Dress Shirt Care for the Workplace

[bryanth]

Hey everyone. So I assume a good majority of you work in an environment where a collared dress shirt is required. How do you care for your shirts and keep them presentable on a budget? It's difficult to take your shirts to the dry cleaners after 1-2 wears and I'm looking for some alternatives to this.

Thanks!

[Murr]

Although they have a much higher upfront cost, Banana Repulic's No Iron Dress shirts and pants are hands down my favorite. I dont take either to the dry cleaner. Wash them both on gentle cold in the washer and air dry. Quick press and they are ready to go. I'll get at least 1-2 years out of them this way and I wash them almost every week.

[Blake12]

Joe A Bank's Traveler Collection is the best. Just wash and dry at home, then hang up or roll into a ball in your suitcase. No ironing ever, but they look pressed after dozens of washes. They are expensive, but Jos has lots of sales. And if you ask to sign up for a Corporate loyalty card - free no strings - you get 20% off every day.

[chasesfish]

Costco shirts, hands down.  $18, wash on delicate in a regular washing machine, then use an iron on them.  They're "Wrinkle free", but I still prefer the cleaned pressed look.

I've been wearing dress shirts for 10+ years now, they are hands down the best value/durability.

[GuitarStv]

- wear them with an undershirt and only launder your dress shirts every 3-4 months (I find if you don't wear 'em in the summer, and have several shirts so it's not necessary to wear the same one more than once every couple weeks this works surprisingly well)
- don't buy any clothing that requires dry cleaning
- own an iron

[Prairie Stash]

- wear them with an undershirt and only launder your dress shirts every 3-4 months (I find if you don't wear 'em in the summer, and have several shirts so it's not necessary to wear the same one more than once every couple weeks this works surprisingly well)
- don't buy any clothing that requires dry cleaning
- own an iron

Thanks Guitarstv.  I've been having the same problem lately, trying to cut down on dry cleaning. 

I imagine your shirts last a long time, do they?

[Tetsuya Hondo]

As others have said, there is simply no need to dry clean dress shirts with the no iron and wrinkle free options out there now. Not to mention that dry cleaners are little toxic Superfund sites that expose you to deadly chemicals for the pleasure (ok, slight hyperbole).

I've tried everything from Costco, to the Target Brands, Lands End, Charles Thywhitt (or whatever), various department store/TJ Maxx brands, and I keep coming back to (whining in anticipation of the face punch) Brooks Brothers Outlet non-iron slim fit shirts. Nothing else fits me as well, lasts as long, resists the stains, and looks as good over the long haul for me. Every time I've tried something cheaper, I've ended up getting burned.

That said, I would totally buy the Costco shirts if they fit me better. The quality is pretty good.

[rmendpara]

Investing in non-iron dress shirts would be a good start.

Assuming you are male, Brooks Brothers has served me well. They are 100% cotton, so no worries about putting them through the washer/dryer, and then lightly ironing the collar and cuffs and hanging them up afterwards.

I get them cleaned and pressed (no starch) once every few months and it seems to work great. I've only had them for around 6 months now, so I can't comment on how long they last, but most online sources have said they will hold strong for quite a while... depending on how often you wear each one.

[GuitarStv]

- wear them with an undershirt and only launder your dress shirts every 3-4 months (I find if you don't wear 'em in the summer, and have several shirts so it's not necessary to wear the same one more than once every couple weeks this works surprisingly well)
- don't buy any clothing that requires dry cleaning
- own an iron

Thanks Guitarstv.  I've been having the same problem lately, trying to cut down on dry cleaning. 

I imagine your shirts last a long time, do they?

10-15 years depending on quality of the shirt.  I still have some shirts I wore in high school.  Added bonus is I don't have to go clothes shopping often.  :D

[eccdogg]

I don't like non-iron shirts they feel a bit stiff and look a little weird to me.

I just iron them myself in the morning before I put them on only takes about 5 min once you get the hang of it.  I leave the iron, board, and spray bottle out.

I have about 6 shirts 3 blue 3 white.  I wash them once a week and then hang them up on clothes hangers in the closet to dry.  Air drying saves money and adds many wears to you shirts.

They of course dry very wrinkly.  Then in the morning I grab one spray it with a little water and iron, arms first, then back, then front, then collar.  Then I throw it on and head out the door.

I don't use starch so the shirt wrinkles some during the day, but I think that looks natural. 

[apfroggy0408]

I wear $15 Chaps easy care long sleeve collared shirts to work. I wash/dry weekly hang straight out of the drier and am done with it. I buy them at burlington coat factory.

[chasesfish]

By the way, I agree with the two people that mentioned Brooks Brothers outlet dress shirts.  I would buy them if I can get them below $35.  They are better than the costco shirts, but a little rich for me


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[Zoot Allures]

This is more about where to buy shirts than how to care for them, but don't forget about thrift stores!

