Polo dress shirts - Impossible to iron?

overdog · Jun 24, 2008

I like Polo custom fit dress shirts as a good value buy, but I find that I rarely wear mine because their collars are impossible to iron. It's not just that the collars have a soft interlining; Polo does something weird where there is more fabric on the outside layer of the collar than around the inside layer. Any attempts at ironing the collar (mine or the dry cleaners') always result in unsightly creases in the collar.

Anyone have any tips or experiences to share?

BBRex · Jun 24, 2008

I've had that happen with some of their other shirts. It's really frustrating because the body of the shirts irons so well.

greekgeek · Jun 24, 2008

Originally Posted by overdog

Anyone have any tips or experiences to share?

Use a high end Rowenta with the fine point tip. Start at the collar tips and work your way back to the midpoint.

fatherseanfan · Jun 24, 2008

I've had the same problem with a white Polo dress shirt. I wouldn't buy them again for this reason.

overdog · Jun 24, 2008

Originally Posted by greekgeek

Use a high end Rowenta with the fine point tip. Start at the collar tips and work your way back to the midpoint.

But if you start at both collars and work your way in, won't that leave extra fabric at the midpoint and result in a crease there?

NoVaguy · Jun 24, 2008

I don't know about Polo, but I only iron the back side of the collar and I've never had much of a problem.

fatherseanfan · Jun 30, 2008

Originally Posted by overdog

But if you start at both collars and work your way in, won't that leave extra fabric at the midpoint and result in a crease there?

Exactly what happens.

greekgeek · Jul 1, 2008

Originally Posted by overdog

But if you start at both collars and work your way in, won't that leave extra fabric at the midpoint and result in a crease there?

You just iron into the the middle from one side, and then the other. Do not set the crease at the center just "toss" the excess back and forth to remove wrinkles.

Unless you are starching your collars for a very stiff look they will be just fine.

overdog · Jul 1, 2008

^Thanks. Sounds like I need to get a more delicate iron.

Are Polo collars entirely non-fused? Is this why the excess fabric phenomenon keeps happening?

greekgeek · Jul 1, 2008

Originally Posted by overdog

^Thanks. Sounds like I need to get a more delicate iron.

Are Polo collars entirely non-fused? Is this why the excess fabric phenomenon keeps happening?

Any iron should work for this but if you do your own ironing alot it really, really pays to get a good iron.

As you iron from one side, gently pull the collar taught so the fabric leading into to the iron is flat. Then do the same thing in the other direction. Leave the loose material in the middle and it should be unnoticable upon wearing.

I am unsure about the specifics of why this happens with collars. My guess is that the cutters simply did not use tight enough tolerances before the shirt was stitched together. Or the shirt may have poorly aligned stitching. FWIW my Polo shirts do not really have this problem but some others do.

overdog · Jul 1, 2008

Originally Posted by greekgeek

As you iron from one side, gently pull the collar taught so the fabric leading into to the iron is flat. Then do the same thing in the other direction. Leave the loose material in the middle and it should be unnoticable upon wearing.
That is the solution that I pretty much came to last time I tried to iron it. I was just a little disappointed that I couldn't achieve a nice crisp-looking collar, but I'll just have to deal with it I guess. But it's reassuring that I'm not the only one who experiences this. In one of my attempts to pull the collar as taught as possible, I even tried ironing the collar against a round aluminum tin. Unfortunately, due to the curve of the surface, I wasn't able to get much heat transfer between the iron and the shirt.

Journeyman · Jul 1, 2008

Originally Posted by greekgeek

As you iron from one side, gently pull the collar taught so the fabric leading into to the iron is flat. Then do the same thing in the other direction. Leave the loose material in the middle and it should be unnoticable upon wearing.

I am unsure about the specifics of why this happens with collars. My guess is that the cutters simply did not use tight enough tolerances before the shirt was stitched together. Or the shirt may have poorly aligned stitching. FWIW my Polo shirts do not really have this problem but some others do.

I use the above ironing method, too.

I don't know if the "loose" fabric has anything to do with poor tolerances.
I suspect it has more to do with the unfused collar and the fact that when you actually wear the collar, the fact that it is turned down and curved then tightens up the previously loose fabric. That is, the collar is actually designed with a little bit of give to it so that it sits properly when buttoned up and turned down.

SkinnyGoomba · Jul 1, 2008

I have one polo shirt i bought from the mall that does this, the ones i bought from the RL store with Shell buttons never do this.

strange, i was pretty aggrivated when trying to iron the collar on my Polo "Mall" label shirt, eventually i'll have my tailor fix it, and remove the plastic buttons and replace them with shell.

Polo dress shirts - Impossible to iron?

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