Film Noir Buff Style Forum / Help Req:: Non Iron shirts

fxh · 2010-11-09 18:44:01

I've never owned a non iron shirt.

In fact I like thick cotton oxfords that crinkle a bit after wear, but a few shirts I'd like to have only come in non-iron.

I assume they aren't really non iron - just crease less during wear?

The blurbs say non iron is just as good but with some extra something that makes them non iron. Do they feel just the same or are they stiffer? Do they wash the same? Do they look non iron - say unnaturally smooth?

And finally - no joke - how do they iron up?

edit:: And one final question: will this end up on Gilga's Inane post of the day?

Last edited by fxh (2010-11-09 18:46:25)

The_Shooman · 2010-11-09 18:56:51

Last edited by The_Shooman (2010-11-09 18:57:27)

Bob Loblaw · 2010-11-09 18:58:59

I owned a Brooks Brothers non iron but in my subjective opinion it wore a bit warm and as was stated above - the fabric felt a bit heavy. I didn't keep it long as it went into my hospital's donation closet.

My Pet, A Pantsuit · 2010-11-09 19:48:30

It depends on what is meant by "just as good." It certainly looks good when worn and can retain shape rather well. The construction is different enough to make the two incomparable, in my opinion.

Many non-iron shirts are produced by the same company in Malaysia (Pen Textile Group), because they supposedly retain a patent on a non-iron process that is particularly good. Brooks says that it's an enzyme wash that causes the shirts to "straighten out" when exposed to low levels of heat, such as in contact with a drier, steamer, or iron. What that enzyme is, exactly, avoids explanation, but it seems to work; I air-dry each of my shirts and the wrinkles steam out just fine. Non-irons can have sewn interlinings, but will also be fused in order to avoid puckered seams. That's a deal-breaker for many, but without it the non-iron shirt would look terrible in a hurry.

This is strictly conjecture, but it's been my experience that this process might also decrease the volume of the fabric. All of Brooks's non-iron oxfords are labeled "Brookscool" in order to market it as lightweight.

I've said this before, but I think, frankly, that the best value in non-iron shirts are the Stafford Signature line at JCPenney. I have some that are older than my Brooks shirts and are going on just fine. The Brooks model isn't bad, but it can cost $60 more than the Stafford. The Brooks does come in exact sleeve lengths, however.

Gilgamesh2003 · 2010-11-09 19:50:47

fxh is too baller to ever make it into the Inane Post of the Day.

I too have owned Brooks non-iron shirts - in fact they're practically all I wore in college and grad school. I took them very literally and never ironed them (nor did I own an iron). The fronts always looked perfectly pressed, though the collars curled. I remember wearing one to visit a friend at another college - I drove for an hour, had dinner, went to a frat party (complete with Everclear punch), slept on a couch and then drove home. The shirt still looked pristine.

fxh · 2010-11-09 20:05:35

Thanks for the replies.

My problem is a have never liked a shirt to look "pristine" after a days wear or teenage debauchery such as described by Gilga. Not that I will be doing any teenage debauchery soon...

I guess the message is - they aren't all that bad, perhaps a bit non breathing and hot and slightly non iron looking, and that I should just HTFU and try one or two and see how it goes.

Cruz Diez · 2010-11-09 23:33:15

A mere listening of the term gives me hives.

Seriously.... expensive cotton fibers would NEVER be treated with the chemicals that give the non-iron qualities. So don't expect long-staple egyptian cotton yarns in a decent 120 x 2 weave in your new non-iron shirts. And don't expect the non-iron to feel comfortable and breathable on the skin.

Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with spraying a bit of starch on your fine shirts while ironing. When doing so, you defeat the purpose of the non-iron fabrics and can still enjoy your decadent silk-like cottons.

Non-iron shirts look cheap out of the box, and may look as if the wearer goes ballistic with starch. Just as the counterpart of looking like an unmade bed, this is also not a good look and you may get nicknames or associations from it. And since the non-iron treatment isn't permanent, the shirts will look even cheaper with use.

Nothing wrong with having non-irons as a starving grad student.

The_Shooman · 2010-11-10 00:36:11

Gilgamesh2003 · 2010-11-10 06:33:06

Grad school was indeed a time of exquisite suffering - cheap Brooks Brothers non-iron shirts, inferior California wines, Spartan accommodations on research trips to Paris, only ten or twelve hours of leisure in a day. My god, I can't believe I made it through!

4F Hepcat · 2010-11-10 12:10:34

^That makes better sense then researching Sassoon's influence, and indeed, authorship of Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' at Craiglockhart in bonnie Scotland whilst going prematurely bald and attempting to grow a Jim Morrison Alexander the Great bob.

Getting back to topic, the main problem with non-iron shirts can be the cardboard stiffness. Not to mention the strange poly-cotton percentage mixes and in 100% cotton, the napalm defoliants that can create unnatural itches. In saying this, the Brooks non-irons are ideal for work and if you've got 5 on the go, they will last for a very long time - mine are at the 18 months stage and still going strong, the only failing is the white ones are starting to grey.

Last edited by 4F Hepcat (2010-11-10 12:16:04)

My Pet, A Pantsuit · 2010-11-11 00:18:08

I shouldn't have to say this, but don't ever have non-iron cotton shirts dry cleaned. If you think they're stiff now, they will become even worse; it jacks with the finish to the point where you can slice bread with it. I also knew a lot of customers who explicitly _wanted_ the non-iron finish, even though they were planning on having it dry cleaned.

The first time I really saw the outcome of this was when I found a Brooks OCBD, fresh from the cleaners and still folded up inside of a plastic bag, at a thrift store. At the time, I thought I'd found a deal; truth was, it'd already succumbed to rigor mortis and could have been used as a clipboard.

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of non-iron shirts. I have some for practical business, but I can feel their mortality with every wearing.

Last edited by My Pet, A Pantsuit (2010-11-11 00:18:37)

#1 2010-11-09 18:44:01

Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#2 2010-11-09 18:56:51

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#3 2010-11-09 18:58:59

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#4 2010-11-09 19:48:30

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#5 2010-11-09 19:50:47

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#6 2010-11-09 20:05:35

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#7 2010-11-09 23:33:15

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#8 2010-11-10 00:36:11

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#9 2010-11-10 06:33:06

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#10 2010-11-10 12:10:34

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

#11 2010-11-11 00:18:08

Re: Help Req:: Non Iron shirts - whats the story

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