A cutaway takes the spread collar and pushes it as far as it will go. The points are set so wide, near horizontal and sometimes fully horizontal, that they almost vanish when the shirt is on, leaving the shirt front and the knot completely on show. It is the most modern of the formal collars and easily the most confident. Nobody ends up in a cutaway by accident. When we cut one, the angle is set to your own proportions, because that is the difference between a collar that looks intentional and one that looks like it has been borrowed from somebody with a much wider neck.
What it says, and where to wear it
This collar makes a statement, so be sure you want to make one. It has a modernity the spread collar does not quite have, and it is a long way from the quiet conservatism of a point collar. It is perfectly correct anywhere formal, in law, in finance, in medicine, in the corporate world generally. But it belongs to polished dressing rather than cautious dressing, and the two are not the same thing.
You see it most in European offices, where it has been standard since the 1990s. Here it is still a slightly distinctive choice, and it reads as somebody who knows the dress code rather than somebody who is merely obeying it. If you want to be formally dressed without disappearing into the row of identical blue suits, this is a good way to do it.
You will need a bigger knot
A cutaway needs a substantial knot. That wide space between near-horizontal points has to be filled by something with presence, so a full Windsor, a Kelvin or a Nicky. A four-in-hand or a half-Windsor, both of which look perfectly good in a spread collar, get swallowed by a cutaway. A small knot sitting in a big opening looks like a mistake, and everybody registers it even if they cannot name it.
The tie itself wants some substance too. A heavier silk or a knitted tie will hold its shape and fill the gap. A very light foulard will sag halfway through the morning. When somebody orders a cutaway from us we usually ask what ties they own and what knot they tie, and set the collar opening around that rather than to a standard angle. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between the shirt working and not.
Wearing it open, honestly
Open at the neck, a cutaway is trickier than a spread collar and we would rather tell you that now. Those near-horizontal points, with nothing between them, can look slightly unfinished, because the collar was clearly designed around something filling that space. If you spend most of your week without a tie, a spread collar cut at a wider angle will serve you better and we will say so.
That said, a cutaway with the top button undone under a well-fitted jacket, in a clean white or pale blue, is sharp and distinctive. The catch is that it only works when everything else is right. Pull the rest of the outfit together and it looks superb. Leave one thing sloppy and the collar makes it obvious.