What ever happened to detachable collars?

I'm not talking about an OP with a detachable collar, I'm talking about a lone little collar, sold all by itself, meant to be paired up with a cute Lolitay tee. Detachable collars were a fad that never quite hit Lolita. Gone the way of the rectangle headdress, the stripper mary janes, and the black and white stripy socks before they even got a chance to stick around. I first discovered them while browsing through Gothic & Lolita Bible scans online years ago. I instantly fell in love. How versatile! I thought. How quickly you could turn a cute but plain tee shirt into a cutsew.

My earliest sewing machine adventures involved making a detachable collar. Then, later, Candy Violet sold them briefly. I picked up a white one quick enough (modeled by me on the right, with a Candy Violet tee). Of course, I've never really worn it. I'm just no good at casual Lolita. I never wear tee shirts outside of Lolita, so why should I dress down to dress up? But I've held onto this useless piece of fashion all these years, along with a few Lolita print tees, just waiting for the rare chance to wear them. But despite my inability to wear a goddamned tee shirt, I can't see what's holding anyone else back from wearing detachable collars.

There's been a big surge in casual Lolita in the past couple years, why haven't I seen any ruffly white collars around people's necks? Perched on top of their quirky print tees? Maybe they have been there all along, and despite my love of the damned collar I suffer from some kind of blindness towards it. Not only can I think of a damned thing to do with it, I just don't see it when it's right in front of my face, being as cute as it can be. Maybe people just don't know about these little pieces of instant Lolitafication. Or maybe, they look stupid and I just am too stubborn to let them go.


Here's a scan from one of the early Bibles with a detachable collar pattern. Click for a much larger version. Try it out sometime. It's cheap, easy, and you might even like it.

7 comments:

  1. Hey thanks for the post! When I click on the picture though, it's still small :( If you have a large scan, I'd love to have it so I can make one. Thanks!

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  2. @mutantmit- Thanks for the heads up! I must have missed that when I posted this!

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  3. I've actually been thinking about making a couple of these myself. I figure I could just use a regular old collar pattern from a Gosurori blouse pattern. But it's nice to have a pattern that's specifically for a detachable one. Thanks! ^^

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  4. Howdy! Caro-chan,

    Just saw this and wanted to let you know that waaaaay back in the 50' and 60's collars like these were worn. We wore them with simple plain aline dresses, or with a cardigan sweater. Did you know there was a time when girls wore their cardigan sweaters backwards and buttoned up the back?! *piece of useless information* Back to the collars, they really are a wonderful piece, Victorian ladies also wore them to further add more ruffles and lace to a dress or blouse.

    The pattern is great. Think I'll copy and inlarge it. The collar you made is very cute.

    Always,
    Lollydolly

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  5. I think people just don't know about them really.
    I've got one from here: http://www.englishcharm.com/store.html
    It's lovely. ♥

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  6. Theres a few Mam separate/detachable collar patterns in the old~ish Gothic & Lolita Bibles. Possibly two, I think one is a lace trim, and the other is a fabric frilled trim(t~shirt type fabric seems to have been used, so it blends well). I have the Candy Violet one(also in white + the bonneted accordion girl T~shirt in bue), and now feel it was a bit of a waste of money. As it looks a bit plain & naff compared to the Mam ones XD someday I'll make myself a decent one out of a Mam pattern. In light blue, and maybe another in black. I like the concept, they dress up casual outfits nicely,,,but tend to flap up & the ribbons slap you in the lipgloss when its windy (>_<) which can be irritating, so I usually don't bother with the Cany Violet one anymore(also theres a bit of dark thread encased in my collar, which screams careless sewing to me).

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  7. I have been seeing a lot of DIY for peter pan collars though! It's "in style" and looks pretty easy to make!

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