Tailoring a dress shirt: off the rack or wash first?

blueguitar322 · Sep 18, 2007

I have a handful of shirts that I'm going to take to the tailor. Some have been machine washed/dried, others haven't.

Do I need to wash and dry my shirts at least once before having them tailored (hems taken in, darts, etc) or can I buy a shirt at the mall, swing by the tailor, unpackage it and let them work their magic straight away?

MunnyGuy · Sep 18, 2007

I would think it would all depen on the make of the shirt. Some are more prone to a little shrinkage then others. I would reccomend the wash first then alter method,,,, What do you have to lose then?

Edward Appleby · Sep 18, 2007

You may as well wash it first just to be safe.

wq1999 · Sep 18, 2007

Washing at least once (and preferably twice) before tailoring is recommended. Also, you it is best to find a "shirtmaker" to tailor your shirts, as opposed to a regular tailor (unless it's just putting in darts, which any tailor can do).

stickonatree · Sep 18, 2007

Originally Posted by Edward Appleby

You may as well wash it first just to be safe.

+1.

imageWIS · Sep 18, 2007

I tend to wash my shirts three times before I take them to my tailor. The only alteration I do pre-washing is the removal of pockets in order to remove the stitching marks.

Jon.

Omar1223 · Sep 18, 2007

Originally Posted by wq1999

Washing at least once (and preferably twice) before tailoring is recommended. Also, you it is best to find a "shirtmaker" to tailor your shirts, as opposed to a regular tailor (unless it's just putting in darts, which any tailor can do).

so if someone wants to take the sides of a dress shirt, they should take it to a "shirtmaker" not a tailor. sorry for the question within your thread, blueguitar322.

Henry Boogers · Sep 18, 2007

Originally Posted by imageWIS

I tend to wash my shirts three times before I take them to my tailor. The only alteration I do pre-washing is the removal of pockets in order to remove the stitching marks.

Jon.

This is what I would have typed had I popped into this thread sooner. I take mine to a tailor and not a shirtmaker and have been quite happy with the results....of course he has made shirts in the past so maybe that's not a fair statement.

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Tailoring a dress shirt: off the rack or wash first?

blueguitar322

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