Vintage 1950s to 1960s Mens Gold Metal Clip-on Collar bar or Collar Stay.
Historically, the collar bar first surfaced in the beginning of the 20th century. The turndown collar was still in its infancy and, unlike today, was very strongly starched and hard. Silk collars however, were simply too delicate for the starch and so someone had the idea to connect the collar with a pin in order to give it a better shape and a neat look. As a result of this pin, the tie was slightly elevated which also looked quite sophisticated. Over the following decades, the collar bar cycled in and out of fashion: Fred Astaire wore it frequently in the 20’s and 30’s and it was also spotted in movies—Paul Muni in Scarface is a perfect example for that. In Germany, it regained popularity in the 1950’s, and the 1960’s in the U.S. In 1987, Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street infamously wore his boldly striped shirts as well as his collar pins and thus caused a little revival of this accessory. Today, the TV Series Mad Men shows certain characters wearing a collar bar.
There are a few different kind of collar pins. This one is a clip on style which does not requires a special shirt. This collar bar has circular tension clips on reverse and simply slides onto each collar. The collar bar measures 2-1/8" in length and while unmarked is very well made and in excellent vintage condition!
Our vintage men's accessories include a paper gift box with cotton lining and make a great gift for your favorite vintage gentleman!
