Regrettably, all costume shirts have a life span. Sooner or later, regardless of their high quality or how lovingly you care for them, repeated put on and washing have irreparable results. And it’s not all the time a dramatic rip alongside a seam or an enormous stain on the chest that forces a shirt into retirement. Oftentimes, it’s one thing small that sneaks up on you – often one thing on or across the collar. There are numerous necessary steps to take relating to caring for collars on button up shirts however the very best place to begin is to easily unbutton button down collars and flip them up earlier than throwing them within the wash.
This method has three invaluable results:
- It ensures that your collar ideas and button holes won’t get stretched out whereas within the laundry, serving to them proceed to put flat, snugly button down, and retain sharp, clear edges all the way in which round. In case you’ve ever had a shirt the place it’s a must to attempt to “re-crease” the collar as a result of it’s using up, it’s since you’ve been washing and drying them with the collars buttoned.
- The collar’s buttons keep away from being subjected to undue stress throughout the wash cycle, which can subsequently scale back the probabilities of the button’s stitching later coming free at an inopportune second.
- With the collar unfastened and flipped up, each side of the collar (notably the oft-neglected underside of the collar crease) will get totally cleaned (and dried).
The advantages of this follow is probably not instantly apparent the following time you test your self out within the mirror however your collar will retain its off-the-rack crispness and fold for a for much longer time, which is a priceless characteristic for a wardrobe staple like a button-down shirt.
Bonus tip! In a crowded closet or cramped garment bag, flipped-down collars can get flattened, deformed, and creased. So, after washing and drying your shirts, cling them with the collars flipped up to make sure they continue to be pristine whereas in storage.
