Non Iron Shirts

[Lionel Hutz]

I started buying Jos A Bank non iron dress shirts around 2006 with the release of this article which rated that brand as the best value available in the United States

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114135435701988342

I know non iron shirts are probably held in contempt by by many here and I have no desire to rehash this debate (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-war-over-non-iron-shirts-1462386777). I am on SF primarily for my shoe fetish and I otherwise take a utilitarian view of business attire.

As an example of how impoverished my fashion sense is, I have four drawers for dress socks, one of black, one charcoal and one blue (and one of argyle that I actually keep organized and will ignore here). Each of the 3 drawers contains about 30 pair of socks with varying degrees of wear and I do not match them but simply grab two and go.

I am also cheap and lazy and I like the idea that I can save money by washing my dress shirts at home, hanging them up damp and skipping the ironing step.

This is a long way of saying I know I am a monster and take a more utilitarian view of business attire than most here but I wanted to create a thread where other unwashed savages such as myself could weigh in with their thoughts on RTW non-iron dress shirt retailers and the state of the market today. The last discussion I could find on this topic was 2014 (https://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/threads/best-non-iron-shirts.191021/)

 

[GBR]

Non-iron shirts do not exist and if anyone has such little pride in their appearance then heaven help them.

 

[teknique22]

What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, like, are you okay? This is the most awkward and absurd post I've ever seen or read in my entire life. Seek help.

Non-iron shirts are fine, they don't feel any different than regular shirts, and are the go-to choice for business professionals who actually need to look presentable during the day. I can assure you clients do not give a flying **** how "soft" Thomas Mason golden virgin-weave fabric feels on your baby soft skin, creases do indeed look like ****. If you're that sensitive to something 99% of the population doesn't even notice, I suggest you start lotioning and drink a beer once in a while. Jesus Christ.

 

[GBR]

What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously, like, are you okay? This is the most awkward and absurd post I've ever seen or read in my entire life. Seek help.

Non-iron shirts are fine, they don't feel any different than regular shirts, and are the go-to choice for business professionals who actually need to look presentable during the day. I can assure you clients do not give a flying **** how "soft" Thomas Mason golden virgin-weave fabric feels on your baby soft skin, creases do indeed look like ****. If you're that sensitive to something 99% of the population doesn't even notice, I suggest you start lotioning and drink a beer once in a while. Jesus Christ.

Nonsense!

So-called non-iron shirts can be see a mile off because no treatment is successful for the full life of a shirt and many scarcely at all: A properly ironed shirt that fits stays presentable all day.

If you cannot be bothered looking after your shirts, then good luck.

 

[Caustic Man]

I'm sorry to say that the debate on non iron shirts follows it everywhere! This well meaning thread can't help but be ransacked by the conflict. FWIW, I actually own a couple non-iron BB but I acquired them by accident, not knowing that they were of that variety. They aren't bad. Nice shirts that have held up well.

[Non-iron shirts] are the go-to choice for business professionals who actually need to look presentable during the day.

^^^ This is precisely why some people despise non-iron. It gives the impression that you HAVE to look professional. Having to look professional means you have to have a job to survive. Having to have a job means that you are a wage slave and, no matter how expensive your clothes, you are still at the mercy of your employer.

In reality most of us need jobs but the best jobs (in my not so humble opinion) are the ones in which looking professional is slightly absurd. God help me, I don't think I could survive in business...

 

[teknique22]

I'm sorry to say that the debate on non iron shirts follows it everywhere! This well meaning thread can't help but be ransacked by the conflict. FWIW, I actually own a couple non-iron BB but I acquired them by accident, not knowing that they were of that variety. They aren't bad. Nice shirts that have held up well.



^^^ This is precisely why some people despise non-iron. It gives the impression that you HAVE to look professional. Having to look professional means you have to have a job to survive. Having to have a job means that you are a wage slave and, no matter how expensive your clothes, you are still at the mercy of your employer.

In reality most of us need jobs but the best jobs (in my not so humble opinion) are the ones in which looking professional is slightly absurd. God help me, I don't think I could survive in business...

This is probably one of the most childish and least-thought out responses to a statement ever made. You know, first hand, of people that despise non-iron on the sole basis that it gives off the impression you're some kind of lowly peon? Listen, Zuckerberg, not only is this laughably absurd, but it's also mildly insulting.

