Collar Stays

A collar stay is the small, flat stiffener that slides into the pocket on the underside of a dress shirt collar point. It is a tiny component with an outsized effect: with the right stay in place, collar points lie flat and even from the boardroom to the end of the day; without one, points curl, twist and make an otherwise good shirt look tired. This directory covers collar stay manufacturers supplying shirt factories, uniform makers and the dry cleaning trade with solid collar stays, printed collar stays and collar supports.

Collar stays are a shirt packaging and finishing component as much as a sewing component, because they are typically inserted during folding and packing, and replaced by laundries and dry cleaners throughout the shirt's life. The sections below explain how stays work, the shapes factories choose from, the difference between solid and printed stays, and how to specify length, width and flexibility so the stay matches the collar it has to support.

What a Collar Stay Does

Most dress shirt collars are sewn with a small pocket along the underside of each collar point. The collar stay slides into that pocket and gives the point its structure, holding it flat against the shirt front and keeping both points symmetrical. Stays do their work invisibly: the wearer never sees them, but their absence is obvious the first time a collar point curls upward or folds under. Because dress shirts and blouses require the most shirt packing components of any shirts, stays are bought in volume and treated as a standard line item by shirt factories.

Stays are removable in better shirts, so they can be taken out before washing — an important point, because a stay left in through commercial laundering can crack, melt under pressing, or wear through the collar fabric. That replacement cycle is why the customer base for collar stays reaches beyond shirt factories to dry clean suppliers and dry cleaners, who keep stays on hand to replace the ones customers lose, exactly the mix of customers the manufacturer listed below describes.

Collar Stay Shapes

Collar stays come in many different shapes, and the shape has to match the collar point it supports. The standard catalogue runs from simple to specialized: round both ends, single point, tapered single point, double points, tapered long points, slotted double points, slotted tapered long points, double slotted single point, and bi-fold stays, among others. A pointed stay suits a pointed collar; a rounded-end stay is gentler on lightweight collar fabrics; slotted styles are made to work with particular collar constructions.

Length and width matter as much as outline. A stay that is too short leaves the tip of the point unsupported and free to curl, while one that is too long or too wide strains the pocket seam and can poke through the collar cloth over time. Shirt factories therefore spec stays against each collar style in the range — collar point length, pocket width and fabric weight — rather than ordering one universal stay for every shirt they make.

Solid, Printed and Custom Collar Stays

The standard production stay is a plain solid stay, cut or molded in white, clear or colored plastic and bought by the thousand for factory packing. Alongside the solids, factories can order printed collar stays that can be customized — printed with a brand name, a logo or a size or care message — turning an invisible component into a small piece of brand identification that the customer sees every time the shirt is unpacked and the stays are handled.

Printed stays make the most sense for brands that sell on detail: custom shirtmakers, uniform programs and premium dress shirt labels, where the customer is expected to notice the finishing. For commodity packing, solids remain the economical choice. Either way, print and material have to survive handling and pressing conditions, so customization is specified with the manufacturer at the same time as shape and size, not added afterward.

Materials, Flexibility and Buying Stays

A good stay balances stiffness with flex. It must be rigid enough to hold a collar point flat, yet flexible enough to move with the collar and spring back rather than snap or stay bent — the quality summed up in the Flexway name used by the manufacturer listed below for its National Flexway Collar Stays and Supports. Supports are the related products in the same family: pieces that stiffen or shape the collar area of the packaged shirt beyond the points themselves.

Factories buy stays as part of a complete shirt packaging set — stays, collar bands, shirt butterflies and packaging clips arriving together so the packing line never waits on one component. If you manufacture shirt packaging supplies such as collar stays, shirt butterflies, collar bands or jet clips, the shirt factory and wholesaler directories linked on this page are where your buyers are listed; if you make shirts, they are where competing and partner factories can be found.

Collar Stay Manufacturer Listings

Factories producing collar stays, collar supports and related shirt packaging supplies.