Start here
What’s This About
Cutaway, widespread, club, semi-spread and band collars are the five usually suggested when the forehead reads narrow and the jaw broad, and what they genuinely do is frame the neck and upper chest, because a collar cannot add width at the forehead.
This guide covers those five collars and how each one sits with the rest of what you wear, such as
The cutaway collar, and checking it under your own jacket lapel
The widespread collar, and checking its tie space separately from spread
The club collar, and what a collar bar does to the opening
The semi-spread collar, and how to check it under your jacket
The band collar, and how it sits under knitwear
Collars in polo shirts, camp shirts and overshirts, where much of the week may be spent
and many more!
The VOU uses pear and triangle for the same jaw-wide family, so read the note below before deciding which guide is yours.
Key Points
01A collar closes at the base of the neck and its points lie on the chest, so a wide collar frames the throat and upper chest and creates no width at the forehead.
02The collar has to work with the jacket, the knitwear and the casual shirts you actually own, and a wide collar under a narrow lapel is one combination worth checking before you buy.
03Band height is set by your neck length and by the clearance you can see on the shirt, rather than by a face description.
04Pear and triangle are two VOU names for one jaw-wide family, separated by how the taper looks, which is our editorial convention rather than a validated distinction.
At a glance
Jump to pear or triangle for the naming overlap and which guide to read.
Jump to collar, lapel and knitwear for the coordination this page covers most fully.
Jump to the five collars for what each shape does in wear.
Jump to related questions for collar height, knots and casual shirts.
Men whose forehead reads narrow and whose jaw reads broad are usually told to add width to the upper face, and no shirt collar can do that.
If you are uncertain whether you have a pear face, The VOU uses pear for an outline that reads narrow at the upper forehead and widens through the cheeks to a broader jawline.
Take our face shape analysis quiz as a starting point, reading the result as our editorial description of your outline rather than a measurement of your anatomy.
Understanding your specific facial structure mainly helps you find the right guide, and the collar and face shape hub sets all nine shortlists side by side.
The shortlist on this page is our editorial suggestion drawn from the styling sources we assessed, rather than a measured record of what readers prefer.
Pear Or Triangle, One Jaw-Wide Family With Two VOU Names
The VOU keeps two names for a jaw broader than the forehead, namely pear, where the face widens through the cheeks to the jaw, and triangle, where the taper from jaw to forehead reads fairly even.
Those descriptions overlap heavily, the difference between a gradual and a more abrupt taper is a nuance rather than a validated boundary, and several other guides treat pear and triangle as straightforward synonyms.
Both pages give you the same five collars, and the practical difference is emphasis, as this guide concentrates on coordinating the collar with jackets, knitwear and casual shirts, while the triangle guide goes further into the mechanism and the fitting checks.
Read whichever matches your own taper, then read the other for the sections it covers more fully.
What The Collar Changes
A cutaway is often credited with creating width at the neck and across the upper face, and the upper-face half of that claim does not hold.
The cloth closes around the base of the neck and the points lie flat on the chest, so the framing a collar offers happens at the throat and the upper chest, through the direction of the points, how much shirt and tie show either side of the knot, and how much throat is visible with the shirt open.
That framing is still worth using deliberately, because a broad, level line at the throat can change how the head and neck read together in the mirror, even though your forehead is exactly as it was.
Art of Manliness, reviewing the same advice, calls the visual effect subtle and the rules optional, and Proper Cloth’s guide to collars and face shape describes collar style as a matter of preference rather than a fixed rule.
The one rule worth keeping
Buy the neck size that closes comfortably, check the collar against the jacket and the knitwear it will be worn with, and treat the broad line at the throat as a preference rather than a correction.
The Coordination Of Collar, Lapel And Knitwear That Decides How A Shirt Reads
Check the collar with the jacket or knitwear you intend to wear over it, because their necklines and lapels can change how the points sit.
