[JHdandy]

Edited: I think these shirts actually are starched! I will try soaking them etc. Can't figure out how to delete this posting so never mind for now.

I have lots of BB button-down oxfords and love the soft collars and cuffs but I have two or three (yes via eBay) that have extremely stiff collars and cuffs. I find I tend to let these sit in my closet. They arrived seeming almost starched. I thought washing would solve this but it hasn't. They feel as if made of hard paper. Do they need to be washed warm? Are they just fused somehow? Any guidance on how or whether I can salvage these would be much appreciated. Thanks. PS--These are NOT no-iron shirts.

 

[drpeter]

Welcome to AAAC!

These shirts were very likely made with fused collars and cuffs. This means that the interlining inside the collars and cuffs was glued to the fabric and heated using a fusing machine. Stiff collars and cuffs are a leftover from the old days of detachable celluloid collars. They are still preferred by some in a dress shirt, such as one worn with black or white tie. Wing collars also tend to be quite stiff.

If the shirts had simply been laundered with a lot of starch, then a cycle through a washing machine with a decent amount of fabric softener should improve things. (Sometimes a sort of sizing is also added by the maker in new shirts to help them retain shape). If you continue washing them a few more times with some fabric softener added, then these shirts should be fine. Somehow, your description of these collars and cuffs (the comparison to hard paper) makes me think that they are not just heavily starched, but fused.

Making a soft collar or cuffs is hard (pun intended)! From what I have read, the tailoring has to be precise and exact when placing a soft lining within the collar and then stitching together the collar fabric with the lining to achieve a perfect collar shape (and collar roll for button downs).

 

[eagle2250]

Echoing drpeter's words, welcome to AAAC. I am looking forward to enjoying your future postings.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

Echoing drpeter's words, welcome to AAAC. I am looking forward to enjoying your future postings.

Likewise! Welcome!

 

[Steve Smith]

At very least it has been well more than a decade since BB's made in USA shirts had fused collars. The lined $95 retail shirts had floating linings. My best guess is that these shirts were never manufactured with a fused collar.

I have handled thousands of these shirts going back to the Marks & Spencer vintage, and have cut some of them open.

 

[drpeter]

Only the OP can tell what his shirt feels like, so perhaps he could let us know the results of a good laundering (or two). If it is simply heavy starch, then it should come off and the collar should become softer. If it remains stiff, then certainly something has been placed inside the collar to make it so. The likelihood that it is a fused collar (perhaps from more than a decade ago) would be stronger unless there is some other explanation.