Cost associated with Dress Shirts?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>Hello! It would be interesting to get some answers to the following questions, it would be great to get as many responses as possible:</p>

<p>1) What city do you live in?
2) What's your job?
3) How many dress shirts do you own (approx)?
4) How much do your dress shirts cost?
5) How many times do you wear a dress shirt before you wash it/take it to the dry cleaner?
6) How much does it cost for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?
7) How much time does it take for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?
8) How long do you wear your dress shirt before replacing it with a new one?</p>

<p>This will help me understand the cost associated with dress shirts, and cleaning. Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>I will give you a short answer on behalf of my husband and son. After many, many years of trial and error, we now only buy Brooks Brothers no-iron dress shirts. They come out of the dryer looking as pressed as if they had been dry cleaned. (Hang shirts the minute the dryer stops running or even a few minutes before the end of the dry cycle.) Dry cleaning is expensive and very rough on shirts. The large pressing machines break the buttons, which the dry cleaner will replace, but also tear the placket where the buttons are attached. </p>

<p>You need to wash or dry clean daily so only you can decide the correct quantity of shirts for your weekly cleaning cycle. Dress shirts are cotton, so even if you do not buy the no-iron type, you can wash and iron them yourselves, but if you are in a job that requires wearing a dress shirt, I am going to assume that ironing is not a productive use of your time.</p>

<p>I believe many companies now sell the no-iron shirts. We have stayed with Brooks Bros b/c they offer the sizes that fit my very tall and thin family members. You can probably find less expensive shirts elsewhere. I think I buy the BB ones around Thanksgiving or Christmas for $45 each, but if cost is your concern, shop around. </p>

<p>As to when they wear out—shirts will last years, especially when washed instead of dry cleaned. It takes a really, really long time for a shirt to fray at the collar or cuffs.</p>

3

<p>1) What city do you live in?
New Brunswick, NJ (Rutgers)
2) What’s your job?
Customer Service Associate at Men’s Wearhouse
3) How many dress shirts do you own (approx)?
Between 10 and 15
4) How much do your dress shirts cost?
On average around $25, but I get employee discounts.
5) How many times do you wear a dress shirt before you wash it/take it to the dry cleaner?
Once, you don’t really need to take dress shirts to the cleaners. You can just throw them in the wash.
6) How much does it cost for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?
N/A
7) How much time does it take for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?
However long it takes you to do laundry
8) How long do you wear your dress shirt before replacing it with a new one?
That’s more of a matter of preference. My dress shirts range from a few years old up to a few months. However I began working at 17 and am 20 now, so take that information with a grain of salt. I have a variety of shirts in different colors, cuts, and patterns.</p>

4

<p>My S has about one or two dozen dress shirts, I believe. He purchased most of them in a trip to Thailand, where they were available in his size everywhere. He also just tosses them in the wash after each wearing (or if he’s traveling he may wear twice before laundering). He’s a project manager for the federal government and has had his shirts nearly 3 years with no signs of aging or wear. He wears long-sleeved dress shirts daily for work. </p>

<p>Have tried purchasing him some of the Express slim and extra slim cut shirts, but the Thai shirts fit better.</p>

<p>S lives in Arlington, VA but works there, LA and Orlando, FL.</p>

5

<p>My son gets his dress shirts from Lands End. They have the no-iron, slim fit dress
shirts which fit him perfectly. The more you buy, the cheaper they are (I think you can get three of them for $115).</p>

6

<p>LL Bean’s wrinkle-resistant 100% cotton shirts are awesome. Eddie Bauer’s come out of the dryer and still need pressing. A total waste of my money.</p>

7

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<p>They are also guaranteed for life, which means if they fade or start to fall apart (or even if you decide you don’t like the color or style anymore) you can return them for a full refund at any time - just keep the receipt or packing slip.</p>

8

<p>OP, I’m just curious about the purpose/ background of your dress shirt survey.</p>

9

<p>This is a reasonable thread… shopping for dress shirts is important, and if you haven’t done it before, it’s a little daunting to see all of the different options in price and quality.</p>

<p>1) What city do you live in?</p>

<p>Outside of Philadelphia</p>

<p>2) What’s your job?</p>

<p>Consultant </p>

<p>3) How many dress shirts do you own (approx)?</p>

<p>~25</p>

<p>4) How much do your dress shirts cost?</p>

<p>About $40 each - I order them custom from Lands End (I have awkward proportions that aren’t really sold in stores! …they have the Big & Tall, which serves the big, the big AND tall, but never the gangly and awkward)</p>

<p>5) How many times do you wear a dress shirt before you wash it/take it to the dry cleaner?</p>

<p>Once, period.</p>

<p>6) How much does it cost for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?</p>

<p>Pennies - I wash, air dry and iron my clothing myself. My guess is that with electricity, water and detergent, it costs me about $0.05 to wash a shirt.</p>

<p>7) How much time does it take for you to wash it/take it to dry cleaners?</p>

<p>The wash cycle is about an hour; it takes ten minutes to hang clothing to dry; I then leave it for a day or so before ironing. It takes me roughly 20 minutes to press a shirt properly (i.e. no wrinkles, creased sleeves and a crisp collar).</p>

<p>8) How long do you wear your dress shirt before replacing it with a new one?</p>

<p>That depends. I just had to retire one of my dress shirts that I have had for ten years. I would estimate that I wore and washed it 250 times before it wore out. Some of my solid colored dress shirts become discolored after about five or six years, depending on how often I wear it.</p>