Personalized Collar Stays

While most shirts offer the advantage of taking out and putting in collar stiffeners as per convenience, there are many shirts that come with permanent collar stiffeners. Due to this feature, it can become quite difficult to care for such collar stays. Even the shirts carrying them have increased chances of being harmed. The following steps can help you look after a shirt with permanent stiffeners.

Iron the Collar last

While ironing your shirt, what you tend to do is treat the shirt as a whole and end up ironing it parts in any random order. If you are ironing a shirt that has permanent collar stiffeners, then you cannot be careless. Iron the rest of the shirt first and come to the collar the last. Press your iron against it in such a way that it does not clamp down on the stiffeners too much. Try using a clapper to avoid mishaps.

Do Not Put Excess Heat

This is a rule that you need to internalize if you are one that possesses shirts with permanent stiffeners. Permanent collar stay is more vulnerable since they cannot be taken out of a shirt. This means that the stays remain within the shirt whether you are washing it, ironing it or even sending it for dry cleaning. Permanent stiffeners undergo maximum damage when you use the iron on them. You should put heat on them so as to make them warm and damp. Make sure that they never turn too hot. This could spell doom for the shirt.

While there are shirts that come permanently sewn with stiffeners, there are also shirts where you can remove the collar stays as and when you like. The latter are obviously more popular because they offer more flexibility and you can take care of the stiffeners effectively. The following simple steps can be of help when you are trying to maintain removable collar stays.

Always Remove the Stiffeners

If you possess a shirt where the stays are removable, then you should consider yourself lucky. Removable stiffeners can be easily maintained if an individual is adequately careful. All that you need to do is to remember to remove the collar stays before sending the shirt for washing or ironing. Too much heat melts the stiffeners gradually as a result of which even the shirt wears away. Excess contact with water can cause the stays to rust and this takes a toll on the shirt as well.

Do Not Use Chemicals

A lot of people tend to think that using chemicals on their personalized collar stays can improve their longevity. For example, many people use washing solutions to keep them clean. If you want your collar stays to stay in shape for a long time to come, then you will not make this mistake. Chemicals can only lead to damage, especially if they are metal collar stays.