View Full Version : White Shirt - issues
Now that I am sporting a new "thinner" me* - I needed some new clothes. Went to Macy's, new slacks, jeans, belt and White shirt** to get started.
The shirt did say it was 100% cotton, but also said "easy care". EASY CARE my foot. It came out of the dryer as one big wrinkle >:(. It took me about 20 minutes to iron it and we were out of spray starch.
How can you get the crisp white shirt look without using a 1/2 can of starch -- or taking out for professional service? I know you ladies have tricks up your sleeves. What is the difference between starch and finishing spray?
*I've lost 65lbs to date :)
**I have been watching our local St. Vincient de Paul for some great everyday shirts - and have had some great finds.
Good for you Gregg44 ! I have no good advice for ironing- dampening it, rolling it in a towel, then ironing seems to be the only way. Sometimes, too, I'll iron it right out of the washer and just hang it to dry. But, generally they end up in the Good Will bag!
I'd suggest going back to the store and getting a shirt in a poly-cotton blend.
morning girl
8-14-12, 7:45pm
Don't dry completely in the dryer. Damp dry hang on a hanger and hand or finger press. You will still need to iron but less than a shirt dried completely in the dryer. That said a cotton poly blend blend shirt will always wrinkle less.
rosarugosa
8-14-12, 8:18pm
Brooks Brothers has a no-iron line of dress shirts and they come out of the dryer unwrinkled. You do need to take them out as soon as the buzzer goes off. Not as crisp as ironed, but acceptable. Not cheap either, but relatively well-made and long-lasting.
Congratulations on the major weight-loss!
100% cotton. That's the deal. Cotton is wonderful, but it wrinkles. A blend will do you better. You have to care for it.
As a woman, I have a separate issue. I am a larger size. I have been looking all over a white, collared, button up blouse. Can't find one. I've been to several different department stores and discount stores also. Can't find button up blouses! When did they become so difficult to find? I finally did find one in a very regional department store. They only had a couple. Seems like all the "blouses" are just the informal types or ones you could wear with a blazer.
Tussiemussies
8-14-12, 8:53pm
You can put liquid starch in the rinse cycle and then when you iron your clothes they will be crisper. :)
Congratulations on your weight loss!:)
fidgiegirl
8-14-12, 9:06pm
I know you ladies have tricks up your sleeves.
Ha! My trick was to get hubby to quit ironing!!
As others have said, blends are better. When he buys "wrinkle free" or some such, it comes out great.
Hang straight out of the dryer.
He has found fantastic prices on dress shirts at Herbergers. Not sure if you have that iteration of the store where you are . . . they also have Bon Ton, Carson Pirie Scott, Yonkers, and some other ones.
Blackdog Lin
8-14-12, 9:14pm
Oh Greg, congrats on your weight loss. That is awesome.
Can't help with the existing shirt. Been there, done that, 100% cotton is too much work for me.
Agree with the others that in the future you look for 60/40: enough cotton (60%) to be a nicely wearable shirt, but enough poly (40%) to defeat the wrinkles and make it easy-care. It seems to be a standard industry blend, and easy enough to find in shirts.
I don't know why I was hood winked on the 100% cotton/easy care label. I have always bought a blend - but was having trouble finding an inexpensive short sleeved white shirt. I have learned my lesson!
...Congratulations on the major weight-loss!
Thank you and others! I started this journey last September and it really has been life changing. The first 1/2 came off pretty quick. The last half much slower. It has taken me 7+ months to lose 25 lbs. Slowly it is coming off, so that is all that matters. I have about another 15lbs to go. I get lots of compliments/comments - as it is very noticible now, but people don't realize how long it has been.
Some interesting observations. I enjoy the warm weather - cold weather cuts me to the core! It is nice to have clothes that actually fit. Though it has been sad to say goodbye to some of my favorites -- like my Tommy Bahama shirts that are now about 3 sizes too big. Have to be careful to not be self righteous about how I eat. I have looked at other's shopping carts and thought..."no wonder you are heavy -- look at what you are buying"! Only to remind myself I was there just a short time ago. :|(
If I see the scales go up a bit I don't panic -- I know I didn't eat 3,500 extra calories - and it is temporary...and low and behold, in a couple of days it is gone.
Tussiemussies
8-14-12, 10:52pm
What a great journey, Greg. Glad for you and that you have been able to keep yourself on track! Do you feel so much better? :)
Congrats on the weight-loss! You should be very proud. I personally, would take the shirt back, not sure they'll take it back, but you never know.
Greg, It might be that they forgot to put that shirt through the wrinkle resistant treatment process. I'd take it back.
Agree with taking them out of the dryer slightly damp. Also I pull gently on the seams to straighten them as I hang them.
For both men and women's button front shirts, try LLBean. Their design, sewing, and wrinkle resistant treatments work well even in 100% cotton. They also use good quality long fiber cottons to make their clothing, so you don't see the pilling that happens on the cheap cotton.
And normally I wouln't suggest a more complex machine as a solution on this board. But if really nicely pressed shirts are important to you, to save a lot of time, it might be worth it to get a professional shirt press.
Wow! Awesome, Gregg44! (I was wondering why you've been away from the boards... you must think we make you put on weight)! LOL!
