Dry cleaners sent shirt back with bubbled collar - pictures (ruined?)

teknique22 · Feb 15, 2015

Hey - just trying out a new dry cleaner and received this shirt back along with the rest - this issue wasn't seen on all of my shirts - just 1 or 2 out of ~10+ shirts. I'm curious if this is a dry cleaning error or manufacturer error? From what I can tell (pinch test) I'm not 100% sure the collar is fused, but I could be wrong. On most of the shirts, the collars seem pressed down rather than circular.

Thanks!

teknique22 · Feb 16, 2015

Caustic Man · Feb 16, 2015

That doesn't look like bubbling to me. Fused collars will start to have spots that literally bubble up. Those just look like creases/wrinkles.

This is what it looks like.

patrickBOOTH · Feb 16, 2015

98% of RTW shirts have fused collars. If that is truly bubbling it could be because they pressed it with so much heat the glue came undone. Or perhaps some sort of dry cleaning solvents loosened it.

teknique22 · Feb 16, 2015

Caustic Man said:
That doesn't look like bubbling to me. Fused collars will start to have spots that literally bubble up. Those just look like creases/wrinkles.

This is what it looks like.

Does this even happen any more though due to better technology and stronger glues used in the fusing process? I know this is likely true with the new fused suits, but was unsure if these advancements had come in the form of shirts as well. Thanks!

Caustic Man · Feb 16, 2015

teknique22 said:
Does this even happen any more

Yup.

teknique22 · Feb 16, 2015

Caustic Man said:
Yup.

After how many trips to the dry cleaner / washes, in your experience?

Shirtmaven · Feb 16, 2015

that is not De-lamination.

but not sure what they did to it.

Rarely do shirt collars bubble if made in a large factory.

some small scale custom shirtmakers, use a hand iron or a t-shirt heat press.

we had some issues with one batch of very heavy fusible.

since we changed to a better equality heat -press, here have been no problems.

let them repress by hand

Caustic Man · Feb 16, 2015

That's like asking how many times you can ride your horse before he dies. It just depends. When I was purchasing cheap shirts some might last a half dozen washes before bubbling up, others would last longer. The best advice I could give is to just not buy cheap shirts. I realize this is somewhat of a snobby thing to say because not everyone can afford good shirts, or would even want to buy them if they could. In the long run, however, I believe that the extra money is worth it. They will last longer (with proper care) and continue to look nice as they age. I don't know that I would agree that 98% of RTW shirts are fused, but quite a lot are.

patrickBOOTH · Feb 16, 2015

Bubbling happens on expensive shirts too. When I used to wear Borelli shirts they would bubble. I think to a degree it is dry cleaning solvents that does it. I have since only bought non-fused shirts and I wash them myself on a delicate cycle in my washing machine.

FWIW, my bespoke shirts last just as long as my old non-bespoke ones before they start fraying.

Caustic Man · Feb 16, 2015

patrickBOOTH said:
Bubbling happens on expensive shirts too.

This is true, however I would counter that places that cut corners, or use improper methods and materials, tend to show that kind of wear faster. The simple fix is to get non fused shirts, of course.

Shirtmaven · Feb 16, 2015

finding shirts with non fused collars will not be easy.

shirtmakers in the USA will make non fused collars.
England as well.
Surprisingly. most Shirtmakers in Italy fuse their collars.
even those with hand stitching!

again, fusing on your Boss shirt did not come apart.
take it back to the cleaners and have them press by hand.

teknique22 · Feb 16, 2015

Shirtmaven said:
finding shirts with non fused collars will not be easy.

shirtmakers in the USA will make non fused collars.
England as well.
Surprisingly. most Shirtmakers in Italy fuse their collars.
even those with hand stitching!

again, fusing on your Boss shirt did not come apart.
take it back to the cleaners and have them press by hand.

Thanks!

EliodA · Feb 17, 2015

@teknique22 how many shirts do you use per week? To prevent any mishaps at the cleaners, I prefer to wash and iron shirts myself. Not only is there the risk of collars being ruined, professional cleaners also use chemicals that make your shirt fabrics rough and very dry to the touch.
With some practice you can get ironing time down to 5-7 minutes. So even if you wear a shirt every day, it's only half an hour or so of ironing per week. And somehow, I find it comfortably relaxing. In emergency situations you can choose to only iron cuffs, front and collar, which is all people will see.
Oh, and unless you're very lucky, usually it's better not to let your wife or GF iron them. In my experience, women don't get the collar perfect as it should be.

patrickBOOTH · Feb 17, 2015

I do wash and iron all of my own shirts and I hate every last second of it. I just do it better than most places. Place that do it right also charge like $6 a shirt to clean and iron and well, that's too rich for my blood especially when I own a washing machine and iron.

Dry cleaners sent shirt back with bubbled collar - pictures (ruined?)

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