Trending this season is the collar and the collarless. Yes, the big fashion news is hidden in the often ignored element, the collar.

The Fashion Weeks have come and gone, the sun has finished playing its peek-a-boo game, the stores have jumped on the re-stocking bandwagon, the fashion gurus have spoken their minds and the fashion devotees have emptied their drawers to make space for the latest. All this noise is about a simple, humble fashion element, the collar. Yes, what’s trending this season is no big, fat fashion element but the often ignored collar. Skipping the coats and hopping on to the dresses and blouses it has defined this season as that of the ‘collar and the collarless.’

Lame as it may sound, collar fashion is one trend that is always in vogue, it just keeps inventing and re-inventing itself. A spread collar gives way to a rounded button-down collar or a short collar to an extreme spread collar, et al. Once found only on men’s shirts the collar has now discovered its happy feminine avatar. A sequin embellished collar can dress up a plaid outfit just like a peter pan collar in a solid color can add spark to a printed blouse. A plain work shirt with a medium round collar is staple work wear, team it up either with a pair of palazzo trousers or pencil skirt. Oversized masculine shirts in soft pastels with peter pan collars are a favorite with the androgynous lovers just as blouses with large lace collars (high or low) and short sleeves are favorites with the feminine lovers. Fur and beaded collars are another of our loves. If you have a weakness for pretty colors then you would fall in love with the shirtdresses in hues like baby pink, mint green, sky blue, lemon yellow and more. The shirtdress, which has borrowed details like the collar and button front from the men’s shirts, is the informal and comfortable wear for work and fun. The most adorable dress shirts come with feminine details like ruffles, puffed sleeve, bib pleats and belted waist. When hunting for collar dresses don’t forget to check out what’s ruling the shelves of Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy. And yes, the adventurous could go for dresses with contrasting collar and cuffs, especially the ones in velvet.

Now if you don’t wish to romance the collar then you can flirt with the collarless. Coats that were once defined by the shape and size of the collar are now oozing style sans the collar. The collarless coats are loved for their neat, elegant and clean look. For the first time we don’t have to wait for it to snow to slip into a coat. Wear it over a cardigan in the winter and bring it out in April again to wear over a ruffled blouse. Yes, the best bit about the collarless coat lies in the fact that it lets you play with the neckline of what you wear underneath and flaunt the jewels! We’d say wrap a scarf around your neck to keep the wind at bay and bring out the diamonds on the days when the sun shines. Take the silk collarless coat with you to a formal dinner or wear one in a neon orange with a pair of denims for a day out of shopping. If you want to keep the look really clean and simple then wear a beige-colored, long sleeved, A-line shaped coat over a summer dress. We tried on the white collarless coat from Chloé and teamed it up with an apple green dress and a pearl string and felt our vintage best. Of course, there are enough options for instant glam like a wool-silk coat with pockets, a crepe coat with a zipper or a chenille coat with embroidered cuffs. The grunge lovers can always try on the coats in colors like dove gray, chocolate brown, sunshine yellow and popcorn white over leather pants.

Yes, so irrespective of whether you are going back to school or not, you got to flirt with the collar just as you have to slip into collarless wonders. Both the styles have enough character and flamboyance. Just in case you were wondering if there was a way out between the collar and the collarless, there is, the detachable collar!