Meet the Editor, Jay Gordon

Ironing Bored

Years ago, as part of an award program, I received a 100% cotton oxford shirt, beautifully embroidered with the award’s logo. The shirt seemed nice enough, but then I spent the better part of an hour ironing that sucker to make it presentable. I do not enjoy ironing myself, nor do I know anyone who does.

I wore the shirt a few times, opting to let the dry cleaner wrestle the wrinkles. It would look great for a bit when you first put it on, but by the end of the day, it looked as if you had slept in it. It’s been hanging in my closet ever since.

I mention this to introduce our cover story on wrinkle-resistant shirts (Look ma, no ironing!, p. 38) because the supplier of the wrinkle magnet I just described happens to be represented in the wear test we did for this story. I will not divulge the company, but let’s just say that wrinkle-resistant technology has come a long, long way.

First-generation wrinkle-resistant shirts, often calling themselves “Easy Care,” are really just a blend of polyester and cotton that releases wrinkles more easily than 100% cotton shirts do. The next advance: applying resins to strengthen the fabric and help it resist wrinkling. This treatment accounts for the majority of wrinkle-resistant product currently available, but it’s also the “muddiest” area in terms of performance. Some of these treatments perform quite well, others less so. Marketing terms, such as “wrinkle-free,” often provide little indication of a garment’s true wrinkle-resisting ability.

Now comes a new generation of shirts making bold claims: “Non-Iron,” the tag says. The fabric of these shirts is dipped in ammonia, which permanently changes the fibers’ molecular structure, making them perfectly round – and thus smoother and more wrinkle-resistant.

The fabrics, technologies and construction used to fashion this new generation of wrinkle-resistant garments are nothing short of amazing. These shirts wear extremely well and live up to their wrinkle-resistant billing. For that, a new generation of uniform wearers – who hate spending tons of money on dry cleaning, but hate standing over an ironing board even more – can be eternally grateful.

Jay Gordon
jgordon@asicentral.com