Apparatus for stiffening a shirt collar

An apparatus designed to operate with a shirt collar so as to provide stiffness to the shirt collar, the apparatus consisting of:

• a circular, semi-rigid element for surrounding in interior fold of the shirt collar, wherein the semi-rigid element is coextensive with the shirt collar and includes a gap located at a placket of a shirt and wherein the semi-rigid element contacts an interior of a collar fold of the shirt collar;
• a first elongated element coupled to a left side of the semi-rigid element at a first distance from a left end of the semi-rigid element, wherein the first elongated element projects downwards at an acute angle from the left side of the semi-rigid element towards a center point of the semi-rigid element and projects downwards at an acute angle towards the left end of the semi-rigid element, and wherein a flat bottom end of the first elongated element contacts a left shoulder of the shirt;
• a second elongated element coupled to a right side of the semi-rigid element at a second distance from a right end of the semi-rigid element, wherein the second distance is equal to the first distance, and wherein the second elongated element projects downwards at an acute angle from the right side of the semi-rigid element towards the center point of the semi-rigid element and projects downwards at an acute angle towards the right end of the semi-rigid element, and wherein a flat bottom end of the second elongated element contacts a right shoulder of the shirt, wherein the semi-rigid element and the first and second elongated elements are integrally formed of a single piece of material;
• and
• a bulbous rubber element located at a left end of the semi-rigid element and a bulbous rubber element located at a right end of the semi-rigid element.

A collared shirt including a stiffened shirt collar, comprising an apparatus designed to operate with the shirt collar so as to provide stiffness to the shirt collar, the apparatus consisting of:

• a circular, semi-rigid element for surrounding an interior fold of the shirt collar, wherein the semi-rigid element is coextensive with the shirt collar and includes a gap located at a placket of the shirt and wherein the semi-rigid element contacts an interior of a collar fold of the shirt collar;
• a first elongated element coupled to a left side of the semi-rigid element at a first distance from a left end of the semi-rigid element, wherein the first elongated element projects downwards at an acute angle from the left side of the semi-rigid element towards a center point of the semi-rigid element and projects downwards at an acute angle towards the left end of the semi-rigid element, and wherein a flat bottom end of the first elongated element contacts a left shoulder of the shirt;
• and
• a second elongated element coupled to a right side of the semi-rigid element at a second distance from a right end of the semi-rigid element, wherein the second distance is equal to the first distance, and wherein the second elongated element projects downwards at an acute angle from the right side of the semi-rigid element towards the center point of the semi-rigid element and projects downwards at an acute angle towards the right end of the semi-rigid element, and wherein a flat bottom end of the second elongated element contacts a right shoulder of the shirt, wherein the semi-rigid element and the first and second elongated elements are integrally formed of a single piece of material.