Although a young man’s mother tries her best to train her son to be self-sufficient, not everything tends to stick. When it comes to taking care of dress shirts, most men neither have the capacity nor tools to properly care for their garments, which means they often throw their things away and buy brand-new.
If you would prefer to learn some timely tips to extend the life of your shirts, pay attention as we expose highly classified woman tactics often used to keep your shirts looking brand spanking new for decades.
Follow tag instructions
Because men believe they’re equipped with ‘automatic knowledge’ of everything, the most obvious first tip would be to follow the designer’s garment care instructions clearly printed on the tag. Cotton, tweed and polyester will probably have different machine washing instructions which include proper water temperature and dryer settings. Because some men’s dress shirts can get really expensive, it’s best to follow the tag’s instructions instead of throwing your expensive designer dress shirt in with socks and underwear on high heat or hot water.
No heat then hang up
Most dress shirts, after they’ve come out of the washer, can be dried on ‘No Heat’ setting then immediately hung up to maintain their current size. By allowing room temperature to dry your clothes, you will not only avoid attracting excessive lint but help keep your shirt from shrinking. Note that you could also use the permanent press setting if you cannot wait several hours for your shirt; just make sure you’re comfortable losing a few millimeters of size as exposing your shirt to even the slightest heat will cause this effect.
Iron like a maiden
Your dress shirts will clearly outline what the fabric setting should be before you preheat your iron. You’ll usually want to make sure enough water is inside your iron because you may want to steam your collar to maintain a sharp, edgy look. If you’re unsure what proper settings are, revert back to your iron’s manufacturing settings or quickly Google “how to iron a shirt” for best results. Never guess any fabric’s heat setting because you’ll either iron ineffectively or totally torch your expensive dress garment. As a last ditch effort, keep your mother, sister or girlfriend on speed dial.
Food for thought
Whether you’re on a low budget or can afford Armani shirts every week, you’ll eventually have to learn appropriate dress shirt care because, at some point, you’ll have no choice but to either learn proper clothing care, or risk going bankrupt buying new dress shirts too frequently. Don’t you have better things to spend your paycheck on every week?
Although we may seldom admit it, as men, we all want to look at our best. In previous years, many men may not have been as attentive to their appearance, but times have changed. Whereas in the past, male clothing care products on supermarket shelves may have included Woolite, stain fighters and that was about it; now you’ll find an array of different products to help you care for your dress shirts correctly. So use them, and be a manly man.