The History of Peter Pan Collars

The Peter Pan collar first showed up in the United States in a 1905 production of J.M. Barrie’s similarly named play. Maude Adams, who played Peter Pan in the play, wore a costume with a rounded collar that was specially designed for the production. It was created by Adams along with two friends: the famous American portrait painter John White Alexander and his wife, Elizabeth. (It’s worth noting that the same type of collar had become popular in France five years earlier, shortly after the 1900 publication of Colette’s Claudine à l’école, or Claudine at School.) Soon after, the Peter Pan collar quickly became a trend and began to replace the starchy high collars that had long been worn by women. But it wasn't just a passing trend — Peter Pan collars are one of fashions most enduring items. They have popped up as a trend nearly every decade since, including on wedding dresses in the 1930s and 1940s, on many everyday and formal dresses in the 1950s, on Mod-style dresses in the 1960s, and in the 1980s, the collars were even incorporated into power suits! The Peter Pan collar also had a style moment in the early 2010s and is still associated with various fashion styles today.