# Dress shirts under crew neck sweaters - collar in or out?



## jwa_jwa_jwa (Jul 13, 2010)

I started wearing crew neck sweaters again and I almost left the house with the dress shirt collar poking out instead of tucked in. I don't think I've seen many actually wear them out much so I thought I'd ask the community here.


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## Penang Lawyer (May 27, 2008)

Non button down shirts the collar should be out. Button down shirts inside.


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## JDC (Dec 2, 2006)

A dress shirt implies a tie, so in or out usually works if you're not actually wearing a tie. I wear dress shirt collars inside my crewnecks, but polos and other shirts with smaller collars look good outside too.


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## a pine tree (Jun 20, 2010)

Whenever I see a collar outside a sweater, I cannot help but think funky 70s disco man. 
Collar in.


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## tlocke (Jan 9, 2010)

I keep all collars inside a crew neck sweater, with the exception of a polo shirt. I never much liked the look of a polo shirt under a crew neck sweater though.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

a pine tree said:


> Whenever I see a collar outside a sweater, I cannot help but think funky 70s disco man.
> Collar in.


While you might think that, the fact is that back then collars were routinely worn outside of both jackets and sweaters by folks who were about as far removed from disco as possible. It was simply the style of the day. Here I am in the mid-70's and I can assure you that this old hippie NEVER had anything to do with disco. Keep in mind that this pic was taken post-hippie. :icon_smile:










Cruiser


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

I like mine in but I think it's fine to wear it out if it's a pointed enough collar to where it still looks reasonably close to being in.


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## a pine tree (Jun 20, 2010)

True, but floppy/unfastened collars just resurrect those type of images to me.
I dig your style Cruiser, you sure looked like you could boogie. :icon_smile_big:


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## jean-paul sartorial (Jul 28, 2010)

Depending on the shirt and sweater combo, you may not have a choice. It seems like to the the majority of the time the option I see chosen is neither "in" nor "out" but rather, "above."


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## Tonyp (May 8, 2007)

i think it looks better in whether you wear a BDC or point. But it also depends on what your style of dress is. If you are a young 20-30 something wearing skinny jeans I would say you definitely can wear the collar outside the sweater. If you are more conservatively dressed then inside would look best.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Dress shirt without a necktie or a sport shirt - looks better in.
Knit shirt - sometimes looks OK in, but more often out. It depends on the collar.

1950's style - dress shirt without a necktie worn over and outside the collar of the sport jacket!


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## Country Irish (Nov 10, 2005)

It always perplexes me but in reading this thread I realized that a collarless banded shirt might be an alternative.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> While you might think that, the fact is that back then collars were routinely worn outside of both jackets and sweaters by folks who were about as far removed from disco as possible. It was simply the style of the day. Cruiser


Using the word "Disco" in conjunction witht he 70s is merely to emphasize the cheesey nature of popular fashion during most (all) of that decade. I knew exactly what the poster was getting at - and your picture does nothing to refute his post - OK, fine, it's not Travolta, but the glasses, the huge collar, the colors - they hardly bespeak "classic" - do they (wondering if those trousers may not be bell bottoms)?. It was the style, as you note, for a period in the 70s, among certain segments of the population, to wear those huge, aviatory collars outside of crewneck sweaters, and as your picture shows - it was a bad look then and should not be repeated now. Regardless of whether it is a button down or a spread collar, it looks MUCH better to have the collar restrained within the bounds of a crewneck collar.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

Epaminondas said:


> Using the word "Disco" in conjunction witht he 70s is merely to emphasize the cheesey nature of popular fashion during most (all) of that decade.


Disco had only a limited influence on the decade but prior to disco there was glam and then after disco, the English post punk aesthetic arrived. And I always thought collars were worn outside of jumpers in the early 70's because they were so big and would not fit underneath.


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## Mr. Knightly (Sep 1, 2005)

Always, always, always keep the collar in. Wearing a collar outside a crewneck seems to suggest that you're trying to show of the fact that you're wearing a shirt. If you want to show more shirt, then wear a v-neck.


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## a pine tree (Jun 20, 2010)

Epaminondas said:


> Using the word "Disco" in conjunction witht he 70s is merely to emphasize the cheesey nature of popular fashion during most (all) of that decade. I knew exactly what the poster was getting at - and your picture does nothing to refute his post - OK, fine, it's not Travolta, but the glasses, the huge collar, the colors - they hardly bespeak "classic" - do they (wondering if those trousers may not be bell bottoms)?. It was the style, as you note, for a period in the 70s, among certain segments of the population, to wear those huge, aviatory collars outside of crewneck sweaters, and as your picture shows - it was a bad look then and should not be repeated now. Regardless of whether it is a button down or a spread collar, it looks MUCH better to have the collar restrained within the bounds of a crewneck collar.


+10000
From now on, you can just explain whatever it is I'm trying to say.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Epaminondas said:


> I knew exactly what the poster was getting at - and your picture does nothing to refute his post


I wasn't really trying to "refute" anything he said. If the collar worn outside reminds him of disco, it reminds him of disco. I was just saying that it was popular outside of the disco crowd, not only then but for for many years prior to disco. For example, here is a picture of my ultra conservative father taken shortly after his return from the war in 1945.










If there had been disco in the 1940's he would have hated it. He practically disowned me when as a teenager in 1964 I tried to grow my hair out like the Beatles. He certainly hated hippies.



> OK, fine, it's not Travolta, but the glasses


What's wrong with the glasses? Those are the aviator glasses that I was issued in the U.S. Navy when I was flying aircrew. They are still worn by Naval aviators today and are a big seller to civilians by companies like Ray Ban.

And FWIW, the pants weren't bell bottoms. :icon_smile:

Cruiser


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

ALL collars BD or otherwise ALWAYS inside the ring of the jumper. Who are these dissenters, there agitators, these militants, these disrupters of harmony and public safety who wear collars outside? I want names and addresses, I'm coming round!


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## Barrister & Solicitor (Jan 10, 2007)

Inside!

My question: why wear a non button down dress shirt hidden by a sweater? A casual shirt should do fine. Can you tell I don't like the look of dress shirts' collars other than worn in a typical dress setting.


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