Every man should own a selection of collared shirts. While many office workplaces have shifted to more casual dress codes, most of them still require or at least encourage employees to wear shirts with collars, in order to convey a professional image. Even outside of work it can be important to have the option to wear a shirt and tie for job interviews, weddings, or dates at nice restaurants. There are many types of collar to choose from – I personally am fond of the rounded club collar, which has vintage connotations and is just a little out of the ordinary – but I’d venture to say that many men only own one kind of collared shirt, and that is the button-down.
The button-down collar, where the points of the collar literally button down onto the front of the shirt to keep them from moving around, is one of the most common types of men’s dress shirt. The term button-down in casual usage has even come to refer to all kinds of shirt with a button front, which can be confusing both for shoppers and the sales employees assisting them. The advantages of the button-down collar are twofold: First, the collar can be very soft since it’s being held in place by buttons, which means that it’s often more comfortable than a stiffer, self-supporting point or club collar. And second, it looks particularly good worn unbuttoned without a tie, again due to the buttons keeping it in place. Because of these points, button down shirts can be comfortable and stylish in a variety of settings from summer seaside bars to federal office buildings, which has allowed them to practically take over the world of menswear.
The Button-Down collar is most common in the United States, and is particularly associated with American Ivy-Style clothing, although like loafers and khaki trousers it has been adopted by the population in general. While it is now a distinctly American style, the collar did not first appear here. The story of its origin goes that John E. Brooks of the American clothier Brooks Brothers travelled to Great Britain in 1896 and was invited to watch some sports. At a polo match, Brooks noticed that the players were wearing shirts with distinctive collars that buttoned down to the shirt front, keeping the collar points from flapping up in the player’s faces while they were galloping up the field (keep in mind that at this time, athletes wore collared shirts and ties while competing).
Brooks returned to the United States and his company began producing shirts with this button-down collar as a casual sporting shirt. The button-down collar was softer than the usual starched collars of the era, and took off with athletes, artists, and college students who were not always held to the same standards of formality as their peers. While the button-down collar became fashionable in some circles, it was seen as too casual for formal or business settings. College graduates would have to adapt to the more classic stiff collars when they moved on to the professional world.
The button-down rose in popularity through the first half of the 20th Century through the 1950s, when Ivy Style, inspired by the relaxed clothing of American university students, became the mainstream aesthetic for men. With standards of dress relaxing in the workplace, due in part to the college graduates of the 40s and 50s becoming the politicians and business executives of the early 60s, the button-down collar, once reserved for the polo field, became acceptable for nearly all settings. While the style’s popularity dipped during the 70s and 80s it never really fell out of style either, and it became the choice for men who didn’t want to be seen to be following fashion.
The button-down, which had once been the fashion-forward choice which challenged society’s dress code, had become a timeless choice with few overt style connotations. During the menswear boom of the 2010s, young men were often told that the shirt style that would never go out of fashion was the button-down, and I think that advice was pretty accurate. The button-down’s adaptability has inspired a following, and devotees of the style will compare collar length and softness in an attempt to find the most classic design they can. Brooks Brothers has embraced their history with the style, even marketing some of their button-downs as “The Original Polo Shirt.”
But if the button-down was worn by polo players, then where did the polo shirt come from? I plan on covering the origins of the polo shirt in a later article, but for now I’ll just say that it involves a different sport, and another country altogether.
Eric Langlois
Eric Langlois is a writer, menswear professional, and history enthusiast based on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
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