Mens Shirt Collar Styles [An Indian Man’s Guide]

Last Updated on 6 years by Naveen Kumar

How about a guide on the most popular men’s shirt collar styles?

So far we have been discussing about men’s t-shirts, polos, shirts, kurtas; the different styles and shades available, how to choose them based on your complexion, body type, occasion etc.

But this time we wanted to do something different. We wanted to dig deeper and show you how the small aspects or details like men’s collar styles affect the overall design and appearance of the outfit.

A lot of them might say, why a collar guide? Does a collar really matter? Just choose a standard usual collar type! and may similar questions and statements. But men, beware! If you consider yourself to be an expert or a fashion influencer, then you should definitely make sure you are aware of the different styles and patterns in men’s dress shirts.

Now there are so many innumerable varieties of collar styles in men’s dress shirts. So we are going to discuss about the most popular collar styles in India.

Last week, We browsed through the large shirt collection of myntra.com and closely watched the collections they have. They have a whopping 48,000 shirts in their website.

We found that almost 67% of this have spread collar, 14% have cutaway collar and 8% with button down collars. Obviously, this makes spread collar the most widely used and favorite collar type among Indian men.

Mandarin and slim collar were not so popular and contributed to 10% of their total shirt collection.

Now, lets look at each collar type in detail.

Most popular Men’s Shirt Collar Styles

A collar is, definitely, a stand out or distinctive feature of a shirt and hence the right choice of collar style can make all the difference to the whole outfit. And there are so many different options in collar styles to choose from.

Here are the some of most popular men’s shirt collar styles.

Spread Collar

An absolutely popular style, spread collars are one of the most common and universally suitable collar style for men.
As the name rightly suggests, spread collars are spread wide apart, (almost 4-6 inches space in between) and is suitable to be worn with large tie knots as well due to the larger space between the collar leaves. The spread may vary from brand to brand. The best part about this style of collar is that it is very versatile and is a perfect choice to be worn for both formal and informal occasions.

Tip: Ideally avoid ties with small or skinny knots with this style of collar.

Cutaway Collar

A style that looks like someone literally ‘cut away’ a part of the collar, this is a very fashion forward and bold style in collars, and is more like an extreme version of the spread type. They are definitely not the best options in formal wear and are more suitable for dressy events rather than boardrooms. Also, there are different types within cutaways itself, broadly categorized as semi cutaways, regular cutaways and extreme cutaways.

Button-down Collar

Another very popular kind, the collar style was originally intended for sports shirts rather than dress shirts. The button down collar style is where the collar is secured or buttoned into the shirt by smaller buttons on both leaves of the collar, ensuring that the collar remains perfect, in the right place and shape. This style is hence considered more casual and sportier and is great for less formal occasions and non-tie wearers, however, you can still wear them with ties.

Mandarin Collar

A trendy style, this one is a type of band collar, and has no collar leaves. They are a very eye catching and distinct style and is a perfect casual choice. It is a short stand up collar and is sometimes referred to as Mao shirts. A lot of times they are confused with regular band collars, but it is different from the usual ones since they have an opening or a gap between the collar bands.

Club Collar

A very fashionable and unique kind, also called the Eton collar, this one has an old school charm to it. The club collar features a rounded and wide design and is a versatile style that does not necessarily need to be worn with a tie. It is perfect for those who want to subtly stand apart from the crowd and make their own unique style statement.

Now that you know the different collar styles, look for the collar type when you buy a shirt next time from an outlet or online. Based on the occasion, choose one that suits you the most to look sharp and dapper!