villagevoice.com: Collars are up this summer. This is significant, because it's among the few fashion statements that has primarily evil implications. Not a single humanitarian act has ever been committed by someone with a fully upturned collar. No one pops a collar to go volunteer at the women's shelter or pitch in at the soup kitchen. That said, upturned collars can be a cool and intriguing look. There are several theories to explain the resurgence of the style. It could be part of a more general 1980s preppie revival, but this '80s "revival" has been going on in some form or other since 1990. Though there is something to the revival theory—many who couldn't wear their collars up then because of social pressures or the landscape of their confidence at the time, are able to embrace the fashion now. This pattern is similar to the one followed by current devotees of black heavy-metal T-shirts—people who would've gotten whipped for wearing Iron Maiden shirts in 1985 are wearing them now with brio and impunity.

Practically, an upturned collar can protect the neck from sunburn or a slight chill, but fashion is only partly based on practicality. It's more about art and communication—the body as canvas, sending carefully crafted messages. If all we wanted to do was screen the sun, we'd wear moon suits. Or sunscreen. Read more

FINALY!!! A trend that appeared in Germany before became hip in the USA: Upturned collars!
But in Germany, most of those "upterners" are students of "business studies" (that's what I think). Also fellow readers from the states, be warned that upturned collars are so 2004 in Germany, all the cool people are pulling up one trouser leg. Don't ask me if you're supposed to pul up the right, or the left one.