This Is the Only Correct Way to Pop Your Collar

There aren’t a lot of hard don’ts in menswear these days, but one age-old axiom remains firmly in place: The better you understand the rules, the better you’ll look when you break them. That’s one reason Colman Domingo can look this good in a popped collar, while the rest of us would likely end up looking like a frat bro or—best-case scenario—College Dropout-era Kanye.Domingo, fresh off the finale of Euphoria and the premieres of Michael and Disclosure Day, is sitting in as the guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week and, in addition to holding down the monologue like a champ, he’s been using the opportunity to raise the bar of late-night host style to glittering new heights. Following a master-class-worthy demonstration of how to look suave in jeans and a white tee earlier in the week, Domingo’s latest lesson delves into the advanced art of popping your collar without looking like an aspiring Miami realtor.PG/Bauer-GriffinDomingo’s fit, which came almost entirely from Polo Ralph Lauren, consists of a Harrington jacket, a graphic polo, some senior cords-inspired shorts, a madras ball cap, and a pair of oxblood loafers. While the look is rooted in the fundamentals of Ivy style right down to the white crew socks, there’s no mistaking Domingo for a member of the New York Yacht Club. Instead, his new-school preppy fit pays homage to the silhouettes, fabrics, and connotations of classic East Coast style while remaining firmly in the realm of 21st-century fashion. It’s a riff, and a precisely executed one at that.What makes it work is the way each piece, either by styling or design, draws from the preppy canon while adding a contemporary wink. It’s the ballcap made from madras, a fabric traditionally used in sport coats and shirts; it’s the golf jacket’s pushed-up sleeves, and—most crucially—it’s the popped collar. If Domingo was wearing khakis, a knotted lemon-yellow V-neck sweater, and a pink polo with the collar turned up, he’d look like a guy in a preppy costume. In this case, however, thanks to Lauren’s finesse with Ivy iconography, Domingo’s easygoing aura, and the matching tonality of the polo and the jacket, he looks completely in his element.For anyone itching to follow Domingo’s example, proceed with caution. While it’s true that you need to understand the rules in order to break them, it’s equally true that the secret ingredient to every advanced fit is the ability to make it look effortless.