A collar’s points may remain visible beside a jacket lapel. Compare the actual spread, point length and lapel position, then decide whether you like that appearance or want the points covered.
Long points can catch or buckle where a lapel crosses them, but the result depends on both garment patterns. Try the combination before choosing a different point length.
A crew neckline can cover or press the collar, while a V neck leaves more of it visible. Check both garments together; collar height, cloth, interlining and neckline position affect whether the collar sits comfortably.
Under a V neck, a spread or semi-spread can keep the broad line the rest of this page describes, provided the points sit where you want them.
None of these coordination checks depends on your face, and all of them change how the shirt actually looks on the day, which is why they belong before the shortlist rather than after it.
The Fit Checks Behind Every Choice Here
Check one
Neck circumference
Measure the way your chosen maker instructs, since a collar size can describe either a body measurement or the finished collar and makers differ over how much room to leave under the tape, then follow that maker’s size chart and allowance instruction rather than adding ease of your own on top.
Check two
Clearance with the collar buttoned
Whether your chin and jaw sit close to a collar band is something to observe rather than infer, so judge the shirt with the collar buttoned and the tie knotted while turning your head, and treat the one to two finger gap in Proper Cloth’s collar fit guide as a starting point rather than a specification.
Check three
Band height and tie space
Band height follows neck length and the clearance you can see on the shirt, and makers publish the front and rear heights separately, as Proper Cloth’s soft fused English spread does.
Spread is the distance between the bottoms of the collar points and tie space is the distance between the tops of the collar leaves above the top button, which makers specify as two separate measurements, so check that the knot seats in that space without forcing the points out of shape.
Cutaway Collar
The cutaway angles its short points back towards the shoulders, giving the widest opening at the throat available in a normal shirt range.
What it does. The cutaway has the widest spread of the five, giving the broadest, most level line across the throat and showing the most shirt and tie either side of the knot.
Styling advice. Try a Windsor, half-Windsor or four-in-hand against the actual tie space and tie cloth. Check the points under your own jacket; they may remain visible beyond a lapel, and the knot need not conceal all the shirt beside it.
Widespread Collar
The widespread sets the points well apart while keeping enough point length to lie under a lapel, which makes it a practical middle choice among the broad collars.
What it does. The widespread gives a broad line below the jaw. Point length and placement affect how it sits under your jacket, while tie space remains a separate specification.
Styling advice. Try a half-Windsor or Windsor against the shirt’s actual tie space and your tie’s thickness, and keep the knot that seats without pushing the points apart; a widespread is a practical first purchase if you are replacing shirts rather than experimenting.
Club Collar
The club collar finishes its short points in a curve rather than a corner, and it belongs on this list for its distinctive line rather than for any widening effect.
What it does. The curved finish keeps the visible collar compact and reads as a deliberate period choice, and the short points usually sit under a lapel, though that is worth checking on your own jacket.
Be plain about the trade. A club collar does not give the broad line the cutaway and widespread do, so choose one because you like the shape.
Styling advice. Short rounded points do not determine tie space. Check the actual shirt; a collar bar draws the points together and lifts the knot forward, closing the opening rather than widening it.
Semi-Spread Collar
The semi-spread sits between a point collar and a full spread, with the points at a moderate angle away from the throat.
What it does. The semi-spread has a moderate opening that gives some of the broader line without committing to it, usually with a point length that sits comfortably under a lapel and above a knitwear neckline, which is still worth checking against your own jacket and jumpers.
Styling advice. Try a half-Windsor or a four-in-hand against the actual tie space, and for open-neck wear check whether the cloth and interlining hold the line you prefer.
Band Collar
The band collar, also called a mandarin collar, is the collar band on its own with no points sewn to it.
What it does. With no points there is no opening and no tie space, so the collar reads as a plain ring at the base of the neck, which takes the collar out of the question rather than answering it.
This collar has no points to fold or flatten under knitwear, and it removes the point and spread choices rather than every dimension. Circumference, band height and shape front and rear, and how the closure sits all still need checking, and no knot guidance applies without a tie.
