Plastic collar stay removed from shirt collar Underside of a men's shirt collar showing removable collar stay Metal collar stays are often used to replace plastic ones. Adjustable-length collar stay A collar stay, collar stick, collar bone (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

), collar tab (

), collar stiffener, or collar stiff is a

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

accessory consisting of a smooth strip of rigid material, rounded at one end and pointed at the other, inserted into specially made pockets on the underside of a shirt collar to stabilize the collar's points. The stays ensure that the collar lies flat against the collarbone, looking crisp and remaining in the correct place. Collar stays can be made from a variety of materials, including

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

(such as

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, or

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy composed mass fraction (chemistry), by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver silver standards, standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fineness, Fine silver'' ...

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

baleen Baleen is a filter feeder, filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by th ...

mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

, or

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

. Shirts often come with plastic stays that may eventually need to be replaced if they bend; metal replacements do not have this problem. Collar stays can be found in

haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...

s, fabric- and sewing-supply stores and men's clothing stores. They are manufactured in multiple lengths to fit different collar designs, or may be designed with a means to adjust the length of the collar stay. There are many variations to the traditional collar stay. Some metallic collar stays are sold with a magnet, which is used to hold the stiffened collar in place against the shirt. A different type of collar stay discreetly adds a button hook on one end, to help fasten tiny buttons on dress shirts; e.g. placket, cuffs or button down collars. Adhesive collar stays can be stuck to the underside of a collar to either add stiffness or attach the collar points to the shirt. Collar stays are removed from shirts before dry cleaning or pressing, as the cleaning process can damage both the shirt and the stays; they are replaced prior to wearing. Shirts that are press ironed with the collar stays are vulnerable to damage, as this results in a telltale impression of the collar stay in the fabric of the collar. Some shirts have stays which are sewn into the collar and are not removable. Some dress shirts are sold with shorter, wider stays than the classic shirt stay (e.g., Tommy Hilfiger). The classic stay will not work with these shirts.

References

Neckwear Parts of clothing {{fashion-stub