Why No Collarless Shirt?

[Mr. Boyce]

It is surprising there is no collarless scout shirt, as an option if troops want to wear neckerchiefs. Any idea why this is so?

[Scoutfish]

Not to sound stupid, but what is the collarless shirt? Just a button up shirt with no collar?

 

I guess it's a matter of style. Maybe something else.

 

Personally, the colar doesn't bother ne, but having to keep messing with my neckerchief and slider...retucking it unfder my collar, having to unroll and re roll it and keep bending the tabs on my slider are just a big pain in the ASSterick!

 

 

If I could put on my shirt and button it up and that's it - no neckerchief? . I'd be happier! But I admit, I like the way the neckerchief looks. but that's it!

[infoscouter]

The collarless shirt was eliminated when the Oscar de la Renta uniform debuted, I believe. At that time the decision of a troop to wear or not wear a neckerchief was made optional.

 

While all Cub Scouts are supposed to wear a neckerchief, not all Boy Scouts do, many leaders do not, and Venturers generally don't. So a collarless shirt doesn't have much market in some of our programs.

 

In general I think most boys would reject one, unless it was more like a t-shirt, as being odd looking.

[skeptic]

Interestingly enough, I have had my older scouts ask if we can find a few more, so they can wear them like class B's at camp or COR. We have a few in the closet, but not enough for them all. Have had a couple still use them for backups at camp; and I have no problem. They tend to bring mostly positive feedback when they do.

[WAKWIB]

If I looked really hard I think I still have my old collar-less uniform shirt around. Probably put it on for the last time sometime in 1978. And it was almost too small for me then. I was also around when the Oscar de la Renta "short-shorts" came out.

The kids these days think uniform is odd??? I wonder how they would take to wearing shorts that hit 3-4 inches above the knee and long, knee-high socks held up with garters.

[Scoutfish]

Okay, what I'm picturing is something betwen surgical scrubs shiryt and those black button up, but without a collar shirts that Japanese guys wear.

 

Now thinking how some of my scrub shirts fit, that wouldn't be bad at all for clas be if no necker was involved.

[desertrat77]

Yes indeed...previous to the Oscar dlr shirts, all of my '70s green shirts were collarless. You could buy the green shirts with collar or collar free, but I seem to recall almost all the scouts I knew had collarless because it was easier to wear with the neckerchief...my adult leaders tended to gravitate towards the collared shirt and the use of bolo ties.

 

I think the Oscar collared shirt really closed the curtain on widespread neckerchief use. Even in the '70s, the standard neckerchief was small, not as functional as its larger historic predecessors, and was more of an annoying decorative accouterment rather than a dependable item that also served as a truly distinctive scouting identifier.

[Eric Paterson]

In our troop, we wear our uniforms with the collars tucked in, thus creating a collarless shirt. I suppose that you could cut it off with scissors, but we also design and wear bolos for our high-adventure trips (not as hot as neckerchief in the heat of summer) and in these cases wear the uniform with the collar in normal position.(This message has been edited by Eric Paterson)

[Eagle92]

problem s I have wit the collar of the Centennial uniform is that it's too large and makes tucking it under the shirt look odd. Some folks call it the 'ELVIS COLLAR." part of me is tempted to take it to a tailor, and have them remove it and stitch it up.

[Twocubdad]

I grew up with the collarless shirts in the 70s and never really cared for them. But then, I don't particularly care for t-shirts either. Looking back a my old Philmont photos from '74 everyone is wearing t-shirts AND has a bandana tied around his neck.

 

Living in the south and working out doors most of the year, I always wear collared shirts. I can roll up collar to keep the sun off my neck. I soaks up sweat. I also wear undershirts and long pants most of the summer for much the same reasons. I don't find the extra fabric to be any warmer (I could make an argument that the extra insulation keeps you cooler) and I'm much more comfortable by keeping the sun and sweat off me.

 

I also like wearing a necker rolled under the collar on my Scout shirt. I keeps in neat and in place. Frankly, I like the look, too.

 

By the way, all my old short-sleeved shirts are collarless and the long-sleeved shirts have collars. I thought that was the only option. Were other permutations available?

[moxieman]

Though I'm not for or against bringing back the collarless shirt, it would be "retro" if they did, but a lot older retro then what has been stated here so far.

 

How far back? How about a century ago when no shirts had attached collars. The collar-attached shirt was invented by the Hathaway Shirt Company (which use to be located in my hometown) at the request of the US Army during World War I. When those dough boys returned home, they "demanded" that their civilian shirts also have attached collars and the "modern" collar-attached shirt was born.

[boomerscout]

collarless shirts back in the 70s were also v-neck. they did not button all the way up like a Marine uniform. these short-sleeve shirts, along with Bermuda style Scout shorts and knee socks, were the standard Jamboree uniform

[NJCubScouter]

Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boy_Scout_uniform_1974.jpg) is a photo of the collarless shirt from the 70's. Although the "collar area" is partially covered by the neckerchief, you can see that it is a v-neck. This is exactly the uniform that I wore during the second half (or so) of my time as a Scout. The shirt is hanging in my closet right now, although it doesn't come close to fitting me now. It has the same "Scout B.S.A." over the pocket (instead of Boy Scouts of America), which at the time was rumored to be a precursor of a merger with the Girl Scouts.

[resqman]

Seems to me that the collarless shirts in the 70's were only available as long sleeve shirts. I worked as camp staff in 76 and had to buy long sleeve shirts and have the sleeves cut off to have collar on shirts.

 

The drawback to the collarless shirts is you had to wear neckers. My troop wore neckers but the camp did not require them in the South in the summer.

 

Some kids wore the collarless shirts without neckes and looked like their were only wearing part of the the uniform (which they were).

 

By the way, I have two of the blue packs shown in the photo above. Still I got mine in 74 and took it to Philmont. The other is my Dads from the same trip. Still using it today. Not all the zippers work but it is paid for.

[emb021]

"Seems to me that the collarless shirts in the 70's were only available as long sleeve shirts."

 

Nope. I also wore the collarless shirts in the late 70s. They were all short-sleeved shirts.

 

"The drawback to the collarless shirts is you had to wear neckers."

 

Not really a draw back. The intent was that the scout was to wear the neckerchief. I always hated neckerchiefs, so when I found I could get a collared shirt, I went with that and wore bolo ties. When we moved to wearing the ODR shirts, I continued to wear bolo ties for years until I went to Wood Badge and got my beads.