# Shirts that don't need ironing



## De Razor (May 20, 2011)

I have a couple of Ben Sherman shirts that must be 10 years old. I wash them in a machine then hang on the line to dry, they never need ironing.
In December I bought three Ben Sherman business shirts, Winchester Cut, thinking that they would not need ironing. Boy was I disappointed. Can anyone recommend a business shirt that doesn't need ironing - I find it such a chore and never get it quite right.


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## Topsider (Jul 9, 2005)

Two words: dry cleaner.


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## CMDC (Jan 31, 2009)

Kind of in the wrong crowd here. We like ironing, generally dislike the non-irons.


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## ArtVandalay (Apr 29, 2010)

Yea, you may want to check the fashion forum for answers to this question.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Actually, I'd say the trad forum shouldnt believe in ironing at all! OCBDs shouldnt be ironed to be properly rumpled IMO


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

hookem12387 I agree with this comment my friend. I been wearing OCBD since the early 1960. I get more compliments on the age, the look of these shirts. The subtle fraing is another nice look.

NO DRY CLEANING!!!!
Nothing, not wool suits and blazers as well.


FUI J Crew has a worn look in their shirts, a vintage look that they do nicely. I have not worn their shirts. Have bought shorts from them and t shirts. They use Thomas Mason fabric which is nice as well.

Let your shirt dry on the hanger in the interim, and continue that process, over 2-3 years you will have what you seek. Time seems to be the way these work.
This is why we have vintage look??

Nice day


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

De Razor: Sounds like the poly/cotton shirts they sell. There are much better places to get dress shirts than Ben Sherman, especially in the easy care or non-iron variety. Go for 100% cotton whenever you can.

DukeGrad: I shudder to think of the state of your clothes! I hope you at least use a clothes brush, spot clean, and iron out those creases that happen on trousers and the back of jackets.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

I would agree that must-iron is preferable to non-iron. However, tastes vary, and so I would direct you to a story that ran in the travel section of last Sunday's New York Times in which a reporter who covers campaigns gives travel tips. Apparently, both reporters and political operatives on the campaign trail swear by Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts, and I would have to agree with that if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to wear only non-iron shirts. Be aware, they are not inexpensive, at least to many folks--$79.50 apiece. Unfortunately, you just missed a 40-percent off sale, with 60 percent off for two days. Expect more steep discounts in late or mid summer.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

A BB sales associate steered me to their all cotton no-iron shirts and I plunged for a few. They still get sent to the cleaners (shirt laundry service) with the regular cotton ones. I have no idea whether they would launder up at home or in hotel without the wrinkles we cherish.
I would think the truly 'no-iron' shirt is an urban myth and if it exists, it comes at the price of too much synthetic material in the garment.


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## Serenus (Jun 19, 2009)

There has been a lot in the news about the resin coating that is put on non-iron shirts. If my sources are correct, it usually contains a small amount of formaldehyde. In June 2011, the US National Toxocology Program finally listed formaldehyde as a "known human carcinogen". This was after years of industry lobbying against this listing. Some people cannot wear non-iron shirts -- their skin breaks out in a very unpleasant way. The Government Accountability Office has conducted tests on shirts and found that the amount of formaldehyde in many shirts -- even after washing -- was somewhat higher than the allergic threshold for some people.

However, the number of people who have had good results with the shirts should also be taken into consideration. And, washing the shirt once before wearing it lowers the amount of potentially unpleasant chemicals. There are no disclosure requirements in the USA about formaldehyde content, so there is no way of knowing what is in the non-iron resin.

This having been said, I've never had a problem with the non-iron shirts...But I also wear many must-iron shirts. I never take shirts to the dry cleaner though unless they contain silk. I don't trust the dry cleaner all that much after one of my babies returned with a gigantic rip in the back.


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

Any dress shirt worn under a sweater is a non-iron shirt.

Unfortunately, as it's summer in New Zealand now (and does it ever get really cold in Auckland?), that's not much help for you.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

"Shirts that don't need ironing" can mean a few different things:

_Look reasonably businesslike without anyone ironing them_ (most likely meaning)
Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts are, so far as I can tell, the best here. Notwithstanding the one comment above, they are 100% cotton.

_Look reasonably businesslike without *you* ironing them_
An untreated cotton shirt that you send to be laundered and pressed by someone else.*

_Look suitable for a college student, but not an adult_
An untreated cotton shirt that you don't press at all.
______
* You don't dry clean cotton shirts ... I think it's pretty obvious that the poster above who mentioned a dry cleaner _meant_ a business that does dry cleaning and also does laundry. It's customary, at least in this country, to refer to such businesses as "dry cleaners," even though that's not the only thing they do. Businesses that _only_ do laundry exist, but they're not common outside of a few places (like New York City), where they're vanishing anyway.


