A new invention could be hitting the Milwaukee scene. Rob Kessler—yes, he’s the son of the jeweler—has created a Kickstarter campaign to raise $40,000 for the initial production of his Million Dollar Collar—the first permanently installed, patented placket stiffener on the market.
Kessler, owner of NEWD Clothing Company for the past seven years, was inspired to develop the product after looking a photo of himself from his wedding day, where he suffered from a sloppy collar. “Placketitis,” as Kessler has coined it, is when the fabric just below the collar goes limp and makes your collar line (even if stiffened and ironed) look sloppy. “Due to the lack of reinforcement, the typical placket will sink, wrinkle and fold, leaving you looking sloppy when unbuttoned,” says Kessler on his Kickstarter page. The entrepreneur decided from that day forward to develop a solution not only for himself, but for all the other gentlemen in the world trying to make a statement with their dress shirts that keep falling short due to slack plackets. This is the first collar solution since the collar stay was patented in 1953.
The shirts, which have already been pre-ordered in eight countries and four continents, are currently available in modern slim fit and classic cut in five sizes (S, M, L, XL and 2XL) and three colors (white, blue and grey). Kessler and his business partners, his wife, Linda, and Steve Farina, want to be able to fulfill these orders and eventually introduce big and tall sizes, additional colors and then patterns as additional funding is acquired. Features of the shirt include the permanently installed Million Dollar Collar, quality stitching, curved cut, convertible cuffs (button or with cufflinks), a collar stay channel and long-strand cotton (Egyptian or Giza) fabric.
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Kessler’s big idea? “We should expect more from dress shirt manufactures and the look of our dress shirts.” And with this product, he hopes to help begin momentum to inspire such a philosophy.
To learn more about the Million Dollar Collar, visit milliondollarcollar.com. To support this new invention and receive some of the first shirts produced, visit his Kickstarter project.
