# shrinking shirt collar size



## wdm (May 12, 2006)

Our son has gone from a size 16.5 neck to a 16 neck collar size. I know when one goes the opposite direction, there exists for purchase a "shirt collar extender". Other than washing in very hot water and trying to shrink the entire shirt, does any other way exist to drop 1/2 size? Can a shirt collar be taken in by a tailor? Can the necktie be tied differently. These are Zegna, Canali, Hickey Freeman, etc. dress shirts, and would be worth paying for altering the neck if that service exists.

Thank you....I love this forum and the people who give such good advice.


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## petro (Apr 5, 2005)

wdm said:


> Our son has gone from a size 16.5 neck to a 16 neck collar size. I know when one goes the opposite direction, there exists for purchase a "shirt collar extender". Other than washing in very hot water and trying to shrink the entire shirt, does any other way exist to drop 1/2 size?


Spend about 45 minutes a day, three times a week picking up heavy pieces of metal and putting them down carefully, plus eating lots of red meat and potatoes.

Won't shrink the shirts, but it may make them fit right.

Of course, it make make the chest a little tight as well.


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## bigbris1 (Jan 24, 2007)

New shirts tend to shrink about a half size in the neck after a few launderings, but if these are past that, I would just purchase new shirts & save the older ones until his neck rebounds back to a 16.5, or you could sell them on ebay.


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## ndemeis (Oct 2, 2006)

You can move the button on some shirts but i don't recommend it. Probibly the only way to make the neck smaller but you can usually tell when its been done.


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## Roger (Feb 18, 2005)

There are two quite obvious ways: (a) shrink the shirt and (b) move the collar button. As for (a), giving the shirt a hot-water wash followed by a session in the dryer on high heat (it's the hot dryer that does most of the shrinking), will probably take the neck circumference down 1/4" at least. As for (b), it is quite easy to move the collar button 1/4" without any ill effects on the fit of the shirt (such as causing some disturbances in the drape of the shirt). I'd start with the shrinking, and then see how much more needs to be taken up via moving the button.


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## Mr. Clark (Apr 25, 2007)

I would try Roger's option. Even if you can move the button 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch it should still look fine and the fit decent as well. It is only a half size so gaining a 1/4 should make the shirt about right.


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## jsprowls9 (Jun 24, 2005)

My question is how "bad" does the extra 1/2" fit? Just because the wearer's neck measures 16" true inches does not mean that a 16 1/2" collar is necessarily too large. A little bit of wearing ease is nice to have. Conversely, if when tying a tie the collar bunches, the neckline of the shirt is too large.

Most RTW shirts are designed to shrink to their final wearing size by the 5th washing. The cognitive dissonance of hungry salespeople has led to the creation of what I call the "2-finger myth". If you are beyond the 5th washing, it is unlikely the collar will shrink much further, no matter how abusive your laundry tactics.

It may be possible to cheat the size by moving the button, slightly. Though, I wouldn't recommend it as a long-term fix if details matter to you (or, the wearer).


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

How old is the lad, if I may ask?

When I took up distance running in college (I eventually ran four marathons) I dropped from the hard-won 16.5 that reflected training for high-school football to a point where 16s were loose on me.

But age, more lifting, and what I can only call exuberant trenchermanship soon expanded my neck beyond that point.

The moral of which story is: It might be prudent to set aside these 16.5s, buy a few 16s or whatever fits him now, and wait for him to grow back into the 16.5s.

If you don't like that option, I believe you can ask the skilled folks at www.collarreplacement.com to put 16" collars on 16.5" shirts--the collars will have to be white, of course, so if a lot of colored and patterned shirts are involved I hope the kid likes the "Gordon Gekko" look (I do myself).

Best of luck.

PS: They can indeed do wonders with sizing changes:


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## jsprowls9 (Jun 24, 2005)

PJC in NoVa said:


> to put 16" collars on 16.5" shirts--the collars will have to be white, of course,


In order to reduce the neckline circumference you need to add fabric.

In other words: you can sometimes widen a collar; but, not reduce it.


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## WinstonSpencer (Mar 12, 2006)

Have to agree with PJC on this one. It is a true rarity that the size in a man goes down for ever. Sorry all;sad but true. If he is young, he will thank you for saving the them for him.


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