Is Ryuji's collar in danger of the dreaded flop?
Luke in a 2 button RLX polo
A 6 button shirt from IJP Design
Ian wearing one of his 6 button designs at the 2009 Masters
Phil at Augusta in a custom 4 button polo (little tight in the neck?)(All photos courtesy of the Associated Press/Chris O'Meara/Ian Poulter Designs/Fairway Styles)
How do you guys feel about long plackets on golf polos? (The placket is, by definition: the opening or slit at the top of a [shirt] that facilitates putting it on and taking it off - aka where the buttons are positioned) Poulter makes several shirts with 6(!) button plackets - very 70's looking. Personally, the KC feels the same way about a 6 button placket on a golf shirt as we would about a single-breasted 6 button suit like you might have found on Deion Sanders circa 1998. I think 2 or 3 buttons are ideal and 4 is acceptable. Beyond that it's quite iffy.
Of course you have to take in to account the positioning of the second-to-top button no matter how many buttons you have, because you want to allow the perfect amount of space, not too tight so that it chokes you and not too loose so that it loses its prominence. Check out the Phil photo above, even though his top button is undone, the second to top button is positioned in such a way that he still appears to be a little uncomfortable. On the flip side, I've found with some 2-button polos that the space created between the buttons opens too much for my liking and begins to turn the collar out and look messy. (See Ryuji Imada's photo from the side for an example of the beginning of this.)
To each his own placket...what do you wear?
-KC
6 comments:
my favorite golf shirts are last year's model adidas climacool shirts. They have 5 buttons with a normal placket, and the top two buttons are small. the collar sits tall and doesn't curl. like snedeker and sergio were wearing. other than that, i think long plackets are questionable, at best.
btw, thanks to the KC I have found a new appreciation for ryuji imada's understated style. thanks.
Thom Reed wear's long plackets
DO,
I agree with you. I found those Climacool shirts that Sergio was wearing last year to be the best collar I'd seen in terms of standing prominant. If I was having a custom polo made, I would use those as my collar example every time.
I personally like the long placket in most cases. Just to establish my position, a suit jacket should never have more than 3 buttons and per the current style preferably 2. However I like the statement a long placket on a golf shirt makes. I do agree that it can be overdone, and perhaps IJP has a bit too much contrast outlining it.
On the other point the Climacool shirts were an excellent design, harking to Savile Row with the high, spread collar with the double buttons. I would love to find a source for these if anyone has one, as I only have one and never saw them in a store, only on the pros.
Finally, in relation to the "flop", why don't some of these companies start using collar stays, esp. on self collars? I've found a few vintage models (70's, 80's) that have them sewn into the collar, but even making them removable as dress shirts are would be an improvement.
2-3 buttons on the Course. Save the 6 buttons (undone) for the dance floor for when you want to let it all hang out.
Hey KC, the placket on a shirt should directly correspond to the length and style of the collar. A balanced look is what needs to be achieved. The IPJ Design shirt shown is a novelty piece, it makes a statement. I imagine it's not a personal favourite of Ian's but a bit of fun none the less! It's kind of like the way catwalk fashion trickles down to the high street. My advice is stick to 2 or 3 button placket with a knitted collar, and 3 to 4 with a more formal collar. As for zips forget it!
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