My city has a number of shops that sell lightly used (sometimes new) work shirts mixed in with all the cool vintage stuff. Sometimes I don't find anything good, and other times I score a bunch of things at once. I've found Ben Sherman, Banana, Gap, Nordstrom, etc. I've gotten so used to spending $14-22 on my work shirts that the idea of dropping more than $60 on a new shirt, like I used to do, seems obscene.

If I get a couple of years out of them, I'm happy. They often seem to last longer than that. I wash and iron them myself.

[eccdogg]

Data point on ironing your own. I timed myself this morning and it took 5 minutes from closet to ironed and on my back.

[MayDay]

We have tried a bunch and have the best luck with LL Bean wrinkle free oxford shirts.  Their fancier dress shirts may be great too, but my H doesn't need fancy dress shirts. 

We either hang dry, then toss in the dryer for a few minutes with something damp, or dry in the dryer, and they come out completely wrinkle free, no ironing required.  I hate ironing and H sucks at it (putting in more wrinkles than he gets out) so we are happy to pay the 35-40$ a shirt in order to not iron.

[MrsPete]

We have tried a bunch and have the best luck with LL Bean wrinkle free oxford shirts.  Their fancier dress shirts may be great too, but my H doesn't need fancy dress shirts. 

We either hang dry, then toss in the dryer for a few minutes with something damp, or dry in the dryer, and they come out completely wrinkle free, no ironing required.  I hate ironing and H sucks at it (putting in more wrinkles than he gets out) so we are happy to pay the 35-40$ a shirt in order to not iron.

Another vote for LL Bean dress shirts.  They're all my husband wears.  They're good quality, and if you grab them straight from the dryer and hang them, they need no ironing -- and it's not like "oh, you can get by without ironing"; rather, they really look good without ironing. 

We have a system:  Every year I buy him two new LL Bean dress shirts, and every year he discards two that've been stained or are worn out.  Thing is, now that he's discarded most of his non-LL Bean shirts, even his oldest shirts still look good, so he's hesitant to do the discard part! 

These shirts are expensive if you buy just any old time, but if you buy at the end of the winter (when they're clearing out their winter stuff and transitioning into polos and shorts) they can be had for $20, which is pretty reasonable for a shirt that's going to see a decade of work wear. 

[MrsPete]

This is more about where to buy shirts than how to care for them,

True, but one of the keys to easy care is buying the right thing up front. 

Unless you're in a really rare job, you need to look presentable at work.  This is one of those situations in which spending a little more up front = less work for you down the road.  It's a matter of value rather than cheap price. 

[GoCubsGo]

I second the Banana Republic No Iron dress shirts (I own quite a few of them).  Worth every penny and very durable.  I've donated many BR shirts that were in almost new condition after 3+ years of washing.

[Zoot Allures]

True, but one of the keys to easy care is buying the right thing up front. 

Unless you're in a really rare job, you need to look presentable at work.  This is one of those situations in which spending a little more up front = less work for you down the road.  It's a matter of value rather than cheap price.

Today I'm wearing a pair of tan J. Crew slacks and a gray Calvin Klein dress shirt. Bought them both at a secondhand store for $35 combined. The pants still had the tags on them.

[dragoncar]

I just have them cleaned and pressed down the street every other wear.  It costs $1 per shirt.  This decreases my savings rate by 0.1%, and it's worth worrying about at this point in my life.  In what way is taking the shirts "hard"?  Is the cleaners far from you?

Since you are looking for alternatives, in some areas you can find ladies (typically) who wash and iron shirts in their homes as a little side business.  They can be very cheap.  If you have any home-makers in in the neighborhood, see if they'd be willing to handle your shirts for a small fee.

[OSUBearCub]

Stafford No-Iron Shirts. You can typically get them on sale for $15-25 each, they last a few years of weekly use, never need to be dry cleaned or ironed. I take them right out of the dryer and hang them immediately and they always look sharp.

+1 on Stafford Wrinkle-Free and Easy-Care Shirts (and Stafford business wear in general).

I worked commission in a JC Penney, selling suits, back in 2008/2009.  I've seen the attention to detail (double stitching, suit linings, functional pockets and buttons instead of ones for show) and had the chance to compare their products against the other brands we brought in.  I also exclusively wore the Stafford Wrinkle-Free shirts every day for work.  There was a lot of bending and moving about when measuring gents for alterations and the shirts never wrinkled.  I was able to get at least two years out of a shirt, treating it like a college student - frequent washes and dries in industrial-heat laundromat conditions.

"Jaque PennAY" is still my go-to for work clothes - just don't ever pay full price.  If you make friends (even better if you buy an actual suit) with one of the commission sellers behind the suit counter, they will hook you up with coupons and discounts a-plenty. 

[MooseOutFront]

I take mine to the cleaners after every few wears, but I need to knock it off.  All of them are Jos-A-Bank traverlers wrinkle free so I should at least experiment with washing them myowndamnself.  Will report back.  A big hurdle for me is the ironing board.  It lives in my wife's closet and must be put back in it's home after every use. 

