Gentlemen Collars: Detachable Chic

At boarding school I wore a collared white shirt and tie every single day, except on Saturdays. Perhaps that's why I have avoided collared shirts for a couple of decades.

I'm wearing collars again, but I flatten and spread them when I wear them on a shirt.

However, I'm feeling the pull of collars with crewneck sweaters, a look that's both governness chic and crisply current (see shoe designer Tabitha Simmons, right).

The trick is, I think, to wear a crewneck with a bold or somewhat askew design on it (see Simmons again).

For instance, two collars I really like are this grey sequined one, by Karl Lagerfeld for Net-a Porter:

and this hammered-brass collar choker by the very talented Young Frankk on Etsy*:

I'd wear them with, say, this heart crewneck by J Crew:

and in another colourway:

or, for spring, this commes des garcons collaboration with J Crew:

I prefer a crewneck, because I think that part of the collars' buttoned-up charm lies in their prim placement--no skin, please (sorry Net-a-Porter stylists, below):

But a simple black crewneck is always right, too, especially when Louis Vuitton pairs it with a blood-red sequined skirt:

*Young Frankk was first brought to my attention by the lovely gemmifer.