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## cmacey (May 3, 2009)

De Razor said:


> Can anyone recommend a business shirt that doesn't need ironing - I find it such a chore...


That borders on heresy!


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## nolan50410 (Dec 5, 2006)

There is a place in every wardrobe for a wide variety of shirts. I recently lost a large amount of weight and started to replenish my shirts this fall. I bought 3 of the non-iron varieties first (white buttondown, blue spread, white spread) and then purchased 4 OCBDs in the after Christmas sale. I need an OCBD for a more casual outfit like a blazer or sportcoat, but I also need a starched and crisp shirt for suits. I'm too cheap to use cleaners for starching shirts, so I went with the non-irons. They are a little warm, but it's a small trade off versus the expense and pain of sending shirts to the cleaners.

I'm not sure if wearing non-iron shirts will give you cancer. I'd worry more about eating a healthy diet and exercising at least 5 days a week.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

I will say that the Brooks non-irons come out of the washer + dryer pretty much wrinkle free. It's impressive how well they come out


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## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> Actually, I'd say the trad forum shouldnt believe in ironing at all! OCBDs shouldnt be ironed to be properly rumpled IMO


100% correct!!!!!!!!!!

Andy B.


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## Gords (Nov 15, 2011)

I have a bunch of all cotton non-irons and like them. If there's a knock for me, it's their breathability. But I'm also a pretty good sweater. And even then, for about eight months of the year, that's not an issue at all. The other four months, I spend mostly inside during the work day anyway.

If I am uncomfortable, it's not because of the shirt. 

Brooks Bros, Jos. A Bank and LL Bean never need ironing for me. If I cared enough, the Lands End could stand an iron, but I just wear them out of the dryer too.

I won't buy the Lands End again. The others are just fine.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Non iron shirts are like polyester suits, I won't touch them. Ironing is good for the soul, and button downs I rarely iron.


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## Walter Denton (Sep 11, 2011)

I agree that Brooks' non-iron shirts are the most remarkably wrinkle free straight out of the dryer of any I have ever seen. My concern about them, however, is that they seem to wear holes in the elbows more quickly than any other shirt I have owned. I bought a few of them during a period when I was tired of taking care of shirts but none of them lasted for more than two months of weekly wearing. That's just a waste of money for me. I'm back to nothing but must iron.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

filfoster said:


> A BB sales associate steered me to their all cotton no-iron shirts and I plunged for a few. They still get sent to the cleaners (shirt laundry service) with the regular cotton ones. I have no idea whether they would launder up at home or in hotel without the wrinkles we cherish.


I think that one of the admittedly sparse benefits of no-iron is that the shirt pays for itself by avoiding the $1.25 laundry treatment. Why don't you wash them with the Jockeys? The only labor involved is to place the shirt on a hanger. Not many wrinkles to cherish, but then, I send my OCBDs out for "light starch." Weirdo, I know.
:wink2:
________________________________
"....the jacket's gonna be cut slim and checked
maybe a touch of seersucker, with an open neck......"
Pete Townshend


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

I don't where you're going that charges $1.25 to launder and press a shirt ... unless it's 1985.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Starch said:


> I don't where you're going that charges $1.25 to launder and press a shirt ... unless it's 1985.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

Starch said:


> I don't where you're going that charges $1.25 to launder and press a shirt ... unless it's 1985.


 LOL, you may be right, as it's been since 1985 since I've looked at the bill! Follow-up to follow. Seriously, it is a super-competitive area for dry cleaning.


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## Georgetown08 (Oct 5, 2011)

I think it costs me about $1.25 to have my dress shirts washed and pressed, but I live in Alabama. As to the OP's comment, the non-iron shirt is pretty ubiquitous (can something be "pretty ubiquitous"?) these days. I know BB carries a much greater variety of non-iron than must-iron in the dress shirt department. But oxford? In the case of that cloth, home washing and ironing is definitely good for the soul.


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## Timeisaperception (Oct 26, 2011)

If I may commit a bit of heresy myself:

I keep a few older 60/40 blend shirts on hand for when I need to rush out of the house (pop em in the dryer while you're in the shower, come out wrinkle free.) The fabric is a little on the scratchy side if you're used to smooth cotton, but they do the job. Of course, this is speaking as a college student, and not as a professional - I think people just appreciate the fact that my shirts have buttons on the front :tongue2:

/end heresy.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

Wait, so $1.25 is cheap for laundering? That's what I pay in Greenwich where milk goes for around $16 a gallon.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

eyedoc2180 said:


> I think that one of the admittedly sparse benefits of no-iron is that the shirt pays for itself by avoiding the $1.25 laundry treatment. Why don't you wash them with the Jockeys? The only labor involved is to place the shirt on a hanger. Not many wrinkles to cherish, but then, I send my OCBDs out for "light starch." Weirdo, I know.
> :wink2:
> ________________________________
> "....the jacket's gonna be cut slim and checked
> ...


