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First posting and a dress shirt question

millionaire75

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Hi, this is my first posting after lurking for a couple months. I actually came across this forum after doing a search on yahoo on how to remove breast pockets from dress shirts and I've become addicted! Learned a lot in the short time I've been reading and look forward to enjoying many more posts in the future.

Now on to my question...here's a dilemna I've been having since, well, since I graduated from college 9 years ago and have been in the working world. I've spent thousands of dollars on dress shirts, ranging in quality from cheap brands at Macys (perry ellis, alfani, etc) to better brands (charles tyrwhitt, brooks brothers, etc). My problem is working on wall street in a mid office function (financial reporting), the basic uniform is dress shirt and dress pants. Now depending on the person and the quality of the clothes, there are ways to dress this up and look good (you guys would have a field day with some of the people I work with...wrinkled pleated khakis, ill fitting wrinkled shirts, rockport orthopedic shoes, sqare toes, etc)....but it seems at the end of the day everyone has that same look of dark dress pants, a blue/white/pink/checkered/striped shirt that just doesn't look put together without a tie (even guys in senior management wearing higher quality stuff). When I try on the shirts with dress pants, I think "this looks great" but after coming back from the dry cleaners, where they press the sh*t out of everything, including flattening the collar to the point where it would take an act of god to make it stand up right, they just look sloppy and cheap. I've tried everything including buying those Wurkin Stiffs which work okay but tend to make every shirt look like a button down collar without the button if you know what I mean. Are there any particular shirts or any tricks that would counteract my dry cleaners steamrolling my collars??? I've tried in some cases wearing a tie on the way to an event and then removing it when I get there (which seems to work fine but is not realistic for everday at work). Any help would be appreciated and look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks.
 

rnoldh

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Originally Posted by millionaire75
I've tried everything including buying those Wurkin Stiffs which work okay but tend to make every shirt look like a button down collar without the button if you know what I mean. .

Welcome millionaire75!!

You are in the right place, if you want expert information on clothes.

One question for you. What are "Wurkin Stiffs?".
 

zjpj83

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Welcome!

Can you explain more how the collar looks and/or post a picture? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "stand up," etc.
 

millionaire75

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wow, those were quick responses! what I mean by the collars standing up versus being flattened is let's say this is standing up (see attached-sorry for using such a cheesy picture, all I could get on short notice). Flattened is when the area of the shirt near the top button and the top button hole are flattened down and forward (I guess because the dry cleaner doesn't line up the shirt correctly). Apologies if the attachment doesn't come through as this is my first time posting.

Oh, and wurkin stiffs are these...

http://www.wurkinstiffs.com/default.asp
 

Matt

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Welcome to the board.

My best advice - find a better dry cleaner.

Lots of NY people on this board who Im sure can point you somewhere.
 

millionaire75

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Thanks for the replies. I don't think it is a matter of the quality of the dry cleaner (as I've used many for almost the past 10 years). I need to find a job where I don't have to wear dress shirts...haha!!!
 

j

(stands for Jerk)
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Yeah, it's a matter of who's ironing your shirts. If they are getting smashed down badly, they won't last very long either. I can pretty much guarantee I could wash and iron one of your shirts and it would come out looking fine. (Which I would be willing to do for, say, $20/shirt).
 

Matt

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Didn't Alex write a care and feeding of dress shirts piece a while back? Not sure if it was here, but certainly over at Andy's site, but maybe of interest if you can dig it up. There may have been some cleaner recommendations. To my understanding, any place that uses the big pressdown iron things are shirt killers (and this is the vast majority of cleaners, since those things are much faster), anywhere that hand irons them is better.
 

ChicagoRon

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Sometimes when collars don't sit right it's because you have the wrong neck size. Have you tried entry-level MTM shirts like Brooks Brothers or Ike Behar? You might have better luck, and you can also choose a collar style that will work best for you.
 

Tomasso

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Originally Posted by ChicagoRon
Sometimes when collars don't sit right it's because you have the wrong neck size. Have you tried MTM, you can also choose a collar style that will work best for you.
Something to ponder.
 

millionaire75

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It's not a neck size problem, but rather when they press the shirts they just get so flat...what I'm saying is the top part of the shirt (the very tip just beyond the top button and the top button hole) curls forward and the collar flattens out. Now mind you, most people don't have a problem with this, I'm just very anal about the way my collars look. I just think that when you take shirts from the dry cleaners and match them with dress pants (without a tie) makes for a very thrown-together look. Once again, I appreciate all the replies.
 

a tailor

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there have been threads from others who launder and iron there own shirts.
its a very calming occupation. you can iron while watching tv or listening to your favorite music.
 

Freddy Vandecasteele

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I recommend that when you put your shirt on in the morning you button the collor button even if your not going to wear a tie,leave it buttoned for a few minutes and then unbutton if you want,It tends to reshape the collar around the neck,and also restreches it,It works well with button down collars to.
Freddy Vandecasteele
 

Tomasso

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Originally Posted by millionaire75
I'm just very anal about the way my collars look.
I'll see your anal and raise you insanity.

Do you know how many lives perished to produce this collar
laugh.gif



......88.jpg
 

Ivan Kipling

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That collar is a masterpiece. It is eloquent, graceful, restrained and emphatic, all at the same time. True, couturier craftsmanship. The finishing is exquisite. Not stiff. No bubbles. Every stitch doing its job quietly, but with purpose. A miracle of tailoring and proportion. I have seen YSL haute couture collars on women's blouses that achieve the same level of perfection: IN CHIFFON. We should study these examples . . . some day they'll not be available for perusal, except inside museums.
 

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