An assortment of detachable collars. For the two on the right, you can see the buttonholes on the back — one vertical and one horizontal. (Photo by eBay user Fogey Unlimited)
Yesterday’s deep dive on the back collar button prompted a few readers to email me with a question: Since the collar used to be a separate accessory that detached from the rest of a man’s shirt, did it fasten onto the back of the shirt back with a button? And if so, couldn’t the modern back collar button be a vestigial remnant of that?
A vintage ad for a British collar manufacturer. The vertical black line on the back of each collar, indicated by the orange arrow, is a buttonhole, allowing the collar to be fastened to the shirt. (Image from alamy.com)
