Can a collar make you look younger and more vibrant?

 

It started as a discussion about creating presence as we age. The Bellas were together in Sonoma enjoying Sunday waffles and fresh fruit at a table in the shady backyard garden at Sunflower Caffe. Marj was wrestling with personal style issues. She wanted to talk about how to recreate style as we evolve and age and felt challenged about how to get her style needs fulfilled with current fashion. She was frustrated. She wanted to have drama and presence with her outfits and felt she was missing the mark. Recently she’d seen some photographs of herself and she didn’t like what she saw. She has an important birthday coming up and, gosh darn it, she wanted to meet it on her own terms–with style, of course!

It was a great question to ponder for the three of us–Marj, Lynn and myself. It interests all of us: We’re all involved in fashion professions and coincidentally, we’re all getting older.

“Marj,” I asked, “in the pictures you were looking at, were you wearing something that had a collar?”

“No,” she answered.

She was sitting across the table from me and I was looking at her in her orange lace collared shirt and I said, “I think you’re doing it right now! You’re creating drama in this color which not a lot of people can wear well. You’re creating drama from the bust up with your necklace, earrings, your striking eyewear and your great haircut. And the collar makes us stand up and take notice. Just take that formula and do more of the same!”

 

Collar cheerleader

 

I’d been thinking lately about collars before Marj even brought it up. I’d made a few outfits for myself recently where I layered a collared white camp shirt under a 3/4 sleeved jacket. I’d put a collared checked shirt under a sleeveless dress. I was happy with the look. I’d just styled a client of mine in our age range using a collar to frame her face and bring focus to her eyes. I was intrigued by how well a collar can say “Hey, look over here! Here I am! Take note!”

If you think about it, crew necks just don’t have the same gravitas.

A lot of casual tops these days are in knits and they don’t have collars. Sure, we can add interest with necklaces or scarves but I think the edges of an actual collar is a stronger frame for our faces. I think they add definition at a time in our lives when we need more defining. Some of us are losing collagen or eyebrow lines. As gravity pulls parts of us downward, we need to intervene and pull attention back up. A collar can do that.

 

 

Another collar fan

 

We continued to discuss the elements of creating drama at “our” age, without looking like we’re trying too hard, as we walked around the square, visiting our favorite shops. We stepped into J. James where we are always sure to run into one of our favorite artists, Valerie Raven.

What a nice coincidence that I had just used the word “collar” for the fourth time when there before us was Valerie who had the most glorious collar! She enthusiastically joined in on our discussion and had strong feelings on the subject. (Score 2 for collars.)

She even shared a secret: she made the collar she was wearing that day.

Don’t you just love it when you’re admiring something on someone and they say, “Oh this? I made it!” I instantly think they’re genius.

She’d decided to add it to her pinstriped flowy suit when she got dressed that morning. She said, “Navy blue and pinstripes, well it just looked too manly and not distinctive enough. It really needed a collar. I like creating the feminine contrast.”

Take a look at the closeup picture. I LOVE the fabric she used! It’s clearly a high quality cotton. Turns out she makes all kinds of collars and adds them to her outfits. She is especially fond of the Renaissance look.

 

 

So then this happened…

 

A week later with this collar discussion still noodling around in my mind, I picked up the remote to see what was showing on the Turner Classic Movie TV channel. You’d think collars were following me around. Here was Bette Davis playing Queen Elizabeth I in the movie The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939). Take a look at that collar! Talk about presence!

Final score: Collars 3, collarless 0.

What do you think? Do they think collars perk us up and give us more presence?