Are you supposed to remove those things from your shirt collar?

What do you do?

  • I Remove Them

    Votes: 8 12.9%

  • I Leave them in

    Votes: 41 66.1%

  • I have no idea. I am a real adult that buys real clothes and have never come across this before

    Votes: 7 11.3%

  • I just like you, get my shirts from Walmart. Hold on while I ask my mom what she does with them.

    Votes: 6 9.7%
  • Total voters
    62
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Sew them shut? Really? This is a joke, right?
Pockets are for carrying stuff. I never have enough pockets. Even my Tee shirts have pockets.

The only thing I never understood is the little pocket sewn in at the bottom of the regular pocket - those seem to be the perfect size for keys to get stuck in. Why?
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Honest question: Isn't the small pocket for loose change?
 
Clark1961 said:
When on a motorcycle they assist in producing a uniform collar flap rather than a flutter and that is good because we all know flutter is bad.
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Button down collars are preferred for motorcycle use, No flap or flutter. You do have to tuck your tie into your shirt, having it flap around like crazy is distracting.
 
FormerHangie said:
Button down collars are preferred for motorcycle use, No flap or flutter. You do have to tuck your tie into your shirt, having it flap around like crazy is distracting.
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If you're wearing proper gear, neither of those likely matter. ;)
 
Clark gave the punch line but not the lead up.

A Priest and Rabbi we're talking and the Rabbi was very curious about confession. The Priest says come over Saturday afternoon and give it a try.

The Priest made a list of the common sins and the usual penance and they each went to a confessional.

The Rabbi is getting the usual "lied to my mother, stole a candy bar, was jealous of my coworker" stuff and was handing out Our Father's and Hail Marry's according the list.

Then he hears: I had oral sex with a married man.

What to do, that's not on the list, so he opens the confessional door and asks an alter boy, "What does Father give for oral sex?"

The kid says, not sure about anyone else but....

Clark1961 said:
Father used to give a snickers bar or m&ms
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Ravioli said:
Not only should they be left in, they should be replaced from time to time because they bend. Also, the laundry sometimes warps them when they are pressing the shirt.

(There goes that ravioli guy assuming EVERYONE sends their shirts out to be laundered) (Future rant about improperly folded shirts at pickup will follow)
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What is this fancy laundering you speak of?
 
6PC, you should buy some cheap "polo" shirts and then you won't have to worry about those fancy collar thangies.
 
Those are called "Collar Stays" and are supposed to help prevent the shirt collar edges from curling up. I keep them in when I'm wearing them, and remove them prior to laundering, and re-insert after laundering/starching.

During my IT Consulting career, I kept a bottle of those in my suitcase to keep the shirt collar looking crisp. This is especially important when wearing a tie as buttoning the top button pulls the collar ends closer to your body and they have a greater propensity to curl or bend up. And yes, my consultancy and clients were very aware of how well I was dressed.
 
rtk11 said:
This is especially important when wearing a tie as buttoning the top button pulls the collar ends closer to your body and they have a greater propensity to curl or bend up. And yes, my consultancy and clients were very aware of how well I was dressed.
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I hope you now have a different job.
 
The founder of a startup I used to work for was in for a sales pitch to a large financial firm. One of the head guys from said firm was wearing a custom tailored shirt without the collar stays in. After the meeting our founder spent 15 minutes ranting that the guy was intentionally playing mind tricks with him by purposely leaving out the collar stays...because no one would ever wear a shirt without them for any other reason. Yes, the guy was a bit loopy. Yes, that startup didn't work out too well...
 
Collar stays, shoes, watches and creases...

There are "upper echelon" people that do indeed judge on appearance based on those criteria. There is like a whole secret society of unwritten rules beyond just common dress if you wanna play in that club...or at least try and pretend you belong in that club.

I'll stick with my polo and shorts, thanks!
 
If you're bothering to wear a collar like that, you should take the time to do it right. Here's what those collar stays do, demonstrated on a decent-quality shirt. First is without, second is with metal stays. It's a small but noticeable difference.


 
Shawn said:
Collar stays, shoes, watches and creases...

There are "upper echelon" people that do indeed judge on appearance based on those criteria. There is like a whole secret society of unwritten rules beyond just common dress if you wanna play in that club...or at least try and pretend you belong in that club.

I'll stick with my polo and shorts, thanks!
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I'm glad I'm not in a career where that kind of crap matters. If that kind of dressing is required for the job, they probably don't want me anyway.

I was once asked why I never wore a tie. My response was, "Because I don't have to."
 
Sac Arrow said:
The things I'm thinking of wrap around the front of the shirt inside the collars, and must be removed to actually put on the shirt.
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Not if you have a small head. It's like being born again.
 
Ha, I had to wear a tie a long, long time ago working in a lab. I was 18 and dipped the tie, by accident, in to a container of epoxy I was mixing. No problem, took scissors, cut off the wet part, stapled the bottom shut and wore that tie for another year. However I wasn't offered a seat in the board room either!
 
For a while I wore a tie at a place I worked. One afternoon the front desk girl asked for help. She was headed off to her second job, waitressing at a place where she had to wear a tie. She didn't know how to tie one, and asked if I could help. I tried to tie it for her, but the whole left/right thing messed with me. I figured if I got behind her and tried from that vantage point...then I came to my senses. So I tied it on myself, loosened it, pulled it over my head, and gave it back to her.
 
