If you’re wondering how to wear a wing collar shirt for a call-to-bar ceremony or a day in court, the short version is: no necktie. The two stiff, folded-down points at the throat sit on either side of your barrister tabs. The shirt itself layers under a waistcoat before the robe goes on. Get that order right and the collar does the rest of the work on its own.
What Is a Wing-Collar Shirt?
A wing-collar shirt has a short standing collar with two points that fold outward and down, like small wings, at the front of the throat. Unlike a normal dress-shirt collar, it isn’t designed to be worn with a necktie knotted underneath it. In court dress, that open space at the throat is exactly where barrister tabs sit. The collar’s whole shape exists to frame the tabs, not to hold a tie.
How to Wear a Wing-Collar Shirt (With Tabs and a Waistcoat)
Court dress goes on in a specific order, and skipping a step is the most common reason a wing collar looks wrong on the day:
- Put the shirt on and button it fully, including the top button. The collar should sit flat against your neck with the two points meeting cleanly at the front, not gaping or overlapping.
- Clip or tie on the barrister tabs at the front of the collar, in the gap between the two wing points. The tabs replace the tie entirely; barrister dress has no cravat or necktie in it at all.
- Put on the waistcoat over the shirt. A shirt cut to sit close through the body, like Barr’s Barrister Shirt, stays flat under the waistcoat instead of bunching at the chest. That keeps the collar and tabs as the only white visible above the waistcoat’s neckline.
- Put the robe on last. With the shirt, tabs, and waistcoat already in place, the robe closes over everything and the collar sits neatly at the opening.
The most common fitting mistake is buying a size that’s snug everywhere except the neck. A wing collar only looks sharp when the collar band itself fits close. Check your neck measurement against the shirt’s size chart before ordering, rather than sizing by chest alone.
How to Iron a Wing-Collar Shirt
The collar points are what show, so they’re worth the extra minute:
- Iron the body and sleeves first on a low heat setting.
- Lay the collar flat and iron each point from the outer edge in toward the center crease, pressing the fold rather than dragging the iron across it.
- A short burst of steam on the collar band, right before wear, helps the points sit flat if they’ve gone slightly soft from washing.
Keep the iron on low heat throughout. Barr’s wing-collar shirt is an 80% cotton, 20% polyester blend. That polyester content is exactly why high heat is the enemy here: it can scorch or glaze the fabric faster than pure cotton would.
How to Wash a Wing-Collar Shirt (80/20 Cotton-Poly Blend)
Care instructions on a wing-collar shirt matter more than they do on an ordinary dress shirt. The collar has to hold its shape through repeat wear at articling and in practice. For an 80% cotton, 20% polyester shirt, that means:
- Wash cold with like colors, on a gentle cycle.
- Tumble dry low, or hang dry. High heat in the dryer is the fastest way to soften or warp the collar points.
- Iron on low heat if the collar or cuffs need sharpening after washing.
- Skip the bleach. It yellows a cotton-poly blend over time, and a yellowed collar is the one part of court dress everyone can see.
- Hang it up between wears instead of folding it, so the collar doesn’t pick up a crease line across the points.
Machine washable also means no dry-cleaning bill every time it goes from courthouse to closet, which matters when a shirt is in weekly rotation.
FAQ
Do you wear a tie with a wing-collar shirt?
No. In barrister court dress, barrister tabs replace the necktie entirely. The collar’s open front is shaped to frame the tabs, not a knot.
What order do the shirt, tabs, and waistcoat go on in?
Shirt first, fully buttoned. Tabs next, clipped into the gap at the front of the collar. Waistcoat over both. Robe last.
Can you iron a wing collar on a normal setting?
Keep it on low heat, especially on an 80/20 cotton-poly blend like Barr’s Barrister Shirt. The polyester content scorches or glazes more easily than pure cotton under a hot iron.
Does a wing-collar shirt need to be dry cleaned?
No. Barr’s wing-collar shirt is fully machine washable: cold wash, tumble dry low or hang dry, and a low-heat iron only if the collar needs sharpening.
Barr’s wing-collar shirts are cut to sit flat under a waistcoat and built from the same 80/20 cotton-poly blend described above. The wash-and-wear routine here is exactly what you’d be caring for.