Collar Stay

Abstract

A collar stay in which the main body attaches to the collar wing and the collar band attachment attaches to the collar band, said main body lying in a different plane from said collar band attachment in such a way as to admit a tie into the space between the main body and the collar band attachment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 541,084, filed Sep. 30, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention pertains to dress shirts, and particularly to collar stays for dress shirts.[0004]2. Prior Art[0005]The problem of what to do to keep a gentleman's dress shirt looking neat has been contemplated by many inventors over the years. The problem that all these inventors have been attempting to solve is that while a freshly starched shirt collar will remain nearly vertical on the wearer's neck, as the day goes on, the collar will begin to lose its stiffness and start curling up, as well as to sprawl out around the wearer's neck rather than remain stiffly vertical (i.e. the angle between the collar proper and the band will increase rather than staying at nearly zero). This detracts from the wea...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a collar stay that allows for the inclusion of a tie without tilting the collar wing and band. It is simple and inexpensive to produce and can be partially visible when used. The visible part can be decorated to enhance the appearance of the shirt collar.

Problems solved by technology

The problem that all these inventors have been attempting to solve is that while a freshly starched shirt collar will remain nearly vertical on the wearer's neck, as the day goes on, the collar will begin to lose its stiffness and start curling up, as well as to sprawl out around the wearer's neck rather than remain stiffly vertical (i.e. the angle between the collar proper and the band will increase rather than staying at nearly zero).

This stiffens the collar and prevents the points from curling up; however, such collar stays are not as helpful in maintaining a near-zero angle between the collar proper and the band.

However, the design has several drawbacks.

First of all, the fact that it is made of metal wire means that long use is likely to fray or even tear the shirt collar.

Secondly, it does not directly maintain the angle between the collar and the band; it only does so indirectly by relying on the weight of the tie.

If the user's tie is different (for example, a bowtie), the device will not work.

However, the Rubio design is complex, requiring several moving parts, and therefore expensive.

As with the Rubio design, the Blau design is complex and expensive.

However, due to the fact that the Portias design is a flat piece of plastic, its usage renders it impossible for the wearer to also wear a tie underneath the shirt collar without disturbing the collar stay's attachment.

However, due to the fact that the Krick design is a flexible flat piece of plastic, it may not attach properly to both the collar wing and the collar band, since those two elements lie in different planes.

Also, the insertion of a tie may deform the plastic too much to allow it to properly maintain the collar's neat appearance.

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