|
You may find that your closet is full of good clothes, and yet you
still do not get the response you look for, whether it be from
colleagues, women or the man at the bank. Perhaps your clothes
are not of the highest quality, but you simply want to present them at
their best.
Ironing your shirt is the best way to
improve your image, and TheGenuineMan.com will show you how. While it
is important to iron your dress pants as well, the shirt is the most
noticeable part of your wardrobe because they are often lighter in
color and are in the line of sight of others.
These instructions are for cotton
shirts, which most shirts are. The same rules apply to all shirts, but
the temperature setting on your iron may change. If you are too lazy to
iron your shirt, you can usually have shirts laundered and pressed at
the dry-cleaners, but since it takes no more than 5 minutes to do, that
money is better spent elsewhere.
Step 1 - Back and Front
Start with the shirt laid out over
the end of the ironing board, with the back spread over the edge. I
prefer to have the collar hanging over the tip of the board, as it
allows you to position the point into the corners of the shirt.
With the iron set on the cotton
setting(usually medium heat setting with steam), begin to smooth the
wrinkles away, adding a burst of steam whenever there is a particularly
stubborn spot. Always keep the iron moving to avoid burning the
fabric and continue until the area of the shirt on the board is smooth.
If there are pleats in the back of the shirt (quite common for
comfort), simply iron the edges of the pleats down along the crease so
they lay as flat as possible.
Next move the shirt along the board so that you are repositioning
wrinkled areas of the shirt over the top of the board, smoothing out
the wrinkles and continuing on.
Make sure to pay special attention to
the front of the shirt, making sure that the pockets and button hole
strip lie flat. Do your best to get the tip of the iron in between the
buttons.
Step 2 - Sleeves
Sleeves can be difficult, because
they are tapered over their length. Directly on top of the shoulder
should be a crease from a of a previous ironing. Using that crease try
to spread the sleeve out over the board, so that the sleeve stays as
flat as possible. Iron flat, then flip the sleeve over and get the
other side. It is nearly impossible to get the sleeves totally smooth.
Just do your best. As you wear the shirt any small imperfections on the
sleeve will not be noticed.
Now you have a moderately well ironed
shirt. To cap it off and make it look really sharp you need a secret
weapon. And it will only cost you about three bucks. Spray Starch.
Step 3 - Collar and Cuffs
Take the shirt off the board and lay the collar out, with the inside of
the shirt facing up. Spray a quick blast of starch over the entire
collar, and iron it flat. When ironing the collar, iron from the
outside in for the smoothest look. Flip the shirt over so that the
outside of the back of the shirt is now facing up. Again, spray the
collar with starch, and press. Continue moving the iron back and forth
until the starch is dry. You will notice the iron will move much easier
over the collar as the starch dries. This will ensure crisp, pointed
collars that don't curl under and look sloppy.
Next, take the collar and fold it over as you would when wearing it.
Iron only the area near the fold, about ½ inch from the edge.
This will give you a sharp peak on the collar, and is an important
detail.
Open up the cuffs and iron in the same manner as you did for the
collar. A bit of spray starch, iron the inside, flip, starch and iron
the outside. This will give you a sharp cuff that holds it shape. If
you are wearing this shirt under a jacket the cuff will not bunch up
under the jacket as easily, and if you are flipping the cuff over a
sweater it will look much nicer. This step can be skipped if you are
simply rolling the sleeves up, however keeping all parts of the shirt
ironed will make it easier to iron the next time.
The last step is to flip the shirt around so that the button hole strip
is facing up on the board. Spray this entire strip with starch, and
press until dry.
There you have it. A crisp shirt with button holes that run tight and
straight, with crisp, peaked collars and distinguished cuffs.
This same process can be applied to the collars of polo shirts which
tend to curl over time.
Always pay careful attention to the heat settings found on the label of
the shirt and follow their instructions if there are any. Some shirts
will be damaged by high or even medium heat settings. Make sure that
you Keep the iron moving, and don't forget to unplug it when you are
finished.
|
All Fashion
Articles
|
