Collar stay and a method for its use

Abstract

A collar stay capable of being retrofitted to any collared shirt in order to maintain a flat and wrinkle-free corner of the collar. The present collar stay can be comprised of rigid, planar material such as craft felt or plastic. This rigid, planar material can comprise an adhesive layer on one side, which can be used to connect the collar stay to the collar. The present collar stays are typically connected to the underside of the collar, however, in an alternative embodiment, the collar stays can have ornamentation printed on one side and can be worn on the upper side of the collar so as to better display the ornamentation.

1 . A collar stay comprising:
 a piece of rigid, planar material having a first side and an opposite second side, the piece having at least one tapered or pointed end; and   a planar adhesive layer attached to the first side of the collar stay, wherein the adhesive layer also comprises a first side attached to the piece and a second side;   wherein both the first side and the second side of the adhesive layer are sticky.   
     
     
         2 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the rigid, planar material is rigid craft felt. 
     
     
         3 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the rigid, planar material is comprised of plastic. 
     
     
         4 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the rigid, planar material is comprised of wood. 
     
     
         5 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the rigid, planar material is comprised of metal. 
     
     
         6 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the planar adhesive layer is double-stick tape. 
     
     
         7 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  further comprising a protective covering capable of covering the adhesive layer. 
     
     
         8 . A collar stay as described in  claim 7  wherein the protective cover is comprised of cellulose. 
     
     
         9 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein the planar adhesive layer is an adhesive applied directly onto one side of the rigid, planar material. 
     
     
         10 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1  wherein ornamentation is printed on the second side of the rigid, planar material. 
     
     
         11 . A collar stay as described in  claim 10  wherein the ornamentation comprises logos, trademarks or other commercial messages. 
     
     
         12 . A collar stay as described in  claim 1 , further comprising a shirt collar, wherein the second side of the adhesive layer is affixed to the shirt collar. 
     
     
         13 . A method for keeping a collar flat and wrinkle-free comprising:
 providing a collar stay, comprising:   a piece of rigid, planar material having a first side and an opposite second side the piece having at least one tapered or pointed end;   a planar adhesive layer attached to the first side of the collar stay, wherein the adhesive layer also comprises a first side attached to the piece and a second side;   wherein both the first side and the second side of the adhesive layer are sticky;   affixing the second side of the adhesive layer to an end of a collar on a shirt, wherein the tapered or pointed end of the piece is placed within a pointed corner of the collar.