Why ever wear dress clothes at all at that point? Why not just wear sweatpants and slippers exclusively? Why even brush your teeth? Why wear hair gel? Why shave?

Is it that hard for you to realize that wearing wrinkled clothes makes it appear that you're clothes aren't fresh? That some people despise looking like they slept in their shirt by 2PM? Some people, despite what you may think, actually not only need, but *want* to look presentable for the same reasons they brush their teeth, wear hair product, take showers every day.

I find it amusing that some people here who are so peculiar about such minute details on articles of clothing such as the peak lapel stitching style, the button stance on your shirts, the styling of the lapel, can't wrap their head around the fact that others care about wearing non-wrinkled and sloppy looking clothes.

And no, you cannot honestly claim that your Thomas Mason butter-woven 100% wrinkled shirt feels more comfortable than a t-shirt and sweats, so why not just wear that if that's your stance anyway.

 

[Caustic Man]

How very middle class of you.

 

[teknique22]

How very middle class of you.

Forgot to add:

Why not just wear dirty clothes? Why not roll around in the mud, get some dirt of those suits of yours. Make them look "lived-in". Wait...you're saying you want to wear clean clothes? With no stains? No mustard drippings on your shirt to "prove" you live in your clothes? How absurd. You want to look......PRISTINE??????? What an anomaly.

It's amusing you arbitrarily draw the line at wrinkled clothes for where you stop being so pedantic about your appearance. You'll, ostensibly, care about having the most pristine tie, the perfect pair of clean suede shoes (for which you insert shoe trees to keep them looking "fresh"), meticulously placed pocket square revealing only 0.5" inch of fabric at any given time, and (I'm reaching here) a standard, groomed appearance in terms of being perfectly shaven and hair parted at all times. Yet, you wouldn't *dare* ever think to care about sloppy creasing in your shirts that make you look like you just rolled around the yard for 40 minutes, because we all need to be aware you have ample free time on your hands to be your own boss. Truly admirable, Zuck.

 

[Caustic Man]

tldr

 

[teknique22]

tldr

You should have ample time to read through that during your morning commute from the bedroom to the living room, where you apparently spend most of your time taking pictures of yourself in cute jeans in between managing your own business and arguing over shirt fabrics on the internet with random strangers.

 

[dunivan]

I wear banana republic no iron shirts. No issues here. They hold up well in the car and I can get up without driving wrinkles.

 

[jacobftww]

This thread escalated quickly LMAO

 

[Misterg12]

This thread escalated quickly LMAO

It sure did. Last night I was thinking to myself that I needed new shirts and fell upon this this topic with much enthusiasm. Not quite what I was expecting to say the least. Now I am contemplating the decisions I have made in my life.

 

[Andy57]

Is it that hard for you to realize that wearing wrinkled clothes makes it appear that you're clothes aren't fresh? That some people despise looking like they slept in their shirt by 2PM?

What on earth are you doing that if you wear a regular shirt it looks like you slept in it by 2pm? Have you considered buying better quality shirts?

 

[Lionel Hutz]

"FWIW, I actually own a couple non-iron BB but I acquired them by accident, not knowing that they were of that variety. They aren't bad. Nice shirts that have held up well."

My issue with BB non-iron in the mid 00s was that quality was so uneven. Quality depended upon the country of manufacture and was wildly uneven. Jos A Bank has (IMO) more uniform standards. The pricing is stupid but the MSRP $109 shirts I pick up for $25-29 on clearance compare favorably to my zegna shirts in terms of quality. The non-iron treatment is wonderful and holds up very well in my experience. Non iron shirts now represent 90% of shirt sales at Brooks Brothers per the NYT ("Brooks Brothers, which started offering non-iron shirts in 1998, sold six million last year, or about 90 percent of its shirt sales, said Joe Dixon, its senior vice president for global sourcing and production"). I have no doubt posters who feel non iron is beneath them also feel BB is beneath them and I hope they won't waste our time posting about it.

Manufacturers have made strides in ameliorating many of the common complaints (stiff. hot etc) and higher end companies are moving into the non-iron/wrinkle resistant space. AFAIK the following comprise most of the market and I'd be interested in hearing about everyone's experiences with these makers and the trends discussed in this article from 2015 (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/fashion/mens-style/behold-the-non-iron-shirt.html)

Brooks Bros
Jos A Bank
Thomas Pink
J Crew
Uniqlo
charles tyrwhitt
Zegna
Lands End