In a previous piece, I explored ironing and how one could measure success and skill in that area.
Over the last few months, I’ve been fighting these two blue shirts. They’re cut from a different cloth, still cotton, but a blend that doesn’t take well to my normal routine. The Rowenta steam iron works, but not well enough for those shirts.
So I changed.
I rummaged around for a spray bottle and began misting each shirt as I got to work. Still, the collar first, the yolk, and so forth. Each sleeve, a raggled mess after the dryer, needed extra mist and a gentle hand to tease out the creases.
And you know what?
With a little bit of changed attitude and a few spritzes, the blue shirts are now just as crisp as the others.
Instead of fighting those sleeves and the fabric that had already decided to be difficult because of the fabric’s makeup, I applied a few more tricks up my sleeve, grabbed a spray bottle, and got to work.
Sometimes, we just need to look at a shirt in a different light and apply a different touch.
Not harder pressure, not more steam, but a different technique altogether. And some shirts, like these blue ones, just need a bit more, and a little extra, and someone to still keep ironing, even when all the others behave already.
Certainly, the blue shirts remain in rotation and are among my favorites. They “make my eyes pop,” someone said recently.
And yes, this post isn’t about ironing.
Now, go get that spray bottle and get to work!