Surprisingly, my son’s first choice school is one with formal dress. Pants, dress shirt and tie every day, blazer 2x per week.
Please excuse my ignorance when it comes to taking care of dress clothes, but my husband works out of the house and it’s a “formal” day if he remembers to put on pants. The few times a year he wears a suit or blazer, he has it dry cleaned.
I understand that formal dress doesn’t necessarily get washed after every wear, but how often does one have it cleaned? How many blazers will get him through a semester? Does the school laundry service include dry cleaning?
I’m pretty confident DS can do laundry, but the ironing might be a challenge. He does have some of the “no-iron” dress shirts, but personally, I still think they need a touch up after laundering. How does the laundry service deal with these items?
Any estimates on a realistic number of shirts, blazers, ties, pants? I know I’m stressing early on this one, but I"m slowly trying to buy things he’ll need for school as he grows out of his current wardrobe.
Laundry questions go unanswered? What is wrong with you people? Okay- I’m a little bit rusty but here goes…
As long as the basic mandatory elements for formal dress BS attire have been met ( coat, tie, shirt, pants and belt )- all is well. The lightly starched - wrinkle free look is out ( and rarely achievable - although I do admire good intentions and spunk! ) The rumpled- I just slept in my clothes look is absolutely in- along with very, very low expectations ( on your part ). Trust me on this one and save your sanity now.
The only thing that requires ( infrequent at best ) dry cleaning during the year is the blazer and an occasional tie. Two or three blazers ( max ) in the closet usually does the trick . One or two navy and whatever else- like a tweed or something. I think two navy blazers is smart but that’s just me. One always gets trashed… so having a backup when it’s likely to count makes sense.
You can dry clean items during breaks ( if your son does his own laundry and you drive him to school ), or you can have your son drop off a few things at the local dry cleaners in town , if allowed - when needed . Or, you can rely on the fact that the laundry service takes your credit card when you sign up so if you do go with the basic wash and fold option and a nice jacket or silk tie somehow finds it’s way into the bag- they’ll dry clean it for you and bill the card on file. Whether or not they still do that as a courtesy automatically, I do not know ( it’s been awhile! ), so I would definitely ask when the time comes- or take your chances and wing it like we did. My boys took 4-5 pants ( indestructible Bill’s, RL or Old Navy khakis and maybe a pair or two of very old broken in cords ), 6-8 button down shirts, 6-8 ties, a few quarter zip sweaters for colder weather under their blazers and 2-3 belts. You can buy all the socks in the world - but most boys at BS will refuse to wear them. It’s this weird BS thing… even in winter! Don’t ask- just go with it.
Boys are super easy to ship off to formal dress BS so don’t sweat it… Compared to girls they’re actually a breeze. Plus, most boys tend to load up on BS swag for downtime overtime so casual wear outside the classroom ( t- shirts, sweats, hoodies, etc ) is a breeze, too. Good luck!!
FWIW- No… I’m not out of CC retirement but you guys are really slacking.
Oops. Just to clarify- a local dry cleaners in town by the school not at home - obviously … if the school allows students which most certainly do. I just reread my post and I’m like what? Hope that made sense.
Ironing will not happen, for sure. To that end, I highly recommend Lands End no-iron button down shirts. We buy them for DS and they are great. Throw in the dryer, give them a good shake, and you’re good to go.
^^ Agreed as to all. My son has formal dress Monday through Saturday and it’s a breeze — much easier than the “casual but neat” and the like. 2-3 blazers is fine, and perfectly fine is they are both/all navy, depending on how much of a fashionista your son is. A few ties is enough…DS May be wearing the same 2 ties since starting freshman year. The Lands End wrinkle free shirts are great; even DS requests them. A week’s worth of shirts is plenty; the laundry cycle is generally 4 days. E&R Laundry offers a higher level service that includes all dry cleaning, so they can put everything from soccer socks to blazers in the laundry bag, and it’s all covered within the flat fee (at the lower level, they charge by individual piece for “special handling” items). DS does actually do some of his own laundry — “special” things like particular shorts that “can’t” get lost — though we haven’t really experienced much of any loss through E&R.
Not only is ironing not happening, but I doubt kids are allowed to have irons in their rooms, and even if they are provided in common areas of the dorm, it’s just not happening.
Thank you. Between the information here and the link provided, I think I have a pretty good idea of what he’ll need. Way less then I thought.
Just scored a blazer for $51 at Lands End with the 40% off code. It came today and fits him perfectly. There’s a good chance it won’t fit for next year but will be great for interviews, Model UN and various other things he needs it for this year.
The thought of my 14yo son ironing reminds me of a scene from the movie Patriots Day.
Harrold: I’m trying to tell you officer, sir, this woman is crazy, she hit me with a ******* smoothie in the head!
Tommy Saunders: What are you talking, like a drink, or something?
Harrold: No, like a ******* smoothie, you know, like you would smooth your cloths out with.
Tommy Saunders: An iron? It’s called an iron Harrold!
I did hear of boys who ironed. Just sayin’. Possibly my son’s roommate. I bought my son an iron, but it came home unused in the box after freshman year and never went back. I don’t think it went to college; will have to check on that.
So now we all have to watch what we say again. @PhotographerMom might be listening in! (Once again, I’m trying to figure out what all the emojis mean and choose an appropriate one, but can’t make head nor tail of them. I’ll stick with old reliable - and in case it doesn’t come out that way, I will tell you that I still type it out every time.) Like this. : - )
K2 might be in his final year of college, but sadly basic laundry etiquette is still very much a challenge. This is what happened last night when the wrong parent was available for laundry crisis management …
K2: The woman whose laundry I just took out just appeared.
K2: This is awkward.
Husband : Tell her the machine stopped…. If she’s cut , ask her to help you fold.
Husband: * cute *
K2: We just shared an awkward glance.
Husband: Offer to restart her load ( wink emoji )
K2: These women are feminists, dad. If anything, they’ll restart my life.
From a feature article today about a Creative Writing teacher at SPS: “…she speaks on the intersection of art, literature, and history. Her talks delve into unique topics, such as ‘Laundry: The Agony & The Ecstasy.’”
Laundry seems to be the fountain of creative expression… Some serious competition for @PhotographerMom!
Okay- I’m a little bit rusty but here goes…
- and in case it doesn’t come out that way, I will tell you that I still type it out every time.) Like this. : - )