Well, I always ironed my own before marriage, but shirt laundering is a profligate perq my wife allows me that I hope to continue. We pay $1.75 per shirt at our local, Atlas Cleaners in Newport KY and they do a very nice job, light starch on hangers. I used to have heavy starch and wondered why they wore out so quickly. Lightening the starch has at least doubled their service life. I just bundle them all, 'no-iron' all cottons and the 'regular' ones together.
I miss the sound of sheet metal bending of the heavy starch but honestly, the light starch looks fine. The collars seem to absorb more starch and look fine. (These are not OCBD, but the pinpoint cotton plain collars for work).


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

filfoster said:


> Well,
> I miss the sound of sheet metal bending of the heavy starch .....


Today's best line! Mrs. Eye says I don't dance well, and now I know that stiff shirts are probably the reason.
:tongue2:


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

You'd quadruple their service life by using no starch at all.  Any competent cleaner can iron a shirt flat without the need for it. Plus, IMO, it's simply more comfortable.


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## Tiger (Apr 11, 2010)

Jovan said:


> You'd quadruple their service life by using no starch at all.  Any competent cleaner can iron a shirt flat without the need for it. Plus, IMO, it's simply more comfortable.


Agree completely!

Note to the uninitiated: "Non-irons" are better now than they were years ago, and have the added advantage of saving $1.75 (my cost for local laundering and pressing) each time the shirt is worn. I own many shirts of both types, and generally prefer "must-irons," but "non-irons" do have their place.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

I only have one non-iron and hardly ever wear it. It's there for the occasional shirt emergency where I don't have one washed or pressed.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

Jovan said:


> You'd quadruple their service life by using no starch at all.  Any competent cleaner can iron a shirt flat without the need for it. Plus, IMO, it's simply more comfortable.


What is it about starch that shortens the life? I have not had this experience, with some shirts going much longer than I'd like!


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

Brooks has a bunch of non-iron shirts on sale now, 30% off for one, or 50% off for two, essentially two for one. At that price they're a pretty good deal. Afficionados say they're the best of the non-irons. 

A non-iron afficionado I'm not. I've sworn off after 10 years of wearing them (out) and sweating.


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## nolan50410 (Dec 5, 2006)

eyedoc2180 said:


> What is it about starch that shortens the life? I have not had this experience, with some shirts going much longer than I'd like!


It weakens the fibers of the material, causing the shirt to break down earlier than if you were just using steam.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Jovan said:


> You'd quadruple their service life by using no starch at all.  Any competent cleaner can iron a shirt flat without the need for it. Plus, IMO, it's simply more comfortable.


I may put this to the test. If I am in a GTH mood next time I take a batch in, I may just say 'no starch' and see what happens.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Additionally, it's better to get no creases in the sleeves.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Jovan said:


> Additionally, it's better to get no creases in the sleeves.


Point taken, but I bet many of us actually *like* those creases and the general overall 'wrinkliness' of the all cotton shirts!


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

Recently, I bought, on the Exchange, 4 white non-iron club collar BB shirts to wear on a business trip that required suits and no jacket removal because I needed to look formal and I don't really know how to iron. Inspired by my own genius, I also bought a handful of casual, plaid, non-iron OCBDs for a different (holiday) trip where I did not even need a jacket. Dumb. The stiffness did not feel right and, worse, they made look, well, stiff. Fortunately, a family member liked them so I passed them on. Rule-of-thumb, BB non-iron for formal (business) travel needs; otherwise, believe in a tag line for linen garments invented by a Spanish ad firm: _la arruga es bella _-- wrinkles are beautiful. After a certain age, that phrase really blossoms, for it applies, beautifully, to clothing, skin and, one hopes, the brain.


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## blue suede shoes (Mar 22, 2010)

Gords said:


> I have a bunch of all cotton non-irons and like them. If there's a knock for me, it's their breathability. But I'm also a pretty good sweater. And even then, for about eight months of the year, that's not an issue at all. The other four months, I spend mostly inside during the work day anyway.
> 
> If I am uncomfortable, it's not because of the shirt.
> 
> ...


