More collars from my early collection drawn c.1980
Hand Drawn Collar patterns of Early 20th Century Detachable Collars Pt3: Two Wing Collars, the “Lido” & “Host”
Tag Archives: Arrow Collars
Hand Drawn Collar patterns of Early 20th Century Detachable Collars Pt1: Four Wing Collars and a club Collar, the Ashbourne-2
One of the things that has weirdly defined my life is that pretty much since I went to college and first got serious about costuming I have been working on writing a costume book. It never gets finished, but I make lots of components for it. In the 1990s this morphed into The Costumers Manifesto web site, but back around the late 1970s and early 1980s it was just a few random things that interested me. Detachable hard collars have always had a fascination for me and so in those pre-Internet and pre-home printer/scanner/copier days I set out to make life size drawings to be used as patterns of my then small collar collection (back when it still fit in a single large cookie tin) in imitation of my hero Janet Arnold. These were laboriously hand drawn with a Rapidograph, a high maintenance technical pen that is the ancestor of my now favorite Signo Uniball pens.
The idea with all these is that since both sides of the collar are identical, you can use them to form a pattern that you can lengthen to the needed size so long as you have the basic shape. In all cases seam allowance must be added!
Geo. P. Ide & Co. Inc., Ide Brand, “Idewyn” linen detachable fold collar for men, with roll on the front part of the fold.
This starched collar is in a style so basic it might be from anywhere from 1890-1935, but it includes an interesting feature from which I will, with continued research, probably be able to “date” it more narrowly: The collar includes a stamp with a laundry directions to “IRON FRONT WITH ROLL” which following makes for an unusual top view.
As you can see the front section gets wider towards the front, which likely would make room for larger tie knots or the apparatus of a clip on tie. This feature is not part of the pattern of the sewn collar, but is part of the laundry starching process, (which any wearer might request as a special starching variation for any fold collar if that was the way they liked it) but the collar having the laundry preference stamped upon it is unusual, as is the example of having the collar survive with the starching style still intact on it.
You can make a collar pattern using these scans of the collar laid flat:
1907 Cluett, Peabody & Co., Arrow, “Avolyn” linen fold collar for men
And to round out the “A” name Arrow collars from the eBay early 20th Century collar bag purchase, there is also the Avolyn Collar, which is narrower than the Amolek and Ancover:
This too can be reproduced by printing out the scan of the two halves of this collar onto an 8.5×11 piece of paper and adjusting the overlap of the pieces to the correct neck size you want for making a pattern.
Cluett, Peabody & Co. Arrow Brand “Ancover” linen fold collar for men (post 1899).
Also in my recent eBay purchase of a collar bag and 7 assorted Early 20th Century men’s linen starched detachable collars is an “Ancover” collar, somewhat similar to the “Amolak” previously posted. It too is clearly post 1899 because the Cluett name that is stamped is Cluett, Peabody & Co.
You can reproduce this type of collar making a pattern from one of these scans.
Cluett, Peabody & Co., Arrow Brand, “Amolek” linen fold collar for men (post 1899).
I recently purchased a small early 20th Century man’s collar bag on eBay with 7 collars still in it. It was an ordinary enough travel bag such as any middle class man might own in the 1890-1920 era, but unusually, the 7 collars were each a different style, with several different brands represented.
As I care about collecting different types of these collars, rather than the more expensive hobby of collecting the containers, it was a good deal. The Arrow Amolek was one of these.
This general style of collar was popular in the 1890s-1920s, but seems to be most popular in the mid 1890s and late 1910s.
However, the collar cannot be from the mid 1890s as the Cluett company was not called “Cluett, Peabody and Co.” until 1899, so it is a post-1899 collar.
However, I know what you really want is those handy collar scans which can be used to make collar patterns. This one you can use if you need the same size as the original and have a long-paper printer:
Or this one for making a collar to another size which can print on 8.5×11 paper:
“Philmont” fold collar by Arrow Brand, Cluett, Peabody & Co. Early 20th Century
“Falcon” fold collar, Arrow Brand, Cluett, Peabody & Co. c.1904-1919
“Inada” wing collar, Cluett, Peabody & Co. Arrow Brand Early 20th Century
“Tyfold” fold collar, 1902 by Cluett, Peabody & Co. Arrow Brand
fUPDATE! I have found 5 different styles of advertisement for the Tyfold to be found in American newspapers in 1903, pretty well blanketing most of the USA. I’m finding Newspapers.com to be the best way to research a date for a debut of a major brand’s collar. This is especially true for a “gadget” type collar that uses a new patented feature. Click on each thumbnail to see more:
The Tyfold’s patented keyhole front feature was apparently not printed on the collar, because the Cluett Co. did not own the patent outright. According to Google Patents it was invented by Edwin F. Brown in 1902:
Also according to this small note in a 1903 newspaper, a “string” tie without a fat back band fit in the collar best:
