I’ll Never Wear a Collar Bar Again

Hello, this is Mr. Linen.

Collar bars — or collar pins.

They may not be as familiar as tie bars, but they are accessories designed to enhance the appearance of the tie and shirt area.

Several years ago, I saw stylish staff members at BEAMS wearing them and thought, “That looks incredible.” I immediately bought one for myself.

For a while, I genuinely enjoyed wearing them.

But these days, I feel a bit hesitant about putting one on again.

Because I no longer believe collar bars are truly classic.

Can a collar bar really be considered classic menswear?

And in what situations does a collar bar actually work?

I’d like to think through those questions in my own way.

What Is a Collar Bar?

A collar bar is a metal bar that passes underneath the collar points of a dress shirt, connecting the two sides like a bridge. It helps hold the collar in place while lifting the tie knot upward, creating a more three-dimensional V-zone. It also prevents the tie knot from loosening throughout the day.

Since the collar bar itself is metallic and catches the light, it also works as a subtle accessory.

They come in many different shapes and lengths, usually in either gold or silver finishes.

I bought these two and used them depending on the metal color of my watch or bag hardware.

A few years ago, collar bars were everywhere in menswear circles, but nowadays I rarely see anyone wearing them.

That said, they are not a new invention at all. If you watch old American films, collar bars appear quite frequently.

They are probably a uniquely American menswear tradition. In Europe, very few people seem to wear them.

Tab Collar Shirts Serve the Same Purpose

The decorative aspect is unique to collar bars, but functionally speaking, tab collar shirts do exactly the same thing: they lift the tie knot upward and keep it from loosening.

The collar bar trend seems to have faded somewhat, but tab collar shirts still appear to remain popular today.

I followed the trend myself and bought several tab collar shirts.

Are Collar Bars Truly Classic?

On this blog, I often talk rather confidently about timeless, trend-resistant classic style. But both in the past and even now, I’ve never been completely immune to trends.

If I see a trend that looks stylish, naturally I want to try it myself.

I fully embraced both collar bars and tab collar shirts during their popularity, but eventually I grew tired of them.

Because I came to believe they are not truly classic, but rather stylistic variations outside the core of classic menswear.

Defining what “classic” means is difficult, but I’d like to introduce one quote from the late Japanese menswear critic Masakatsu Ochiai that I find particularly interesting.

“Details born purely from function cannot truly be called classic.”

A good example would be washable synthetic suits or wrinkle-free dress shirts.

Collar bars and tab collars were both created for functional reasons: to lift the tie knot and prevent it from loosening.

For that reason, I personally believe they sit slightly outside true classic style.

Incidentally, Ochiai also argued that button-down shirts are not truly classic because they originated from function. However, many people would say button-down shirts are absolutely part of classic American style.

There is no absolute right answer, and I don’t think it would be wrong to consider collar bars or tab collars classic.

Ultimately it comes down to personal philosophy, but at least from my perspective, collar bars are not truly classic.

To be clear, I only mean they feel slightly out of place within strict classic menswear. As fashion accessories, they can absolutely be stylish and enjoyable.

Collar Bars and Shirt Collars

I was definitely one of the people enthusiastically wearing collar bars during their peak popularity, but I also became strangely particular about how I wore them.

The most important factor when wearing a collar bar is the shirt collar itself.

If the collar spread is too wide, the collar bar simply won’t reach across the gap between the collar points.

On the other hand, collar bars pair best with narrower collar styles such as regular collars, button-down collars, and round collars.

I even tried unbuttoning the collar buttons on a button-down shirt and adding a collar bar — copying a styling trick I had seen from BEAMS staff.

This was another example of me imitating stylish people online, but around seven years ago, I wore a collar bar with a round-collar shirt to my university graduation ceremony. The shirt was a purple contrast-collar shirt with a round collar, plus a collar bar, plus a purple tie. Completely overdone.

Someone deeply knowledgeable about style — like the BEAMS staff I admired — can make this sort of outfit look natural. But when I tried it, it only looked like I was copying somebody else, and now I honestly find it embarrassing.

And it gets even worse.

At one point, I even forced a collar bar over the tab of a tab collar shirt.

I didn’t own many shirts compatible with collar bars, but I desperately wanted to wear both that tab collar shirt and the collar bar with my suit that day.

So… this happened.

It was menswear heresy.

Conclusion

My conclusion is simple:

Collar bars are not truly classic.

They can look stylish when worn well, but if you jump into them too casually, you can easily end up looking like you’re imitating someone else.

That is my personal takeaway.

Personally, I don’t think collar bars work particularly well with traditional business suits. Even in classic sport coat and trouser combinations — such as gray trousers with a navy blazer — they often feel slightly out of place.

Where they may work better is in more casual tailored outfits: denim shirts with jackets, Oxford shirts with jeans, or generally more relaxed Ivy-inspired styling.

This photo is borrowed from the Instagram of Japanese menswear figure Shuhei Nishiguchi, and I think it looks fantastic.

That’s all for today. I hope you found this helpful.