Colored Peter Pan Collars


Figure 1.--Peter Pan collars were of course worn in the 19th century, although the name is a 20th century term after the publication of the famous play. This photograph was probably taken in the 1910s. I'm not sure what color the boys' collars were.

Peter Pan collars almost always are white. The Peter Pan collar is almost allways used on blouses to be worn weith classic or traditional styles. As a result, there is a tendency for fashion designers to experiment less with the Peter Pan collar than many other clothing styles. Even so, one occasoinally sees a colored Peter Pan collar.

Sleeves

The style of the Peter Pan collars and blouses do not change significantly with colored collars. Early Peter Pan collars were all long sleeves. I do not believe short sleeve blouses appeared until the 1920s.

Short sleeve blouses appeared in the 1920s. Short sleeve blouses became increasingly common for the summer during the 1940s. T

Chronology

Peterpan collars have primarily been white. The earlist colored Peter Pan collars I know of appeared in the 1910s. HBC has not noted colored Peter Pan collars in previous era. Although never common, colored Peter Pan collars were occasionally seen and some images are available from the 1980s. I'm not sure about the 1990s.

Color

While colored Peter Pan collars are rather rare, the most popular color for the colored collars is blue. Red is also occasionally seen.


Figure 2.--Peter Pan collars are usually white, however, some blouses are made with colored collars. The most common color is blue. Note that the boy is wearing suspender shorts with the Peter Pan collar.

Collar Styles

The most common style is to color the collar, but keep a primarily white blouse. Rarely is the entire blouse colored.

Clothing Styles


Colored Peter Pan collars are most commonly worn with matching short pants. In the early 20th century, they were often worn with button-on shorts. In more recent years they were often worn with suspender shorts.

The Peter Pan collar was especially popular with Eton suits, but almost always with white collars. The colored collar is more commonly worn without a suit jacket as a dressy summer style.





Christopher Wagner

histclo@lycosmail.com


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Created: March 18, 1998
Last updated: August 28, 1998