peter pan collar blouse
Eliza Faulkner

How the Frilly Collar Came to Define Pandemic-Era Style

Exploring our obsession with Peter Pan necklines—beyond the Zoom screen

Life’s small joys can take many forms. Impulse buying a bouquet of tulips at the grocery store, getting a text from a long-lost friend a few days after thinking about them, that electrifying first sip of really good cold brew. Fashion-wise, that joy is currently coming from frilly, oversized Peter Pan collars. You know the ones: as wide as your shoulders, adorned with ruffly pie-crust edges and often finished with a bow. 

Frilly collars aren’t actually an emerging trend: They have fully and truly emerged. They’re everywhere—from high-end versions at Chanel Haute Couture to handmade options on Etsy (where searches for them are up 309 per cent in the past three months compared to the same time last year). On fashion search engine Lyst, collar obsession has increased 117 per cent over the past three months. The zeitgeist-y Copenhagen label Ganni’s is the most-wanted, with a Peter Pan collar blouse by U.K. brand Shrimps not far behind.

The pilgrim-gone-fashion trend all started with a Jacquemus Spring 2017 look that featured a collar so giant and frilly, it was more like a tablecloth with a head cut-out. Chloé showed blouses with handkerchief-style necklines that same season. But it wasn’t until Ganni showed blown-up, ruffle-edged collars for Fall 2020 that the trend started gaining speed. The look has become something of a signature for Ganni, making repeat appearances in its Spring 2021 collection, and also in its recent (and very buzzy) collaboration with Levi’s. 

Though the runways gave rise to this trend, it took a most unusual pandemic year to make it resonate. Would the frilly collar have gone mainstream without stay-at-home orders and Zoom obligations, wherein the top 30 per cent of your outfit is the only part that matters? Doubtful.

Montreal-based fashion designer Eliza Faulkner agrees. “It’s a small investment you can make that can cheer you up,” she says. Faulkner designed detached collars as part of her fall collection, made from leftover fabrics including plushy jersey. “It’s just a little something to make your wardrobe a bit more exciting.” With lockdowns and uncertainty lingering, frilly collars feel like a very happy medium between revenge-buying a whole new wardrobe or giving into sweatpants for another eight weeks. 

Frilly collars also feel accessible. They’re truly size-inclusive, and although they read hyper-girly, they can be paired with everything from a cardigan to a band tee and give old clothes that exciting sheen of newness. No colour, pattern or outfit combo is off-limits. 

“When I wear them, I feel like a baby, but also very powerful,” says Faulker. “It’s like armour, in a way.” For her spring collection, which just dropped, Faulkner did away with the detached collars and affixed them to puff-sleeve, floaty blouses finished with contrast piping. They’re already selling well. “It’s a very unashamed statement,” she says. “I think designers are working with a lot of hope and optimism right now.” 

Boosted by the “Zoom phenomenon,” these collars are set to remain super popular once we can socialize again—after all, we’ve yet to show them off in person. “I feel like this is going to be the year that we put everything on display and peacock and parade,” says Faulkner. 

In an era of niche aesthetics (we see you, #goblincore) and hyper-fast trend cycles, frilly collars have come out on top as a unifying, year-defining look. I can’t help but compare them to the giant flowers we pinned onto our lapels at the start of the 2000s, inspired by Sex and the City. Maybe in a decade or so, we’ll recall with amusement how we used to wear giant baby collars to Zoom happy hour. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” says Faulkner, “I just think it’s really fun.” That about sums it up. 

 

Shop the Look

 

peter pan collar
EtsyLiberty print collar, $118, etsy.com
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Eliza FaulknerEliza Faulkner blouse, $260, elizafaulkner.com
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peter pan collar
SsenseGanni collar, $95, ssense.com
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peter pan collar
MatchesFashionShrimps blouse, $450, matchesfashion.com
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EtsyVintage floral print collar, $85, etsy.com
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Bronze AgeBronze Age collar, $115, abronzeage.com
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