Collar Me Surprised!

Statements collars have been on the radar since the jewelled & printed lovelies at Miu Miu spring/summer 2010 (seems so long ago now, doesn't it?). Since then, a collar has been much more than just an extra bit of fabric that's a nuisance to iron: see Eleven Objects, a brand created because the designers wanted a new, interesting accessory to wear, and also the Great British High Street - Warehouse and Oasis have some interesting options at the moment, including dresses and tops with bejewelled Peter Pan collars.

Right now, I'm really into updating my wardrobe for autumn/winter for very little money. My first step was to create my own collar to wear underneath pre-owned clothes to update them.

This took around five minutes, and cost me zero pence!

Take an old white shirt, maybe stolen off your boyfriend or dad, or bought from a charity shop. You could cut the collar off completely, or make it into a "bib"; I chose to cut it like this so it wouldn't move around so much under what I was wearing (you might want to iron it before you take pictures, but I threw caution to the wind. And as hinted previously, I hate ironing).

Take a couple of stud earrings (these were given to my mum by a friend, then donated to me). They don't even have to be pairs, the more you mix it up, the better. I used a heavy gauge sewing machine needle to "pierce" the fabric - it's not as easy as it may seem to push the studs into the collar, and may result in breaking the backing off. 

Then just have a play around with different studs in different places. I chose to just have a stud at either corner of the collar, but if you have enough studs (and patience), you could cover the collar with them. Also, once you've made the holes, you can move the studs around whenever it takes your fancy.

For now, I'm going to use these matching pink flower studs.

Worn with an old Warehouse printed dress, and a bow brooch from the same lot as the earrings.

A perennial winter favourite, the chunky knit from Dorothy Perkins, gets an update with the collar.

My personal favourite: worn with a Prabal Gurung cashmere sweater and a pearl tie I bought from an antique market a long time ago, but have never found the occasion to wear. This could be its season! 

Just have fun with it! I've got an eye on some of my boyfriend's other shirts, waiting for them to "accidentally" go through at the elbows. There's a nice purple one which would be hit the jewel-tone trend on the nail...

Have you made yourself a collar, or seen any interesting ones on your travels? Comment or tweet me @sarahharradine.