Mandarin Collar and Nehru Jackets: What They Are and How to Wear Them

Most Western jackets have a collar that folds over and a lapel that rolls back. A mandarin collar does neither: it stands straight up around the neck and closes at the front. The style has deep roots in Chinese and Indian dress, it had a famous moment in Western fashion in the 1960s, and today it is worn at weddings, evening receptions and parties by men who want something sharp that does not need a tie. Knowing the names, the levels of formality and what to wear underneath makes it easy to get right.

What is a mandarin collar?

A mandarin collar is a band of fabric that stands up from the neckline and closes, or nearly closes, at the front. It has no turned-down part, no points and no lapels. The English name refers to the mandarins, the officials of imperial China, whose robes in the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1912) had stand collars. The same collar appears on the changshan, the long gown traditionally worn by Chinese men, on the qipao or cheongsam worn by women, and on the Tang jacket, which fastens with knotted fabric buttons.

In Western shirts the same idea is usually called a band collar or stand collar; our guide to shirt collars shows how it compares with point and spread collars. It is often confused with the Zhongshan suit, known in the West as the Mao suit, but that jacket has a small turned-down collar and four patch pockets. Hong Kong's Shanghainese tailors still make the changshan and qipao, as our guide to Shanghainese tailoring in Hong Kong explains.

What is a Nehru jacket?

A Nehru jacket is a single-breasted, hip-length tailored jacket with a mandarin collar and a row of buttons that runs up to the neck. It has no lapels. It was adapted from Indian closed-collar coats such as the achkan, a longer coat, and is close kin to the bandhgala, whose name means closed neck. The West named it after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister from 1947 to 1964, who was regularly photographed in closed-collar coats.

It had a brief run in European and American fashion in the late 1960s, helped along by entertainers such as the Beatles and Sammy Davis Jr., and faded in the early 1970s. In India the name is now often used for a sleeveless version worn over a kurta, also sold as the Modi jacket after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the sleeved jacket is usually called a bandhgala.

Nehru jacket vs bandhgala vs sherwani: what is the difference?

All three have a stand collar and button to the neck. The differences are length, cut and occasion.

The Jodhpuri suit takes its name from Jodhpur, the former princely state in Rajasthan, and pairs a bandhgala with matching trousers. In India a dark bandhgala suit is a standard choice for formal evening events and is often worn in place of a dinner jacket.

How formal is a Nehru jacket?

A stand-collar jacket can be casual or formal, and fabric and color decide which. The ladder below runs from the most ceremonial version to the most relaxed.

In the West, a dark wool Nehru jacket sits closest to cocktail attire: it is smarter than a blazer and open collar, and less formal than a dinner jacket. It does not meet a code that requires a tie, such as a conservative business office or a club that asks for jacket and tie. For events where a tie is optional, it is one of the best alternatives to a suit without a tie, because the closed collar never looks unfinished.

What do you wear with a Nehru jacket?

Start with what goes under the collar. A band-collar shirt is the classic choice, because its low stand sits neatly inside the jacket collar; white or pale blue is the most formal. In Indian dress the jacket goes over a kurta. In the West, a fine merino crew-neck or a thin roll-neck works at parties and creative events. Avoid a shirt with an ordinary collar, whose points push against the stand collar or poke out above it.

Wear the jacket buttoned for formal events; worn open, it reads as casual. A plain white pocket square in the chest pocket suits every version. Keep accessories quiet, because the collar and buttons are already the detail. Mojari and juttis, the embroidered slip-on shoes of North India, belong with Indian dress; with Western trousers, choose loafers or oxfords.

Common mistakes with a Nehru jacket

• Wearing a tie, or a shirt whose collar points push out above the stand collar.
• A collar that gapes at the front or stands away from the back of the neck.
• Leaving the jacket open at a formal event, where it should be buttoned.
• Adding a loud shirt, a loud pocket square and patterned trousers: let the collar be the detail.
• Matching the fabric to the wrong event: linen at an evening reception, or a black bandhgala at a beach party.
• A jacket too short to cover the seat, which makes it look like a shirt rather than tailoring.

Can you wear a Nehru jacket to a wedding or a black tie event?

At Indian and South Asian weddings, a bandhgala or a Nehru jacket over a kurta is a natural choice for guests, and the groom usually wears a sherwani. Customs about colors vary by region, religion and ceremony, so ask the couple or their family if you are unsure. Many weddings span several events with different dress, from bright colors at daytime ceremonies to darker, richer fabrics at the evening reception.

At Western black tie events, a black or midnight blue bandhgala is widely accepted as formal national dress, and some invitations say black tie or national dress for exactly this reason. Royal Ascot, for example, allows overseas visitors to wear their formal national dress in the Royal Enclosure, where other men wear morning dress. If you are not wearing it as national dress, a mandarin-collar dinner jacket is a fashion choice: well judged at creative black tie, less so at a strict black tie event, where a dinner jacket and bow tie are expected.

Having one made: what to tell your tailor

A stand collar is less forgiving than a lapel. There is nothing to hide a collar that gapes, presses on the neck or sits away from it, so the pattern needs care. Any skilled tailor can make one, and many tailors in India, Hong Kong and Bangkok make them often. These are the decisions to make before the first fitting.

If you are traveling for one, our rankings of the best tailors in Hong Kong and the best tailors in Bangkok are good places to start. Bring photos of the collar height and buttons you like, and allow at least two fittings.

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