# Question about adjusting dress shirt collar size



## AHS (Mar 18, 2006)

Gentlemen,

Good news: I have some beautiful shirts that are a size 15-1/2 collar. Bad news: I wear a size 15. 

I've read posts that address how to stretch a collar if a shirt's neck size is too small. But what can you do if you have shirts that are a 1/2 size too big? Can you properly adjust the button on the collar? 

With thanks, AHS


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Maybe you could by a quarter of an inch.

You are much better off buying shirts in the correct size.


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## haruki (Dec 28, 2007)

It's probably possible, but I doubt it would be worth it unless the shirts were an incredible deal. 

Can you tell us more about the shirts?


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I should add that you may not like the tie space after you move the button.


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## JD to you (Oct 14, 2007)

Some of the esteemed posters here recommend purchasing 1/2" above what your measured neck size is.


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## dfloyd (May 7, 2006)

*Buying 1/2" larger than your....*

measured neck size is recommended only if you send your shirts out to a commercial laundry since they generally wash shirts in very hot water. Much of the cotton fabrics of today is impervious to shrinkage because it is high quality cotton or the cotton has been preshrunk. I wash my own shirts and haven't had a shrinkage problem in years. I like to have my shirts so that I can insert a finger between the buttoned collar and my neck which gives me about a 1/4" leeway. Many manufacturers, such as Robert Talbott, make their shirts with a 3/8" leeway, and as a result, I can't wear their shirts. With this background you should be able to purchase the right size in the future. If it were me, to solve the problem ar hand, I would send them to a commercial laundry and see what happens.


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## cvac (Aug 6, 2006)

If the shirts are returnable, I would return them.

If they are not returnable and you must keep them anyway, try washing them in warm water and put them in the dryer on low or medium heat. If they still need more shrinking, maybe try hot water.

If all else fails, use the shirts to wear as open collar shirts with no tie.


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## JD to you (Oct 14, 2007)

Just an FYI, Here is the Q&A I had with Alexander Kabbaz in another thread...

_Would buying the larger size apply even if I'm washing my shirts in cold water and line drying or ironing when damp? With that type of care/laundering, would there be that much collar shrinkage?_
Cotton wants to achieve a certain state of stability. Eventually it will shrink to that state whether you have vestal virgins or the world's worst laundry washing it. Best to wash it warm once or twice and get it to the final stage.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

First of all, how old are you? If you're a young man, you might want to just lay these shirts by against the day when your neck thickens a bit as you mature.

Mike Maldonado of www.collarreplacement.com can put modestly up- or down-sized new collars on shirts for $20/per plus shipping to and from. He can do fresh white collars (and cuffs), and also has a method for removing a panel of fabric from the shirttail, fashioning a new 'self' collar out of it, and replacing the removed fabric with a panel of something that more or less matches (we're assuming here that these are the kind of shirts you'll wear tucked in so the tail is invisible anyway).


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