Matthew said:
For a while I wore a tie at a place I worked. One afternoon the front desk girl asked for help. She was headed off to her second job, waitressing at a place where she had to wear a tie. She didn't know how to tie one, and asked if I could help. I tried to tie it for her, but the whole left/right thing messed with me. I figured if I got behind her and tried from that vantage point...then I came to my senses. So I tied it on myself, loosened it, pulled it over my head, and gave it back to her.
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Sounds like your senses are different from mine, you should have stayed behind her, lol. I have tied many a tie for young men for formal occasions where they had little/no experience with formal attire. I've also seen a few guys with ties which have remained tied for years and they simply slip them on and off when needed. That being said, I can only tie a half and full-Windsor, so I'm limited in my tie-tying expertise.
 
When I went to my father's funeral I hadn't picked up the company tie I was to wear yet, so someone brought it to me at the church and I went into the restroom to put it on.

Some well meaning co-worker of my brothers walks in and says "oh, sorry" and I said "no worries, just putting on a tie" and he says "do you need help?"

Not sure if he would have offered to help with anything else I was doing in there, but I hope not!

(Back story - Dad got ties from the CEO of the oil company he worked for every year at Christmas so my brothers and nephews all picked one and wore them that day)
 
Gotta wear a suit today on account of a "Scholarship" dinner. But, compared to the "Academic Regalia" **** that you gotta wear to commencement, it ain't that bad. Talk about looking like a freaking trained monkey...
 
OkieFlyer said:
You mow in a collared shirt? That's weird.
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Fun fact: we had a neighbor about 4-5 doors down that would mow his lawn in a collared-dress shirt, with dress slacks rolled up, dress socks, and old tennis shoes. Used an electric (plug-in) mower as well. It was funny as hell seeing a balding-guy in his mid-50's mowing in business attire in the middle of a 100-degree day, sweating profusely. I can't for the life of me imagine what his personality was like, but I believe he was a lawyer by trade.
 
SoonerAviator said:
If they are plastic, you're supposed to take them out when laundering. The metal ones are fine to leave in. Every now and then I'll have a shirt where they are sewn-in, and not removable at all.
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I've always had trouble with them weakening and fraying the tip of the collar if left in, plastic or metal. I just take them out when I take the shirt off. There's a pile of the silly things in the drawer next to the bed.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Fun fact: we had a neighbor about 4-5 doors down that would mow his lawn in a collared-dress shirt, with dress slacks rolled up, dress socks, and old tennis shoes. Used an electric (plug-in) mower as well. It was funny as hell seeing a balding-guy in his mid-50's mowing in business attire in the middle of a 100-degree day, sweating profusely. I can't for the life of me imagine what his personality was like, but I believe he was a lawyer by trade.
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There's a story about a fairly famous nautical engineer (involved in spy subs, Woods Hole stuff, etc... stuff people know about but most don't know him or his name) who had a wardrobe that consisted of nothing but light blue button down shirts (both long and short sleeve, depending on weather), navy blue slacks similar to Dockers of a specific brand, and shorts of the same brand and variety, black socks, and a specific pair of leather shoes. All the same brands and types. He rotated the shoes, one pair was new for "formal" occasions, one pair was the "everyday" pair, and one pair that was nearly worn out was the "lawnmowing" pair.

He claimed he didn't have time to worry about fashion or what to wear in the morning. Just grab a shirt (pick long or short sleeved), pants (or shorts if it was really hot), and slap on the same belt, black socks, and whichever wear-level of shoes was appropriate for the day. Packing for his multiple and frequent trips was also simplified greatly.

He supposedly had to borrow a jacket when the Washington D.C. brass gave him some sort of Naval lifetime-achievement type award. Still wore the slacks and the light blue shirt under it.

One trick I learned from his story, and even my wife ascribes to now, is buying all of the exact same socks in white and black... same brand, a big pile of them. Haven't sorted a sock in almost a decade. When they start to wear out, throw individual ones out, when the pile gets annoyingly small, they become shop rags for the garage, and a new large pile is purchased of all the same socks. Lifespan wasted sorting socks is stupid. There's half a drawer of white, and half a drawer of black, and a small section of "special" socks... some low-cut ones for shorts wear in the summer, all the same white brand and type, and a few expensive hiking/wool/specialty socks, in a different drawer.

Once my wife (nurse) saw me doing this, her daily wear sock drawer got the same treatment... her "specialty" sock drawer is bigger/fuller, but 90% of the time, she doesn't have to sort socks either. Just dump them in the drawer. Done.
 
Shawn said:
Collar stays, shoes, watches and creases...

There are "upper echelon" people that do indeed judge on appearance based on those criteria.
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Around here, we don't call them "upper echelon", we call them "shallow". :)
 
Leave them in and incase you lost one....start it at 3:34 for the collar stays

 
dmspilot said:
They are supposed to be removed when the shirt is laundered. It is your choice whether to put them back in again.
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Do you need approval from the FSDO for that or is that considered preventative maintenance?
 
SoonerAviator said:
Fun fact: we had a neighbor about 4-5 doors down that would mow his lawn in a collared-dress shirt, with dress slacks rolled up, dress socks, and old tennis shoes. Used an electric (plug-in) mower as well. It was funny as hell seeing a balding-guy in his mid-50's mowing in business attire in the middle of a 100-degree day, sweating profusely. I can't for the life of me imagine what his personality was like, but I believe he was a lawyer by trade.
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Funny. I'm a mesh shorts and t-shirt kind of guy myself.
 
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