A mandarin collar, standing collar, band collar or choker collar is a short unfolded stand-up collar style on a shirt or jacket. The style derives its Western name from the mandarin bureaucrats in Qing-era China that employed it as part of their uniform. The length along a mandarin collar is straight, with either straight or rounded edges at top of the centre front. The edges of the collar either barely meet at the centre front or overlap slightly. Overlapping mandarin collars are often a continuation of a shirt's placket and have a button on the collar to secure the two sides of the shirt together. History China In China, the use of the high collar on minority ethnic jackets is typically a Han Chinese influence. The use of high collar in clothing started in the late Ming dynasty and it continued to be worn in the Qing dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the standup collar were closed with interlocking buttons made of gold and silver, called zimukou (). The appearance of interlocking buckle promoted the emergence and the popularity of the standup collar and the Chinese jacket with buttons at the front, and laid the foundation of the use of Chinese knot buckles. In women garments of the Ming dynasty, the standup collar with gold and silver interlocking buckles became one of the most distinctive and popular form of clothing structure; it became commonly used in women's clothing reflecting the conservative concept of Ming women's chastity by keeping their bodies covered and due to climate changes during the Ming dynasty (i.e. the average temperature was low in China). In Qing, the use of high collar in clothing was however not a common feature in clothing before the 20th century. During the late Qing dynasty, the stand-up collar was integrated into the clothing of both the Chinese and the Manchu. The standing collar became a defining characteristics of the long jacket worn with a long skirt (aoqun) or worn with trousers (shanku) for the Han women and it continued to remain so in the Republic of China. The standing collar somehow became the a defining characteristics of Chinese dress. Related nomenclature A similar style known as the Raj pattern or Nehru collar is also found in some modern Indian men's clothing, such as the Nehru jacket. (Named for Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India 1947–1964, who commonly wore clothing with this