| What is a Collar Stay? Collar stays help keep your dress shirt collar looking sharp and crisp. They are usually plastic or metal and they give a collar a nice line. Underneath the collar of some shirts, you will find a pocket for the stays. If the shirt doesn't have a pocket underneath the collar for stays, or if it has built-in stays, then you can't use collar stays with the shirt. Likewise, collar stays are never used with button-down or tab collar dress shirts. The plus to plastic is that you can buy replacements pretty inexpensively if you misplace a collar stay. The benefit to metal stays is that the rigidity and weight of the metal gives the collar firm line. Be sure to remove the stays prior to laundering to avoid bending or even damaging the shirt. Stays of either material shouldn't ever be bent "into shape," unless they have lost their straightness. After all, the whole reason for using collar stays is to keep the collar straight and flat. | 
