Peter Pan collars

Fashion Synopsis

Peter Pan was the boy who never wanted to grow up, and wearing the sweet rounded collar named in his honor assured a childlike innocence, whatever your age. The simple, round collar became known as the Peter Pan collar after the style worn by the boy in J.M. Barrie’s 1904 hit play, Peter Pan.

Before Disney adopted the boy and updated him in a jagged edge, V-neck, elf-style suit, the original Peter sported a rounded collar common to children's dress clothes of the day. The style was most memorable from the late 1800’s as the ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ suit collar, and was either made as plain white cotton or lace. After the popularity of Barrie’s play, the particular collar style was renamed after the boy hero, and young boys wore the style in imitation of their flying friend.

The Peter Pan collar was the look of choice for angel-faced little boys dressed in their Eton suits of the 40’s, and by the 50’s girls had adopted it for their cotton shirts. The collar primly folded over cardigan sweaters, helping to keep them in place, and looked absolutely peachy with a strand of pearls.

Whether on a plain cotton shirt or trimmed in frilly lace, the Peter Pan collar continues to represent the innocence of good girls, and the fantasy of faraway lands. So grab a ticket to Neverland and button up.

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