# Starch or No Starch



## jmr (Mar 6, 2006)

What is your opinion on what looks better for dress shirts, starch or no-starch? Thanks.


----------



## Will (Jun 15, 2004)

Starch will significantly reduce the useful life of your shirts. And it's uncomfortable. Just say no.


----------



## Buffalo (Nov 19, 2003)

Absolutely no, it will ruin your shirt and looks like you are wearing cardboard. If these are good shirts and you value them, don't use starch.


----------



## rnoldh (Apr 22, 2006)

*What about humid places like Houston?*



Will said:


> Starch will significantly reduce the useful life of your shirts. And it's uncomfortable. Just say no.


I know exactly where you are coming from and I basically agree.

But I live in Houston, Tx. At work, I often go outdoors to show brand new homes in various stages of construction. It's 95 degrees and humid in the summer.

I wear what I consider "average shirts" to work, such as Ike Behar, Polo, etc. I don't wear my "Italian shirts" to work. But I do have my shirts laundered with starch for work. If I don't, they look like linen shirts after 5 minutes outside, and like rags after 1/2 hour outside!

Does anyone have any input on this? I would prefer not to starch my shirts for work. But I don't want to look like I've slept in them! Personally, I don't notice much difference in comfort in my starched or unstarched shirts either!

Finally, my cleaner readily agreed that starch will readily shorten the life of my shirts, but he did not indicate it would be significant! What I mean by this is that if the life of the starched shirt is 1/2 or less of the life of an un-starched shirt, that is pretty significant and gets my attention. But if it reduces the shirt's life by 20% or less, I can live with that, in order to look more presentable in the heat and humidity!

Anyone have any input on this? Alex K, are you out there? Would you consider it blasphemous if someone were to put starch one of your shirts?

Regards and Thanks to All,
rnoldh


----------



## joeyzaza (Dec 9, 2005)

I have tried it both ways. I prefer starch and I do not think it is that much harder on the shirt. Cuffs and collars on cotten shirts do not hold up to wrinkles if they are not starched.


----------



## tabasco (Jul 17, 2006)

*life IS wrinkled*

:idea: Startch: give it up.


----------



## JMatt (Feb 16, 2006)

I have a middle of the road approach.

I have two dry cleaning bags with my name/address/dry-cleaning preferences written on the tag.

One bag says "No starch" while the other says "light starch."
In that way, I randomly get either a little, or no starch. I feel it avoids build-up, and is at most 1/2 as bad as using starch all the time. The shirts also stay looking nice longer each day.

The purists (and likely the correct) will say to never use starch.


----------



## Tomasso (Aug 17, 2005)

*Starch Is Evil!*

It's been my experience that a starched shirt wrinkles quicker and more severely than an unstarched shirt. Also, starch reduces the breathability of cotton, which is not a good thing.


----------



## Buffalo (Nov 19, 2003)

rnoldh said:


> I know exactly where you are coming from and I basically agree.
> 
> But I live in Houston, Tx. At work, I often go outdoors to show brand new homes in various stages of construction. It's 95 degrees and humid in the summer.
> 
> ...


How about the no-iron shirts out there.


----------



## Phinn (Apr 18, 2006)

I live in South Florida, and have lived in New Orleans and San Antonio in the last few years as well, so I am certainly familiar with the kind of weather you get in Houston. 

I do not starch my shirts. If anything, I have found that starch caused the wrinkles on my shirts to be more pronounced. With heavy starch, the shirt would do more than just wrinkle -- it would crease, leaving a permanent fold. 

I switched to using distilled water. I put it in an ordinary spray bottle, the kind you'd use for misting plants (they sell them in the garden section). Set it to a fine spray. 

Then, I set the iron to the hottest setting, but it has no steam. I do not put any water in the iron. The distilled water that you spray onto the shirt makes its own steam when it is ironed. The results are perfect (when I am paying attention and not rushed for time.) 

I have also found that pinpoint oxford is a much easier fabric to keep looking pressed compared to heavy, traditional oxford. In terms of weight, pinpoint oxford is sort of halfway between regular oxford and broadcloth. I never get that linen-like effect any more. The material stays softer. By the end of the day, it's just kind of wavy, not creased. 

Another thing to consider is that the starch may be reducing the air flow through the shirt, making it feel hotter, and making you sweat more. My current shirts have never been starched, and combined with the lighter weight pinpoint fabric, the difference in comfort level compared to the heavy Polo and Brooks style OCBDs that I used to wear is very significant.


