Patent ID: 7146647

Claim:
In a shirt having a shirt body, an elongate neckband, and a collar, wherein the neckband is adapted to encircle the neck of a wearer and has upper and lower edges connected to the collar and to the shirt body, respectively, and a fastening means is on the ends of the neckband for securing the neckband and thus the collar circumferentially about the neck of a wearer, the improvement comprising: a stretchable neckband made of a woven fabric material other than an elastomeric material, arranged so that the weave thereof is on a bias relative to the circumferential direction of the neckband, and which yields in at least a circumferential direction when a tensile force is applied thereto in a circumferential direction, and wherein the circumferential size of the neckband is only negligibly affected in the event of shrinkage of the material comprising the neckband.