Detachable Collar Shirts - Page 3

It is:

The French Hand Laundry 606 South Lake St. Pasadena, CA 91106 attn: Virginia 626-792-3881

(Actually gleaned from an old SF thread)

I also found an old AAAC thread which referenced the following: Parkway, in Chevy Chase, MD, laundering collar for $13 a time. Is that anywhere near you?

Allo Laverie in NYC advertise detachable collars on their laundry list (http://www.french-handlaundry.com/Laundry_List.pdf) but at $1.50 each I can't imagine that they will be properly finished and starched?

Thanks for this. As I mentioned, I've sent one detachable collar to Parkway, but they didn't do a very good job with it despite claiming to have a lot of experience in dealing with stiff detachable collars. I've written to the French Hand Laundry to seek confirmation that they actually are able to launder detachable collars properly. I have not heard about Allo Laverie in NYC, but will find out out more.

Worse comes to worst, I may have to mail my detachable collars to the Barker Group in the UK . I'll just keep quiet about it lest I be ridiculed by my left-leaning friends.

FlyingMonkey, a few months ago I spent plenty of time comparing the choices available for detachable collar shirts. The best deal I found was from T.M. Lewin. The cut was slimmer than average, collar had enough heft, fabric was smooth, price was (back then) four for £100. The collar size didn't match, I ended up sending them back. The one I tried from Darcy Clothing was terrible, fabric and finishing poor. Now the best option seems to be an online MTM shirtmaker Luxire, they will accommodate all orders and special collar options.

From wikipedia:

Update: I wrote to the French Hand Laundry, it seems that they do NOT launder detachable collars. At least not at the moment. Below is the exchange:

Me: Do you launder and starch detachable collars for formal shirts?

Response: Unfortunately no. We are having difficulty with the starching. The composition of our starch has changed and we are working on perfecting the finish of it on the cotton. Thank You for your interest with us.

There's a simple reason why laundries in the USA don't handle detachable collars: there is so little demand for this service in the USA that investment in special collar forms of the type pioneered by the Barker Group in the UK cannot be economically justified. All the work must be done by hand. Unless there is an additional incentive, such as cleaning the formal shirt that accompanies the detachable collar(s), there is no economic incentive on the part of a laundry to handle detachable collars.

To give you an idea of how rare the demand for this service is, I have, after almost 25 years in the garment care business, only one client -- a former chairman of a European investment bank and former US Ambassador to a far eastern country -- who sends us detachable collars (along with suits, shirts and ties) on a relatively frequent basis.

Here's an example of what I mean by an "additional economic incentive"....

We recently restored a vintage Brooks Brothers tuxedo shirt that arrived with 3 detachable collars. The shirt and detachable collars was at least 50 years old and was heavily stained: burns, water stains, rust and mold. It was sent in by a client from Houston who requested extra heavy starch on the collar, cuffs and bib of the shirt, no starch on the rest of the shirt, and extra heavy starch on the detachable collars. The shirt/collars took 2 weeks to restore and we charged $40 (plus shipping) for our work.

In order to justify cleaning detachable collars only, a quality laundry would have to charge at least $10 per collar and set a minimum order quantity of about 3.

Here are some before and after pictures of that vintage Brooks Brothers tuxedo shirt with 3 detachable collars:

http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2012/11/16/vintage-brooks-bros-tuxedo-shirt-cleaning-and-restoration.aspx
Edited by stubloom - 12/8/12 at 7:07pm

 

Those pictures are incredibly impressive.  I was pleased with myself when I managed to get some stains out of the inside of my shirt collars.

Gentlemen,

Allow me to share a solution to the lack of laundry facilities that can properly starch collars, cuffs, etc.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4917067_homemade-boiled-starch.html

The are still some places where you can find powdered clothing starch, but there is so little demand that it is becoming more difficult every day. So, I followed the simple instructions in the link above to create boiled starch with regular food-grade cornstarch. It is cheap and easy to find.

Instead of using the microwave as recommended above, I used my stove and a wire whisk as I found it easier to keep the mixture smooth.
If done correctly, it should only take 10-15 minutes to create the starch, another 10 minutes or so to cool it, and a few more minutes to starch the items. I only starched three collars, and two vintage lace table covers that look better with boiled starch. It took me 10 minutes to soak everything and hang it up to dry.
Each collar then had to be ironed (highest heat setting) using a bit of water to wet the fabric. I did not use steam.

Total time, including making the starch, required: 40 minutes.
Cost: one box of cornstarch, which I had in the cupboard

Considering traffic, cost of petrol, etc. this was a much easier and cheaper way to do it, and just as effective.