Fine shirting dilemma

[sloaney]

I have about a dozen custom shirts made in very high quality cotton, but they are IMPOSSIBLE to iron and get wrinkled VERY EASILY.

My cheap shirts look fine out of the washer and they look smarter than my custom shirts during the course of the day!

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by sloaney

I have about a dozen custom shirts made in very high quality cotton, but they are IMPOSSIBLE to iron and get wrinkled VERY EASILY.

My cheap shirts look fine out of the washer and they look smarter than my custom shirts during the course of the day!

your cheap shirts are probably non-iron.

are you moving about during the day? wear the non-iron, then. I save the high quality cotton shirts for times when I'll be wear a jacket. The non-irons come out for almost everything else.

 

[Manton]

Cotton wrinkles with wear and there's really nothing that can be done about it. Consider it a feature rather than a bug.

 

[sloaney]

the cheap shirts are cotton too, they're just not as fine

but there is a serious issue here being more expensive custom shirts with higher quality cotton looking sloppier when worn compared to normal cutton shirts

they are also impossible to iron

 

[speedster.8]

show us some swatches ...
And what is your ironing tech?

 

[Manton]

Finer cotton is made from finer yarn, the fibers are smaller in diameter, and less sturdy. They just won't wear as well. That supersoft feel to the touch has a trade-off.

 

[Magster]

Originally Posted by sloaney

the cheap shirts are cotton too, they're just not as fine

but there is a serious issue here being more expensive custom shirts with higher quality cotton looking sloppier when worn compared to normal cutton shirts

they are also impossible to iron

Steam, steam, steam or press over a damp white towel.

 

[speedster.8]

Originally Posted by Manton

Finer cotton is made from finer yarn, the fibers are smaller in diameter, and less sturdy. They just won't wear as well. That supersoft feel to the touch has a trade-off.
+1 Same with suits ... May be save them for days when you wear lighter suits, as your body heat increases creasing. Speed

 

[Dmax]

If your custom shirts are brand new, they may yet soften up after several launderings. I launder and iron all of my shirts myself and independent of the type of cotton, they all get easier to iron after several wash cycles.

 

[TheFoo]

Manton is right; you should consider wrinkling a feature. My nice shirts, mostly made of Riva cotton twill, all wrinkle around my elbows and my waist. Wrinkles that form where you move look perfectly natural.

As for ironing, make sure you spray the cotton with water if the shirt isn't already slightly damp.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by sloaney

I have about a dozen custom shirts made in very high quality cotton, but they are IMPOSSIBLE to iron and get wrinkled VERY EASILY.

My cheap shirts look fine out of the washer and they look smarter than my custom shirts during the course of the day!

This is exactly the reason why I avoid anything over 2x130's for shirtings. I always run into this problem when I wear 2x140s and above. A well woven 2x100s is a beautiful thing - easy to iron and retains it's crispness longer - especially when the weave is a twill. Many of the offerings from Acorn/Classic are very good in this regard, and SIC Tess shirtings are exceptional.

 

[aleksandr]

so basically the moral of the story is - if you have expensive shirts, either a) wear a jacket or b) look extremely sloppy come 5pm?

 

[FidelCashflow]

Some fabrics are worse than others for this. I stick to 2x2 120's for the most part, some of them are pretty resilient. Sea-Islands and the ilk tend to be much more wrinkle prone, in my experience.

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by aleksandr

so basically the moral of the story is - if you have expensive shirts, either a) wear a jacket or b) look extremely sloppy come 5pm?

or c) change your definition of 'sloppy' to allow for some natural wrinkling.

 

[demeis]

I've always found it not to be a problem. Better shirts use long staples yarns which don't wrinkle as easily. It really just all depends on the fabric.