Your shirt’s collar should suit the shape and frame of your face. The type of collar that suits a long and thin face may not be suitable for a round face. Similarly, the kind of collar that complements an angular face will be different from the one that goes well with an oval face.
Tip
The shape of your shirt collar should be different from your face shape. For example, a narrow point collar looks good for a round face, while a wide or medium spread collar suits an angular face.
Shirt collars should complement the face and body frame of the wearer. The collar is the most important part of your clothing because it is just below your face and if you are wearing a tie, it further attracts attention to your shirt collar. The right collar can enhance your look by balancing the appearance of your body. Thus, it is important to choose a collar with care. You should know which collar suits which face shape, so that you may be able to decide which collar looks good on you.
The narrow point collar is one where the space between the collar tips is very small. The medium or semi spread collar has a greater space between the collar tips than that of the narrow point. The wide spread collar has an even greater space between the collar tips than that of the medium spread. The club collar has rounded collar points. The button down collar shirts have small buttons at the tip of each collar to secure them to the shirt and keep them in place. The hidden button down collar shirt is similar, but has buttons underneath the collar tips. The cutaway collar shirt has collar tips far away from each other to allow full view of the tie. The tab collar shirt is one where the collar has two tabs at the midpoint of the collar points, which is used to connect under the tie. This allows the collar to stay flat around the neck and the tie to elevate. There are also other collar styles available such as band, mandarin, eyelet, wing collar, and some more. Follow these tips to determine which collar would work best for you.
Tips To Choose the Right Collar for Your Face
◆ People with round faces usually have short necks, a round jaw-line and forehead, and full cheeks. They should go for narrow point collars, button down collars, tabbed collars, hidden button down collars, or traditional collars which have less spread. These collars will help to narrow and elongate the round face, and create an illusion of a longer neck and face with definition. They should avoid medium spread collar shirts, club collar shirts or wide spread collar shirts so your face does not appear wider or fuller.
◆ In case your face is square-shaped where the jaw line is squarish, thus creating a combination of a large and angular face, then choose traditional collar shirts, narrow point collar shirts, button down collar shirts, hidden button collar shirts or tab collared shirts. Avoid wearing spread collars.
◆ If you have an angular face like a diamond, heart, or triangle with prominent and sunken cheekbones and a narrow pointed chin, then the kind of collar that you should opt for is a medium spread collar or a wide spread collar which will de-emphasize the pointedness or sharpness of the face and make your face look fuller and the jawline wider. Stay away from narrow point collars and button down or hidden button down collars and tab collars which give your jaw line a weak appearance.
◆ If you have an oblong or a rectangular face, i.e. your face appears long and rectangular and your chin is of a U-shape, then go for a medium spread or wide spread collar. These collars will serve to de-emphasize your elongated and narrow face and give you a fuller and wider look. Avoid wearing point collars, button down collars, hidden button down collars, and tab collars.
◆ If you have an oval face, where your face is longer than wider with cheekbones at the widest point, then you can enjoy wearing a collar of any type. To complement your face, you could go for a medium spread shirt collar, wide spread collar, a button down collar, hidden button down collar, or a tab collar. Even wearing a narrow point or traditional collared shirt is safe.
◆ If you have a big head, opt for wide spread or cutaway collars so that your head appears smaller. Avoid pointed or narrow spread collars which will make your head look even bigger.
◆ If your head is small, go for medium spread or narrow point collars. Avoid wide spread collars as your head will look even smaller.
◆ People with long and lean necks should go for a medium spread, cutaway, or wide spread collar so that the neck appears shorter. Avoid wearing narrow pointed or less spread collars. The height of the collar can be increased to reduce the visibility of the neck.
◆ Similarly, people with short and thick necks should go for narrow point collars so that the neck appears bigger. Avoid wearing wide spread or medium spread collar shirts.
◆ If you have problems in analyzing your face shape, you can take help from a family member or friend. Or, you can take the advice of a fashion specialist.
Apart from shirt collars, there are a lot of other things to consider while dressing up. However, the basic rules mentioned above about balancing your face shape with the collar type, should help you choose the right shirt collar for your face shape and personality.