Washing shirts

First of all, please take out the brass collar stiffeners! They can stain the shirt and cause havoc in your washing machine filter. Check the care label of the shirt as this will give you the right instructions for the fabric you are dealing with.

Unless otherwise instructed on the label we recommend washing at 40°C with a light spin to retain some dampness.

Drying shirts

A light tumble dry can help the non-iron properties in your non iron shirts if you feel you need to reactivate them; you may also use a light tumble dry for our Egyptian cotton shirts. All other shirts should not be tumble dried, as they are made from 100% cotton and the cotton mills advise against this. Remove your shirt from the machine whilst still damp and hang it to dry. The majority of creases should drop out (thank you gravity!), leaving you less work when it comes to ironing

The adage we use is: Wash it, hang it, wear it!

Ironing shirts

Follow these easy steps for the perfectly presented formal shirt.

Rule Number One (and half the battle): Always iron shirts while they are still damp (using a steam iron if possible).

Start with the collar:

• Remove the collar stiffeners if you forgot to take them out before washing
• With the shirt still damp, pull the collar taut to prevent the tips from curling
• Start with the underside of the collar and iron from the outside edge to the centre
• Repeat this on the opposite side
• Fold the collar along the neckband seam and iron, creating a definite fold

Next iron the cuffs:

• Begin on the inside of the cuff, ironing from the outside edge to the centre
• Turn over and repeat on the outside of the cuff
• For double cuffs (for cufflinks), fold the cuff in half, line up the cufflink holes and iron a crisp crease along the fold

Next, iron the yoke (the bit that runs along the shoulders):

• With one half of the yoke pulled taut on the ironing board, iron from the sleeve away from the centre
• Repeat on the other side

Next, iron the sleeves:

• Carefully spread one sleeve on the ironing board, smoothing out any creases (the cuff opening should be uppermost)
• Starting at the top of the sleeve, iron from the bottom seam towards the top, making a definite crease along the top seam
• As you get down to the cuff, carefully iron between the folds of material
• Repeat this process on the other side of the sleeve

Next, iron the back of the shirt:

• Iron in sections, smoothing the fabric across the ironing board
• Work from the yoke down

And finally, iron the front of the shirt:

• Place the shirt so that the tip of the ironing board fits into the top of the armhole and iron the seam
• Repeat on the other side
• Then iron the rest of the front of the shirtfront in sections, smoothing the fabric across the ironing board.
• Be sure to iron between each of the buttons

Do you recommend starch?

Charles Tyrwhitt does not directly recommend the use of starch or products designed to assist the ironing process. There are advantages and disadvantages to using such products, and our various fabrics (and even colours) respond differently depending on the product used. Any such products are therefore used at the customer's discretion. If you have any doubts or concerns about the use of a particular product then please get in touch, but be aware that we cannot advise for or against any specific brands.