[LadyStache]

My boyfriend has been trying to take his work shirts to the dry cleaner less as well, but we hit a snag in that plan. He gets really bad ring around the collar after just 1-2 wears and it doesn't come out with detergent alone. I tried scrubbing it with a solution of white vinegar, water, and a couple drops of Dawn and that had very little impact, so we had to take them to the dry cleaner. I am going to experiment with an Oxy pretreating gel stick, Dial Gold bar soap, and Spray 'n Wash today to see if any of those will do the trick. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this issue?

[Emilyngh]

I'd recommend also trying this recipe:

http://moderndaymoms.com/homemade-miracle-cleaner/#

We started using it with our children-related stains and it works great.   I haven't had a chance to use it with sweat stains yet, but have read in blogs that it works on those.

Also, what about switching to light blue (next time he buys shirts) or other light colored shirts that might be a little more forgiving than white?

[apfroggy0408]

Looks like I need to check out those stafford shirts from jcpenney. I don't need that nice of dress shirts for work but will be nice to have in the closet for the days I need to look that nice.

http://www.jcpenney.com/men/dress-shirts-ties/dress-shirts/stafford-wrinkle-free-oxford-dress-shirt-/prod.jump?ppId=pp5003780203&cmvc=JCP|SearchResults|RICHREL&grView=&eventRootCatId=&currentTabCatId=&regId=

[GuitarStv]

My boyfriend has been trying to take his work shirts to the dry cleaner less as well, but we hit a snag in that plan. He gets really bad ring around the collar after just 1-2 wears and it doesn't come out with detergent alone. I tried scrubbing it with a solution of white vinegar, water, and a couple drops of Dawn and that had very little impact, so we had to take them to the dry cleaner. I am going to experiment with an Oxy pretreating gel stick, Dial Gold bar soap, and Spray 'n Wash today to see if any of those will do the trick. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this issue?

I stopped buying white shirts for this reason.

[LadyStache]

My boyfriend has been trying to take his work shirts to the dry cleaner less as well, but we hit a snag in that plan. He gets really bad ring around the collar after just 1-2 wears and it doesn't come out with detergent alone. I tried scrubbing it with a solution of white vinegar, water, and a couple drops of Dawn and that had very little impact, so we had to take them to the dry cleaner. I am going to experiment with an Oxy pretreating gel stick, Dial Gold bar soap, and Spray 'n Wash today to see if any of those will do the trick. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this issue?

I stopped buying white shirts for this reason.

It's also visible on most of his colored shirts, including blue.

[dragoncar]

My boyfriend has been trying to take his work shirts to the dry cleaner less as well, but we hit a snag in that plan. He gets really bad ring around the collar after just 1-2 wears and it doesn't come out with detergent alone. I tried scrubbing it with a solution of white vinegar, water, and a couple drops of Dawn and that had very little impact, so we had to take them to the dry cleaner. I am going to experiment with an Oxy pretreating gel stick, Dial Gold bar soap, and Spray 'n Wash today to see if any of those will do the trick. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this issue?

I stopped buying white shirts for this reason.

It's also visible on most of his colored shirts, including blue.

It won't solve completely, but if he isn't already, pay special attention to cleaning the neck in the morning, including light exfoliating eg with a pumice stone

[Vorpal]

My boyfriend has been trying to take his work shirts to the dry cleaner less as well, but we hit a snag in that plan. He gets really bad ring around the collar after just 1-2 wears and it doesn't come out with detergent alone... Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this issue?

Me too. Try the OxyClean spray and then scrub it with a toothbrush. Then throw it in the washing machine as normal. That has worked for me.

Also, +1 on ironing yourself. I do it every morning (pants, too.) "No iron" shirts are B.S. IMO. I can always tell when people don't iron their shirts (or have them pressed at the cleaners, which I'm not advocating for obvious reasons).

[btmarquis]

I take mine to the cleaners after every few wears, but I need to knock it off.  All of them are Jos-A-Bank traverlers wrinkle free so I should at least experiment with washing them myowndamnself.  Will report back.  A big hurdle for me is the ironing board.  It lives in my wife's closet and must be put back in it's home after every use.

You should be good to go.  Once I got these, I haven't dry-cleaned nor ironed in years.

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

Joe A Bank's Traveler Collection is the best. Just wash and dry at home, then hang up or roll into a ball in your suitcase. No ironing ever, but they look pressed after dozens of washes. They are expensive, but Jos has lots of sales. And if you ask to sign up for a Corporate loyalty card - free no strings - you get 20% off every day.

These are great shirts.  10 minutes in a steamy bathroom and they look almost ironed.

I will say though that the buttons they come with are absolute shit.  I've broken several buttons, and I'm careful with my clothes.  Just be prepared to replace some buttons every once in a while.  The quality of the fabric seems very good.