Tips to Iron a Men's Dress Shirt

How to Properly Iron a Men's Dress Shirt

Even the nicest and most perfectly tied necktie will look sloppy when worn with a wrinkled dress shirt. A lot of men who are new to the professional working world don’t realize just how important it is to ensure that their dress shirts are properly ironed. After all, it’s not very difficult to get away with wearing a t-shirt that hasn’t been ironed. The same cannot be said, however, for dress shirts, which can look positively unruly when they have not been properly ironed. While a lot of guys view ironing as being time-consuming and monotonous, it remains an important part of putting together the perfect ensemble. Once you get the hang of how to iron a dress shirt correctly, the process becomes second-nature. The following steps can help you to ensure that your dress shirts look crisp and wrinkle-free, even if you’ve never attempted to iron a shirt in the past.

Start with the Collar
The collar serves as the most visible part of the dress shirt, and is responsible for framing your face. As a result, it is perhaps the most important element of your shirt to make sure is ironed correctly, and should be addressed first. In fact, if you’re running out of time and plan on wearing a suit jacket, you may be able to get away with just ironing your collar instead of dealing with the entire shirt. First, pop the collar up so that the underside is visible, and slowly press the iron down and move it from point to point. Take care to make sure that the collar is moist (using the iron’s mister if necessary), which will help to address any wrinkles that might exist. Keeping the collar open, flip the shirt and repeat the process on the other side. If any stubborn wrinkles fail to dissipate, push them towards the bottom of the collar where they will be less visible.

Move On to the Cuffs
The cuffs are second to the collar on your dress shirt in terms of importance, and should thus be ironed next. Start by unbuttoning one of the cuffs so that it lays out flat. Iron the inside of the cuff just as you did the collar, moving on to the outside when finished. One of the most important things to remember when ironing the cuffs of your shirt is to avoid ironing the buttons. While this is sometimes easier said than done, a hot iron can easily damage the buttons on a dress shirt, effectively ruining the appearance of the shirt. Once you finish the first cuff, move to the next and repeat the process.

Iron the Front/Back of the Shirt
Next, you’ll want to approach the largest real estate on the shirt; the front and back. This is actually the fastest and easiest part of the process, which can be completed by simply laying the shirt down on the board and gently ironing in a straight, vertical line starting at the top and moving towards the bottom. This will ensure that any persistent wrinkles end up at the very bottom of the shirt, where they aren’t likely to be seen. Flip the shirt over and repeat the process. As with ironing the cuffs of your shirt, avoid allowing the iron to touch any buttons or clasps when ironing the front/back of the piece.

Finish With the Sleeves
The last thing you’ll want to do is iron the sleeves, which can be done quickly and easily. Simply lay the entire sleeve out flat on the board and iron from the top down, ensuring the piece is moist so that it can be ironed evenly. If you iron in a straight enough line, you shouldn't have any trouble preventing creases from occurring. Once finished, hang the shirt and inspect for any wrinkles, which can be ironed out as needed.

Other Related Blog Posts:
Men's Shirt and Tie Guide
Guide to Bespoke Mens Dress Shirts

Your Bows-n-Ties.com Team