Gregg44. I don't like using anything artificial (if I can help it), so just natural ironing/pressing in our house. One thing that will help (dramatically), is pressing your shirt while it's still slightly damp. You'll get crisp ironed lines, but some shirts are simply problematic no matter what.
Re: Polo Shirts, my husband will not wear a Polo, if his life depends on it! He says the collars look sloppy, and I have to agree. There's nothing like a neatly-pressed sport/dress shirt! Button-down collars, even better!
Re: fabrics used in shirts, I swear by 100% cotton. Poly, smells, so does nylon, Stay away from those two materials. besides, cotton, breathes, and even if you have to spend a little added time on ensuring a neatly-pressed shirt for yourself, my opinion is, it's well worth it! Stay with all-natural, and forget about sprays and starching.
I have a white button up blouse with three-quarter sleeves from Eddie Bauer. Wrinkle free. Nice stiff collar. I literally pull it out of the dryer and hang. No iron. I am so impressed! Can wear it all day and still looks crisp. They sell men's too. I've had it about four years. Don't wear it a huge amount. I understand wrinkle free only lasts so many washings but this has been washed plenty.
I'd suggest going back to the store and getting a shirt in a poly-cotton blend.
Yep - this is what i would do. I don't iron. I don't own an iron. And as God is my witness, I will never, ever own an iron again. So for me it's all wash and wear cotton/ poly blends. And whan I say wash and wear, i mean that I can throw my whites in the washer with my darks and colors and do one load all together and they will not bleed or discolor OR wrinkle. The new cotton blends only have a tiny amount (maybe 5%) poly (nylon, lycra, whatever) in them so they breathe better and wick away moisture pretty good - yet remain fairly dry and unwrinkled. You can even get them with permanent press marks (pleats or whatever they are called). You can also wash them with a tiny amount of bleach but the white stays pretty crisp compared to a 100% cotton shirt. Congrats on losing weight too!! Was it all that running you do?
Yep - this is what i would do. I don't iron. I don't own an iron. And as God is my witness, I will never, ever own an iron again. So for me it's all wash and wear cotton/ poly blends. And whan I say wash and wear, i mean that I can throw my whites in the washer with my darks and colors and do one load all together and they will not bleed or discolor OR wrinkle. The new cotton blends only have a tiny amount (maybe 5%) poly (nylon, lycra, whatever) in them so they breathe better and wick away moisture pretty good - yet remain fairly dry and unwrinkled. You can even get them with permanent press marks (pleats or whatever they are called). You can also wash them with a tiny amount of bleach but the white stays pretty crisp compared to a 100% cotton shirt. Congrats on losing weight too!! Was it all that running you do?
I like your way of thinking! I can't imagine living without an iron, not sorting clothes, etc. - that would sure make life much easier!
I lost the weight by not going on a diet, but changing my diet to a low fat vegan diet (I can hear everyone's groans as I type)! Running too has helped burn off some of those excess calories. Ran 6.5 miles this a.m. with 2.5 miles of hill work! I am sore!
I like your way of thinking! I can't imagine living without an iron, not sorting clothes, etc. - that would sure make life much easier!
I lost the weight by not going on a diet, but changing my diet to a low fat vegan diet (I can hear everyone's groans as I type)!
Running too has helped burn off some of those excess calories. Ran 6.5 miles this a.m. with 2.5 miles of hill work! I am sore!
Well being Lazy I also only own socks all in white that are exactly alike so I never have to match them up - just stick them in one drawer all together. And I never have to spend time looking for that one missing matched sock that has mysteriously disappeared off into some 5th dimensional universe of missing single socks since ALL my socks match :-)!
I also try to stick to a mostly low fat vegan diet but it can be hard sometimes. Hard sometimes to get enough calories too if you are exercising alot. Glad it's working for you.
Today I ironed the shirt in question straight out of the washer. While it still took a long time - it did look pretty good. It is one of those shirts that no matter how careful you are -- while ironing one section another ironed section gets wrinkled >:(
Wow! Awesome, Gregg44! (I was wondering why you've been away from the boards... you must think we make you put on weight)! LOL!
Gregg44. I don't like using anything artificial (if I can help it), so just natural ironing/pressing in our house. One thing that will help (dramatically), is pressing your shirt while it's still slightly damp. You'll get crisp ironed lines, but some shirts are simply problematic no matter what.
Re: Polo Shirts, my husband will not wear a Polo, if his life depends on it! He says the collars look sloppy, and I have to agree. There's nothing like a neatly-pressed sport/dress shirt! Button-down collars, even better!
Re: fabrics used in shirts, I swear by 100% cotton. Poly, smells, so does nylon, Stay away from those two materials. besides, cotton, breathes, and even if you have to spend a little added time on ensuring a neatly-pressed shirt for yourself, my opinion is, it's well worth it! Stay with all-natural, and forget about sprays and starching.
Unfortunately, in my own experience, no starch? 100% cotton? That crisp iron job will last about 2 hours before it's wrinkled again.
Today I ironed the shirt in question straight out of the washer. While it still took a long time - it did look pretty good. It is one of those shirts that no matter how careful you are -- while ironing one section another ironed section gets wrinkled >:(
You know, there's nothing wrong with Starch. It breathes and it's no more effort than just ironing. You might really like the results.
BTW I make my own spray starch from liquid starch and filtered water in a handy spray bottle and it saves money!
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