A fresh and crisp formal shirt speaks volumes. Your attire when worn and how it appears will leave a lasting impressions on others, which can impact your career prospects, social and personal relationships and your overall confidence.
To achieve a professional and well kept look, you will need to follow a few simple steps to care for and maintain your formal shirts. Whether you’re rocking a $30 or $300 made to measure formal shirt, proper maintenance of your formal shirts will keep you looking sharp as well as prolonging the lifespan of your formal shirt.
This shirt care guide will cover all you need to know about taking care of your formal shirts, including washing, drying, ironing, hanging and more. We’ll also share tips to extend the lifespan of your formal shirts and keep them looking fresh and crisp every time.
How to take care of your formal shirts
- How to wash formal shirts
- How to dry formal shirts
- How to iron formal shirts
- How to hang and store formal shirts
- How to remove stains from formal shirts
- Tips to prolong the lifespan of your formal Shirts
1. How to wash formal shirts
Machine washing your formal shirts
You can wash most formal shirts in the laundry machine as long they’re made of cotton. Michelozzo formal shirts are all machine washable and all our shirts are made from the finest cotton fabrics.
Firstly you want to unbutton all openings and spot clean any stubborn stains before machine washing your Michelozzo formal Shirts.
Place your Michelozzo formal shirts into individual washing bags. Run the delicate cycle with warm water for lighter colored formal shirts. Use cold water for darker colored formal shirts.
A good tip is to use high-quality detergents to prevent fading or discoloration (low-quality detergents may contain chlorine, which fades shirts much faster).
Finally don’t stop the wash cycle early. Allow your machines spin cycle to wring out as much excess water as possible before drying your formal shirts.
Dry cleaning your formal shirts
Cotton formal shirts aren’t actually dry-cleaned when you take them into the cleaners. They’re machine washed, then pressed and dried using an industrial presser.
The wash and pressing method is relatively inexpensive, so it’s a good option if you’re not comfortable washing your own formal shirts or don’t have the time. However keep in mind consistent trips to the cleaners can add up and become costly over time.
Constant dry-cleaning and pressing can damage shirts. Ask for your shirts to be hand-pressed, if possible. On rare occasions, buttons can break, or the material can stretch out, so make sure to find a dry cleaner you trust.
2. How to dry formal shirts
Hang drying formal shirts
It is important to dry your formal shirts properly after washing. We recommend air-drying your dress shirts. Air-drying prevents shrinkage and wrinkles.
A good tip is to use a durable hanger to air dry your shirts. Hang in a well ventilated area and eliminate any excess water prior to hanging.
Machine drying formal shirts
Machine drying can damage dress shirts, especially on high heat. If you must use this method, set your drying machine on a low to medium heat to reduce the possibility of shrinkage.How to Iron and Remove Wrinkles from Formal Shirts
3. How to iron formal shirts
A invaluable advice we can give for this step is to invest in a good iron and ironing board. Poorly made irons have uneven soleplates, which can damage your formal shirts.
If your iron has a water reservoir then your set (if it doesn’t, make sure you have a water mister on hand). Your formal shirts should be damp (but not wet) prior to ironing. Use the lowest setting possible.
Follow these four simple steps for ironing.
- Start with the sleeves: Sleeves tend to be the most difficult part so it helps to get them out of the way first and it will prevent creases once you start moving the shirt around the ironing board.
- Iron the back: Pay extra attention to the pleats.
- Iron the front: If there’s a pocket, iron from the sides toward the center.
- Save the collar for last: Work from the sides toward the center.
4. How to hang and store formal shirts
To prevent wrinkles and repeating the ironing process your formal shirts should be hung as soon as you’re done drying and ironing them.
Invest in quality wood hangers for your formal shirts. Avoid flimsy wire hangers as they’re less durable and bend easily, which can alter the shape and fit of your shirt.
Button up all openings on your formal shirts. Allow room for ventilation and hang formal shirts two inches apart in your closet.
5. How to remove stains from formal shirts
Removing sweat stains or other types of stubborn stains is a drain on your time, energy and money (and in the worse case scenarios you might end up throwing the shirt away after all that effort).
Here are a few of our recommend formulas for removing sweat stains from formal shirts:
- Dish soap and hydrogen peroxide
- Oxi-Clean
- Aspirin and hot water
- White vinegar and warm water
- Lemon and table salt
6. Tips to prolong the lifespan of your formal Shirts
Launder less
If your shirts aren’t noticeably dirty or stained, consider skipping a wash.
Washing, drying and dry cleaning presses can reduce the lifespan of your formal shirts. With each cleaning cycle, the fibers and colors in your formal shirts just like any other piece of clothing deteriorate, which is why they look less new and more faded each time you launder them.
Rotation
Just like your suits, shoes and undergarments, your formal shirts shouldn’t be worn every day but instead you should have a few formal shirts to rotate throughout the week.
Removes the plastic cover from dry cleaned formal shirts
Remove those plastic bags as soon as you get them back from the dry cleaners. Leaving them in too long can trap humidity and cause your shirts to mildew or turn yellow. Let your formal shirts need to breathe!
Another good tip is to let you formal shirts and suits to hang by an open window overnight after a day of wear. Letting your formal shirts breathe before storing them in you closet.
Invest in good quality undershirts
If you want to get the most wear out of every dress shirt you own, you need to properly care for them and protect them.
Undershirts prevent perspiration from reaching outer the layers of clothing in this case you formal shirt. You’ll never again have to throw away another dress shirt that’s been ruined by sweat stains.
Michelozzo is also currently working on a hydro sweat proof technology fabric designed for a new line of undershirts that can be worn with our formal shirt collection. So remember to follow us so you know when they are available!