When Is It Time for New Dress Shirts?

Springtime, that’s when!!

With springtime upon us, and the corresponding switch over from winter to summer menswear wardrobes, it's the perfect time to reassess your dress shirts and fill in any gaps.

Actually, it's a great time to take stock of your entire wardrobe. But mens’ dress shirts are not as easy as most other menswear to officially pronounce “recyclable”. For example, you know it's time to get rid of your dress pants when the hem is frayed or the seat is worn. 

But your dress shirts don’t go through the same stresses. They might not be frayed or worn at all, but still be unworthy of having a spot in your closet.

3 Signs That It's Time for a New Dress Shirt

In the end, you’re the final judge of whether a shirt stays or goes. You can use some or all of the following points to help you decide.

1. They Show Signs of Dry-Cleaning Stress - The chemicals involved in regular dry cleaning processes can be harsh on your clothes. Combine that with the fact that you probably have your shirts cleaned more than your suits and you start to see the sorts of stresses that can wear out a shirt. Over time, they will yellow and the fibres will weaken, leaving seams in bad shape and the entire shirt more susceptible to tears.
   
   

Compare colours of older shirts to similar colours of newer shirts, especially whites. And compare the overall shape and condition of the shirt too. They can look fine by themselves, but not beside what they should look like.

1. Deodorant Stains - This one may not be a problem at first, but it can suddenly rear its ugly head. Ingredients in deodorants, including their fragrances, can permanently stain your shirt.
    
2. You Don’t Know How to Wash Your Shirts at Home - Just throwing them in with other clothes of similar colours isn’t the way. This is where all those optional settings on the washer and dryer can help. Never-the-less, whether it’s dry cleaning or home laundering, your dress shirts show the wear and tear of cleaning them more than other pieces of clothing.

While some shirts are ready to go sooner than later, if you invest in top-quality dress shirts and don’t over-clean them, you should expect at least a couple of years of regular wear from them.

For more advice on maintaining a menswear wardrobe, check out our post “How to Dress for Different Business Situations”.