars as a fashion statement, as a way to add style to something ordinary. I absolutely love how RBG incorporated the collar as part of her judicial robe — stating that the standard robe was made for a man because it has a place for the shirt and tie to show. So she made a conscious decision to include a distinct women’s accessory — the collar — as part of her attire with her robe.
Collar Sewing Patterns
As part of my collar obsession, I’ve manifested my love for them in a few different ways. As a sewer, I created an oversized detachable collar that sits over your blouse. I love that you can mix and match it, and it’s not tied to a particular shirt or dress. I made this one extra big and extra angular to really stand out. From there I moved on to add the peter pan collar to my sewing pattern collection, minimizing the size and rounding the edges out. A perfect demure collar. And I love that right now oversized bib collars are having a particularly huge moment.
Peter Pan Collar Necklace
After making a cloth peter pan collar, I thought, why not make a peter pan collar necklace out of jewelry materials. So I created an outline of the distinct peter pan collar shape with an antique brass double curb chain. I love how this acts as jewelry AND a collar at the same time. I love layering it over tees (and pairing it with a blazer to strike the balance with casual + polished). I love pairing it blouses and dresses, adding a fun accessory.
What’s better than a collar? Two collars.
After mostly using the collar necklace to add to garments that didn’t already have a collar, I started adding it in addition to collared shirts for double collar action. I love that this is just so extra and completely uncalled for. In order to get this necklace to lay neatly under the shirt collar, it required a little adjustment to the necklace by adding an extender chain. Now all necklaces will ship with this extender, to give you a little more flexibility in length so you can tailor it with more outfits.
Gold Collar Necklace
Moving from the peter pan collar, I expanded the collar necklace collection with this version made with brass plates that join together to form the cutest mini collar. This version is adorned with coin shaped white beads and metal fringe bars that hang in the front center. It’s all strung together on a small but strong 14kt gold fill chain.
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