My experience mimics that of the above poster. Although I prefer the traditional must iron OCBD, I have quite a few non-iron OCBD, broadcloth, and pinpoint, and have found that the best non-iron shirts are from Brooks Brothers, JosABank, and LLBean. They are 100% cotton, which I require, and turn out very well if hung on a hanger right out of the washer. Also, while one can feel the non-iron coating on the material of those brands, they do not have the thick non-iron coating that is found on so many other overpriced brands of non-irons available at department stores.

My favorite is the LLBean non-iron OCBD.

Unfortunately, none of them are made in the US, Brooks and LLBean are made in Malaysia, while JosABanks is made in the Phillipines.


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

Timeisaperception said:


> If I may commit a bit of heresy myself:
> 
> I keep a few older 60/40 blend shirts on hand for when I need to rush out of the house (pop em in the dryer while you're in the shower, come out wrinkle free.) The fabric is a little on the scratchy side if you're used to smooth cotton, but they do the job. Of course, this is speaking as a college student, and not as a professional - I think people just appreciate the fact that my shirts have buttons on the front :tongue2:
> 
> /end heresy.


I find the old-fashioned blends more comfortable than modern non-irons.

If it can pass for business casual, lightweight all-cotton twill, like LE Highlander, is fine right out of the dryer.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

efdll said:


> Rule-of-thumb, BB non-iron for formal (business) travel needs; otherwise, believe in a tag line for linen garments invented by a Spanish ad firm: _la arruga es bella _-- wrinkles are beautiful. After a certain age, that phrase really blossoms, for it applies, beautifully, to _*clothing, skin and, one hopes, the*_ *brain*.


Two of three is still a good average.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

filfoster said:


> Point taken, but I bet many of us actually *like* those creases and the general overall 'wrinkliness' of the all cotton shirts!


At my local BB store, staffed by youths ignorant of the lore -- I'd tell them Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill in a uniform made for him by BB, but they wouldn't know who TR was or where SJH is -- or the goods -- when I asked for madras shorts after the season, one staffer went back into the storeroom and proudly came back with seersucker -- or how to dress, all the shirts on the racks were non-iron so they had to go find me a must-iron OCBD after I told them, "I like wrinkles." From the way they looked at me, I knew they figured dementia had set in.


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## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

efdll said:


> ... all the shirts on the racks were non-iron so they had to go find me a must-iron OCBD after I told them, "I like wrinkles." From the way they looked at me, I knew they figured dementia had set in.


I had a similar problem at a local BB. When I told them I didn't want non-iron shirts they just looked at me like I was a weirdo. Well, maybe I am a weirdo, but they didn't need to look at me like that. 

Andy B.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

filfoster said:


> Point taken, but I bet many of us actually *like* those creases and the general overall 'wrinkliness' of the all cotton shirts!


I think you misunderstood me. By creases I meant the ones that are pressed in deliberately. I'm all about "must-iron" shirts.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Jovan said:


> I think you misunderstood me. By creases I meant the ones that are pressed in deliberately. I'm all about "must-iron" shirts.


Understood. I can only speak for myself, but I like them. Aren't the creases from pressing traditional' or 'Trad', too?


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Supposedly it's better to leave them out, it will last longer etc.


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## Virginia-Style (Oct 21, 2010)

i dont mind ironing - its like cooking - they both have a definitive start / process / end with a reward. if you do them right... nothing at my job ever seems to end. with that said i have switched to the non-iron BB shirts. more so for how they look at the end of the day - i cant stand the wrinkles of the must irons at the end of the day. an the non irons iron easily if you happen to be in a hurry... i dont notice a comfort difference between the BB non irons and must irons...


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## Kondi (Jan 5, 2012)

Brooks brothers.com click on sale then select size, 50% off two. But they are not offering staples like white. eBay has BB no-iron new with tags for less than retail from seller Brooksbothers_factory.


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

filfoster said:


> Point taken, but I bet many of us actually *like* those creases and the general overall 'wrinkliness' of the all cotton shirts!


Yup. To me the non-irons look unnatural. Unfortunately that seems to be the new standard.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

But... God forbid you have wrinkles in your elbows! :icon_smile_big:


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

Starch said:


> I don't where you're going that charges $1.25 to launder and press a shirt ... unless it's 1985.


Uh, yeah. As follow-up, I paid $1.90 per shirt this week. This has outstripped insurance reimbursement and maybe inflation. In case Medicare cuts go through, I am practicing saying "You want starch? Light or heavy?" On a related note, my only BB non-iron seems to be softening with multiple washings. I'm telling you, the laundry savings will pay for the shirt soon, and I don't hate it.


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