Collar stays

Have you ever seen a grown-up wearing a dress shirt that's very stiff and doesn't flop around? That's because it has these tiny sticks in the collar called "collar stays."

Imagine you have a paper airplane with a floppy wing. It's hard to fly, right? But if you stick a Popsicle stick inside the wing, it stays straight and makes the plane fly better. Collar stays are like Popsicle sticks for shirts.

These collar stays are usually made of plastic or metal and slide into little pockets on the underside of the shirt collar. They keep the collar flat and in place, giving the shirt a neat and polished appearance.

So, the next time you see a grown-up wearing a dress shirt, take a look at their collar and see if you can spot the little collar stays.