The Peter Pan (Broadway, 1905). Named not for the boy who never grew up, but after the Broadway actress who played him in 1905 and turned the flat, round-edged collar into a fashion sensation. Years later, Princess Diana rocked it at polo matches, hospital visits and foreign tours. Taylor Swift wore one through her Red and 1989 eras, pairing it with cardigans, cat-eye liner and her signature red lip. Just like Peter Pan, this trend never grows old.
The Ruff (16th century Europe). To wear or not to wear? Tis not a question Shakespeare had to grapple with, because the XXL collar distracted us from his baldness and questionable facial hair. It took six yards of fabric, 600 pleats and a wire frame just to stay upright. Lady Gaga wore one made of pointed thorns over a blood-red dress at Coachella last year — a nod to Lady Macbeth. The real tragedy? Trying to eat soup in one.
The Mandarin / Nehru (17th century Imperial China). You saw this on Karan Johar at the 2026 Met Gala. The Manish Malhotra creation needed no lapel or tie. The collar was designed for Chinese imperial court officials. From there, it crossed into cinema as the villains’ collar of choice; ’90s Bollywood villains always wore one, as did Dr No in James Bond, and the Emperor in Star Wars. At least, the enemy’s got drip.
The Sailor (mid-19th century British Royal Navy). Dua Lipa’s bedazzled sailor-collar sweater was one of 2025’s most talked-about celebrity looks, which is quite the journey for a collar originally designed so sailors could grab each other in emergencies at sea. Then Queen Victoria dressed her kids in it for an official portrait and accidentally launched a century-long childrenswear trend. Every Indian school uniform has featured one at some point.
The Turtleneck (19th century fishermen). It began as practical workwear for fishermen who needed warmth. It became one of fashion’s greatest overachievers by accident, when Audrey Hepburn pirouetted across Funny Face in the style. Steve McQueen wore one in Bullitt and made it cool. Steve Jobs ordered a hundred black ones from Issey Miyake and made it a religion. Shah Rukh Khan wore one in approximately forty ’90s films and made it the uniform for romantic yearning.
The Pussy Bow (18th century France). Bad Bunny wore one from Zara to the Met Gala this year, but historically, the pussy bow (soft, decorative, infantilising) was always linked to covered-up conservatism. In 1934, someone described it as “the bow we put on Pussy Cat when company’s coming.” In 2016, Melania Trump wore a bright fuchsia Gucci version to the presidential debate — days after the Access Hollywood “locker room banter” tape leak. The campaign called it a coincidence. Sure.
The Shawl (19th century England). The shawl collar was invented to protect a gentleman’s clothes from his own bad habits – that is, to catch falling cigar ash on Victorian smoking jackets. “A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store,” Rebecca Bloomwood said much later in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) — while wearing a black-and-white boucle coat with a shawl collar that is the film’s most iconic garment. Still quite the catch.
The Cuban (16th century Mexico). In the Caribbean, working-class men needed a shirt that could survive tropical heat while still looking presentable. Thus, the Cuban collar was born: Relaxed and breezy. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, men ditched stuffy black tuxedos for open Cuban collars, exposing some seriously chiselled chests. Merci beaucoup.
The Cowl (Medieval Europe). “Now, not only have you ruined my marriage, you’ve ruined my lunch.” Carrie was in a newspaper-print Dior cowl-neck slip dress when Natasha dropped her devastating line in SATC. Jenna Ortega wore the same piece to a premiere in 2025. Missoni and Dolce & Gabbana put cowl necks on their Milan runways this season. Monks wore it for modesty once. It has not been used modestly since.
The Open (1970s USA). It all started when John Travolta unbuttoned his collar walking into the disco in Saturday Night Fever (1977). Andy Sachs spent half of The Devil Wears Prada (2006) learning that a crisp shirt worn open is not casual, but a power move. Silicon Valley founders love it. Today, in the era of dressing soft, buttoned-up feels almost outdated (unless you’re in court, or trying to look like you understand Excel.) We’ve come a long way from the six hundred Elizabethan pleats, baby.
From HT Brunch, June 20, 2026
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