Styling advice. The band collar is worn without a tie, so choose oxford, chambray or another cloth with body, and treat a band collar shirt as its own wardrobe decision rather than a substitute for a dress shirt.
Polo Shirts, Camp Collars And Overshirts
Many weeks are spent in shirts that are not dress shirts, and the collar advice above translates directly once you know what each casual collar does.
A camp collar lies flat and open with a wide, relaxed spread, which is the easiest casual route to the broad line at the throat that the cutaway gives in a dress shirt.
A polo collar’s behaviour depends on its knit, cut, thickness and construction together. Compare a piqué and a jersey shirt in wear rather than assuming one always stands and the other collapses.
An overshirt worn open frames the throat with its own front edges, which can be more visible than the shirt collar underneath, so match the overshirt’s opening to the line you want rather than fussing over the collar beneath.
A beard changes the jaw outline you see in all of these rather than your bone structure, and how you wear it does not by itself tell you your shirt size, so recheck the fit of the shirts you own with the collar buttoned.
Related Questions
Q. Do narrow point collars emphasise a broader jaw?
They keep the line at the throat tight, which can read as a narrower base under a broader jaw, and whether you dislike that is a matter of taste rather than a defect to avoid.
That includes the point, forward point, tab and pin collars, and the narrow button-downs, often ruled out for a broader jaw.
You can choose that contrast if you want to emphasise the jaw, and nothing about a jaw-wide outline makes a narrow collar unwearable.
Q. What collar height suits a pear outline?
The question has no answer at the level of the face, which is why this guide gives no figure for it.
Band height is set by how much throat you have between jaw and shoulder and by the clearance you can see with the collar closed, so measure the neck and judge clearance in the mirror.
The hub guide sets band height from the neck in the same way, so the two pages give you the same instruction.
Q. Which tie knots suit these collars?
Choose the knot by the tie space specified for the actual shirt and the thickness of your tie rather than by the collar’s name or your proportions; a four-in-hand, half-Windsor or Windsor can each be tried.
No knot widens a forehead, and what a fuller knot does is occupy more of the tie space, which is a matter of proportion at the throat and of your own preference.
Tie the knot, then check comfortable seating, undistorted points and the amount of visible shirt you prefer. Concealing all shirt beside the knot is optional.
Q. How should a collar sit under a jacket?
Try the collar under the actual jacket. Compare where the point ends sit, whether they catch against the lapels and whether you want them covered or visible; no fixed spread-to-lapel pairing works for every garment.
Check the collar with the jacket buttoned and again with it open, since the lapel position moves between the two and a collar that behaves buttoned can splay open.
A collar with some body in it holds up to that better than a soft one, which is a construction question rather than a shape question.
Q. Is a hairstyle supposed to match the collar?
The two are separate decisions made on different timescales, and the honest version of the usual advice is narrower than it sounds. Temple width and crown height are different effects, and what you can achieve depends on your density, texture, curl and growth pattern rather than on a named cut.
Describe to your barber where you want length and weight, judge the result dry in a mirror, and keep the shirt decision separate.
Take the First Step With The VOU’s Styling Quizzes
Start your style journey with our resources, beginning with our Face Shape Quiz, which points you to the guide written for your outline and to initial styling guidance.
Then, check your colours with our Seasonal Colour Analysis Quiz.
Check your body shape with our Body Shape Quiz, and your personal style with our Fashion Style Quiz.
Styling Consultations
Choosing a collar well is a small decision inside a larger one, and the larger decision takes in your neck and shoulders, your hair, your beard and the jackets every shirt has to live under.
Our Professional Face Shape Analysis package is a paid consultation; its product page lists what it includes.
Our Complete Image Transformation Package combines the face shape, seasonal colour, body shape and fashion style analyses.
If you would like personal help, you can book a paid consultation.
Our styling services for men are paid consultations; the shop page lists what each one includes.