Fans of Marc Jacobs' (Night Porter-pilfered) Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection for Louis Vuitton have been enthusing about the designer's (Nazi) dominatrix style for months. A lot of dementia also spread among the fashion media with quite a few journalists apparently seeing the light and reaching nirvana whenever they saw a latex/plastic S&M Peter Pan collar on a runway/in the shops.
Yet collars made using plastic-based materials aren't a new thing in fashion. One example is the rigid plastic/celluloid dickey (or tux front), a false and detachable shirt-front that became fashionable in the second part of the 19th century.
Plastic collars were also employed by the clergy and the service professions and often integrated in theatrical costumes to save money.
In the '60s it was the norm for Italian pupils to go to school wearing a pinafore and, around their necks the physically-impairing torture instrument featured in this post (with a blue ribbon for boys and a pink ribbon for girls), a rigid yet sleek rounded plastic collar that, from a distance, looked exactly like fabric.
The collar was obviously welcomed by many mothers since it did not wilt or wrinkle nor needed any ironing, besides it was also waterproof and stain-resistant. In a nutshell, it simulated a fabric collar and was definitely more functional than a proper one (though when it came to comfort it left something to be desired…).
There are actually quite a few companies that still produce these collars and even cuffs – mainly used by the clergy, military officers, nurses and again by costume designers for theatrical/film purposes – yet they are made using innovative and therefore softer plastic-based materials. One of the main materials employed for such collars is called Parafineflex and guarantees always perfect collars.
An alternative to modern plastic collars is paper or cardboard. The paper collar industry started in the States during the Civil War when the South's control of cotton cut off the supply of cloth collars.
Production of paper collars and cardboard dickeys peaked between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s.
There is only one company in the United States – Amazon Drygoods – that still manufactures paper collars (it has been producing them since 1866).
The collars are made using Linene, that is linen laminated paper and start at $3.00.
So if you really want to go down the dominatrix way (but, bloody Hell, leave those Nazi references behind!), parafineflex or paper collars may represent a cheaper and more clever (especially from a historical/costume design point of view…) choice.
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nice tie