----------



## medwards (Feb 6, 2005)

Where's Alex????? That Kabbaz fellow is always around until you need him!  Well, if he were here, he would say: *Do not use starch*!


----------



## fthomas (Aug 17, 2006)

Although it is more difficult to find a good drycleaning outfit to handle them, I prefer to have the collars and cuffs only dipped in light starch (and no starch on the rest of the shirt). The starch stays with them through several washings, so I only have this done every three or four times the shirts are laundered.

Of course, maybe I'm just ruining my shirts...but I find the stiffer collars and cuffs look better with my suits. :icon_smile:


----------



## medwards (Feb 6, 2005)

fthomas said:


> I find the stiffer collars and cuffs look better


OK...then where's Mitchell..who can tell us about the tradition and sophistication of detachable collars and their proper care????


----------



## kitonbrioni (Sep 30, 2004)

I have the laundry do light starch but as shirts wear I've found high-starch extend the useful life of older shirts.


----------



## Tomasso (Aug 17, 2005)

fthomas said:


> but I find the stiffer collars and cuffs look better with my suits.


Why not just buy shirts with a stiffer interlining in the collar and cuffs?


----------



## fthomas (Aug 17, 2006)

Tomasso said:


> Why not just buy shirts with a stiffer interlining in the collar and cuffs?


Because I find, over time, that the periodic light starching creates a crisper (rather than just stiffer) look, when pressed carefully. With certain outfits, I really like when the barrel of the cuff keeps a perfect cylinder all day. Personal choice, I guess. :icon_smile:


----------



## Brideshead (Jan 11, 2006)

I use a light spray starch on certain mainly light coloured shirts. I spray lightly around collar and cuffs before ironing with a hot iron. I also use distilled water spray as required throughout the ironing process. If you have enough shirts in rotation a small reduction in life expectancy will not be an issue.


----------



## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

No starch


----------



## yachtie (May 11, 2006)

Switched from spray starch to "Magic Sizing". Supposedly it won't degrade the shirts as starch is supposed to.


----------



## kkollwitz (Oct 31, 2005)

I launder & press my own dress shirts. Depending on my mood I either use plain water spray on them or a self-mixed water & starch spray (no more aerosol starch). I suppose in the end, I feel sharper & more alert in a starched shirt.


----------



## Alexander Kabbaz (Jan 9, 2003)

rnoldh said:


> Alex K, are you out there? Would you consider it blasphemous if someone were to put starch one of your shirts?


 No. But I would consider that it would void any warranties, implicit, implied, spoken, statutory, written or imagined as the only care instructions on my label are "No Starch!".

Also, I would consider it unintelligient, profitable, and beneficial to a shirtmaker's bottom line as the life of the shirt would certainly be lessened by a goodly factor.

Starch on, MacDuff. I'll take that to the bank!


----------



## pkincy (Feb 9, 2006)

I have been wearing good dress shirts for 40 years and have spent 1/2 that time using starch and the last 20 years without.

First, you will get starch in a no starch request. It comes from the ironing process due to the residual starch on the iron. And it is enough. The no starch shirt will hold up during the day much better than a heavily starched shirt.

I understand the Houston environment and was there for the first 20 years of my business career. I frankly don't see what you can do unless you take my path, which is move far far away. That humidity will ruin any shirt, starch, unstarched or hand washed polo.

Good luck.

Perry


----------



## Leicester square (May 28, 2006)

A give mine a light starch when ironing.

As has been said if you have a sufficient number to have a proper rotation the reduction in life will not be an issue.

I want razor sharp creases in the sleeves and on the cuffs, so I will not be changing.


----------



## yachtie (May 11, 2006)

Leicester Square:


> want razor sharp creases in the sleeves and on the cuffs, so I will not be changing.


Creased Cuffs?:crazy:


----------



## wvuguy (May 29, 2006)

pkincy said:


> First, you will get starch in a no starch request. It comes from the ironing process due to the residual starch on the iron. And it is enough. The no starch shirt will hold up during the day much better than a heavily starched shirt.


Hmmmm........:idea:


----------



## pendennis (Oct 6, 2005)

I've had shirts starched ranging from light-to medium-to heavy, for over forty years. I wouldn't have shirts laundered without it. Shirts have a given life, and I believe that it's more the presser that causes the wear, than the starch.


----------



## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

*no starch*

When I began working indoors, in the humid east, I had my shirts starched even though I did not like the way they looked.

I stopped after a couple of years. I personally do not like the stiff and starched look, but rather prefer a slightly rumpled, lived-in look to my clothes.

Regards,
Gurdon


----------

