Edwardian Collars,Edwardian Era Collars

With the death of Queen Victoria and the ascension of Edward to the throne in 1901 a new era began in the whole of the British Empire. There were changes galore during the time ranging from a change in the emphasis on art, to the style of the performing arts, the emphasis on the education system for children, the style of jewellery down to the sense of popular fashion.

The many changes that occurred during the time, highlighted the period of King Edwards rule that lasted from 1901 to 1910, as a new era onto itself. The fashion of this time was involved in the brokering of different styles in clothing, especially uses of lace as a fashion accessory for different parts of clothing that people would wear. The Edwardian collars that were used by men and from women of certain strata of society are of special intrigue to us.

Proper daywear during the Edwardian era consisted of a standing collar. Slim and high in nature, unlike the collars of just a decade back, towards the end of the Victorian era, the Edwardian collars were not made of the pleated drapery that gave the neck a rather thick and unnatural look to it. They were high and often as high as the jaw line before dipping, as we move towards the hairline at the back of the throat and in front towards the chin.

This uneven shape of en Edwardian collar was a characteristic that was unique to collars of the Edwardian era. This style however had remnants of itself up to the World War 2 era as it persisted up to the late 40s in large parts of Great Britain, however this time more as evening and ball dresses.

The evening wear of the Edwardian era had lower necklines and often had no sleeves, this however changed with time as the necklines of collars for both parts of the day ended up at a moderate level. While separate collars are not particularly in fashion and look outdated, there are several takers for a generally modified styling of the Edwardian collar, who tend to wear lace versions of the collar along with woollen wear.

These are usually woollen blouses or sweaters to which the Edwardian collar pattern is stitched or worn simultaneously as a separate piece of clothing. To think that something from over a hundred years ago still has takers today. Maybe you too should try one sometime.