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The detachable collar was invented in America during the 1830s. It proved an istant success Detachable collars proved a boon to the weary housewife. At a time when laundry was a daunting undertaken for beleagered housewives, the detachable shirt collar was a very efficent labor saving device. The shirt waist itself could be worn several days if not all week and all the boy or man had to do to look smart was to change the collar. Actually some young women also wore them--most famously the Gibson girls. Usually it was the collar that was the part of the shirt that got the dirtiest. And it was easier to wash just the collar than the whole shirt. This may sound like a small matter today with washing machines and laundry detergents as well as instant hot water. Housewives in the 19th century had none of these things. And laundry was an all-day activity of heavy labor--usually monday. There was a wide range of different collar types. Eton and wing collars are probably the best known, but there were many other styles. Many different styles appeard in period catalogs, but often they were not identified by destinctive names. The Eton collar was especially popular for boys. We know how Eton and similar collars were put in place.
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