A friend asked where he might find a safety pin styled gold shirt collar pin the other day, a la Mr Pacino in Godfather III, and I was unable to be of help. My former source carries nothing but gold filled and gold plated pins these days due to the escalating price of that metal, and a Google search turned up nothing useful.
The collar pin of course arches the necktie knot like a tab collar, and is usually worn with a rounded club collar or one with straight points like the shirt in the photo. I personally find collars with pre-sewn holes undesirable, which rules out collar bars, and, besides, a gold safety pin does elegant double duty as a tie clip with knitted silk neckties. The principal objection I hear to the pins is that they put holes in the shirt collar, but the holes close up after laundering. I have never done damage to one of my club collared shirts.
Now at the current stratospheric price of gold a 14 kt collar pin might set one back as much as several good neckties but that is a problem to be faced only after locating a supplier to begin with. Any readers have sources?
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13 comments:
The shops in the Burlington Arcade carry gold pins.
Suggestions:
1. Tiffany.
2. William Barthman Jewelery on lower Broadway, NYC.
3. eBay.
4. Various antique markets, such as the Antique Collection at 28 W. 25th Street. There is a more upscale market at Second Avenue and 55th St.
5. The various pier and amory shows which run on various weekends. I believe that there will be a pier show on weekend of January 20th. Check the Friday NY Times in the Arts Sections for the ads for art shows.
The best I've found is this:
http://www.jewelbasket.com/hecu379.html
This site occasionally has solid gold models, otherwise they have plated or sterling silver:
http://www.gold-collar.com/index.htm
Will,
Try J.Press: http://jpressonline.com/accessories_collar_holders.php
Cheers,
Vijay
Specifically Michael Rose on Burlington arcade. See my own search for one here… http://www.stitchedandstitched.com/?p=99
Ralph Lauren Rugby offer a brass version for a mere $10
http://www.rugby.com/shop/item.aspx?productId=11356658
Esquire Etiquette published 1954 on page 178 notes the gold safety pin at the collar as one of the safest least conspicuous forms of male jewellery.
There is a store in Princes Arcade, London which I will get you the details of.
Okay, this seems unlikely, but the price seems real enough. And it can be returned:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM138342713P?sid=IDx20101019x00001a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM138342713
If you friend is in the Bay area, he might check Lang's on Stutter. I don't know if they have one, but it's the sort of place that might.
Lang Antiques - 323 Sutter Street - San Francisco, CA 94108 - (415) 982-2213
I usually refer to the piece I attach to my tie as a collar bar. It simply slides into place; I would never be able to handle the pinning required of a collar pin. (I have a couple and I've tried.)
The secret is to get a bar that fixes onto your collar snugly so that it doesn't slide off during the day; that looks awful. I agree that the bar looks best with a long-collared shirt. It also works best with a tie that ties a smaller-sized knot (see Fred Astaire).
The one on Al Pacino is too long and looks out of proportion. The bar should be much smaller.
There is a good selection of these bars at Paul Stuart (NYC). They have them in gold (color) and silver (color) to coordinate appropriately with cufflinks and tie clasps.
Sorry, I meant to say: I usually refer to the piece I attach to my collar, under my tie, as a collar bar.
Sorry, again—I promise that this is my last comment on the subject. In thinking about collar bars/pins, I recall the first time I met Alan Flusser. He'd just opened a shop in NYC following the understandable success of the movie Wall Street. I was already a fan of Alan's from his first book. (In fact, I remember sporting that day an Alan-designed sweater vest featuring little Scotties gathered around a fire hydrant. I have no idea what happened to that sweater, but I loved it.) Within five minutes of my chatting with Alan, he pointed out (very nicely) that my collar bar was too long. I've been mindful of that ever since.
J.Press...
The pins on Les Essentiels de la Vie are nice and simple, though only plated 2 sets of silver and gold.
http://www.wantessentiels.com/
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