Protect Shirt Collars Before and After Laundering

Keep your collars clean and standing tall

By Janine Giorgenti

If you know anything about me, you know I’m a big fan of dress shirt collars. They are – in many cases – one of the first clothing elements that someone will notice (yes, sometimes even before they notice your tie), and can go a long way in making a strong, positive first impression, or, an underwhelming one.

Taking care of your collars is paramount to the look, feel, and effect that you desire when wearing your dress shirt. Lately, many of my clients have asked me how I would recommend protecting shirt collars before and after laundering.

Here are three steps.

Follow the label.

The care label on your shirt will instruct you with specific instructions to wash your shirt, with the specific shirt fabric in mind.

If the label reads “dry clean only”, you would rather follow that than getting bold and trying to wash it on your own. Similarly, if the label calls for “delicate cycle”, you don’t want to mix your shirt in a load with towels.

This is important because any deviation in recommended care techniques can result in damage in the shirt, and, your collar will be the most noticeable if compromised.

Remove collar stays before washing.

Collar stays are essential to maintaining proper collar form. Without them, your collars will invariably erode and lose their “posture”. That said, you should always remove your collar stays before washing your dress shirts, otherwise, you risk having your collar stays’ shape become warped and curved; which can compromise the overall structure of your collars. Furthermore, leaving your collar stays in, during a wash, can also lead to discoloration in the area where the stays are during the wash.

As a side, I do recommend making the – small – investment of purchasing metal stays. This should run you no more than $5.

Unbutton and unfold.

As a general rule of thumb, I recommend unbuttoning any buttons on your dress shirt and turning the collar up before washing. The reasoning behind this is that during a wash, you want to put the minimal amount of “stress” on every stitch of fabric on your shirt.

Need a crisp new dress shirt for your next meeting or event? Giorgenti dress shirts are made to fit your custom needs. With Giorgenti, custom means custom.

Book your fitting with Janine Giorgenti at Giorgenti New York’s new Garden City location!

Call (516) 200-4088 (office) or (646) 957-6916 (cell).

The Garden City showroom is located at:

1325 Franklin Avenue
Suite 255
Garden City, NY 11530

About the Author

Janine Giorgenti For over 25 years, Janine Giorgenti, renowned fashion designer and image consultant – has provided a long line of satisfied clients with unparalleled service and first class made-to-measure custom suits. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Vogue Magazine, The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, CBS, and other top media outlets – Janine has established a clientele of some of New York’s most successful and discerning professionals – including such New York dignitaries as former New York Islanders legend Bobby Nystrom and chief economist Dr. Irwin Kellner.