"It is sometimes, amusingly, known as bacon neck, and it is the bane of my life: the loss of elasticity that results in a crinkly, ill-fitting collar. This undulating menace commonly befalls the classic crew-neck T-shirt or sweatshirt, but scoop, polo and V-necks can also be afflicted. Too often, science conspires to transform a smooth neckline into something resembling a failed polygraph test."
"The term bacon neck (not to be confused with turkey neck, the disparaging phrase for sagging skin that is almost uniformly levelled at women) was coined, or at least popularised, in a 2010 Hanes commercial featuring the basketball star Michael Jordan. In the clip, Jordan's seat-mate points out a fellow plane passenger's worn-out collar: See how it's all curled up like bacon in a pan? See how bad this guy looks?"
"Put simply, a collar becomes warped when the fabric's elastic fibres break down. Heat, moisture and chucking them in the washing machine are all to blame. The knitted structures of the neckline are not perfectly elastic, says textile expert Ningtao Mao at the University of Leeds. Unrecoverable stretch deformations occur with each repeated stretch and the accumulated elongation of the neckline makes it much longer than the edge of the T-shirt body, creating a wavy effect."
Bacon neck describes the loss of elasticity in T-shirt and sweatshirt collars that produces crinkly, ill-fitting, wavy edges. The condition affects crew, scoop, polo and V-necks and has affected celebrities across decades. The term gained popularity after a 2010 Hanes commercial featuring Michael Jordan using the simile of curling 'like bacon in a pan.' The primary causes are breakdown of elastic fibres from heat, moisture and repeated washing. Knitted neckline structures undergo unrecoverable stretch deformations with each stretch, accumulating elongation that makes the neckline longer than the garment edge and creates the distorted, undulating appearance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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