# shirt collars wear out **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309 "2017-03-29T20:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richbor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Richbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richbor)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/1 "2017-03-29T20:19:38Z")
My cleaners says its the hair that causes collars to wear out I say it’s the hot pressing iron. Your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/2 "2017-03-29T20:37:07Z")
Tips and edges? Wear against your skin and hair. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/3 "2017-03-29T20:46:45Z")
IANAT (I Am Not A Tailor)… but: The top edge of the collar (the fold) is usually held tight against your skin, especially at the back, and rubs every time you move your head. No surprise it wears out. Same with the ends of the cuffs, also an area that rubs a lot. I’m going to guess the skin is the main culprit, although if you have shaved the back of your neck, the sharp hair ends might be an aggravating actor. Off the top (or back) of my head - most natural threads are twisted from an assembly of fibers. Constant rubbing and snagging on stubble would cause a piece of these fibers to break or pull out of the assembly. The folds (cuffs and collar) would be where the thread is already stretched, more prone to break. Whether heat and ironing aggravate that - I’m sure it doesn’t help. But a shirt collar gets a lot more rubbing from been worn all day than from a quick ironing. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/4 "2017-03-29T21:46:49Z")
Just get the [detachable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_collar) kind. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/5 "2017-03-29T21:47:48Z")
I am going to say that the washing process is the main culprit. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/6 "2017-03-29T21:58:16Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Just get the [detachable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_collar) kind. From my understanding, if you wore the detachable cuffs and collar, it was thrifty practice to wear the same shirt all week and just change the cuffs and collars each day. Friday must have been pretty ripe in the office. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/7 "2017-03-29T22:01:31Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > From my understanding, if you wore the detachable cuffs and collar, it was thrifty practice to wear the same shirt all week and just change the cuffs and collars each day. Friday must have been pretty ripe in the office. That’s the whole point! Though maybe we need to invent detachable armpits, too? (Seriously though, I often go days without washing my shirts. I change my undershirt everyday and don’t wear the same shirt twice in a row so they have a chance to air out, but there’s no reason to wash them every time. I work in a climate controlled office. Manual labor is a different story.) ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/8 "2017-03-30T01:21:53Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > That’s the whole point! Though maybe we need to invent detachable armpits, too? > > (Seriously though, I often go days without washing my shirts. I change my undershirt everyday and don’t wear the same shirt twice in a row so they have a chance to air out, but there’s no reason to wash them every time. I work in a climate controlled office. Manual labor is a different story.) I don’t wear a singlet, but I don’t wash my shirts after only one day’s wear either. Change out the shirt each day and you get several wears per wash. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/9 "2017-03-30T01:59:27Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Just get the [detachable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_collar) kind. Just think; you could revive the fortunes of the entire city of Troy, New York. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/10 "2017-03-30T03:13:53Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > I am going to say that the washing process is the main culprit. If that were the case, why does the collar wear out first? Why don’t the cuffs, or the bottom hem, or any other part wear out as fast as the collar? ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/11 "2017-03-30T03:41:35Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > If that were the case, why does the collar wear out first? Why don’t the cuffs, or the bottom hem, or any other part wear out as fast as the collar? The two places my shirts (I’m talking about button up, dress type shirts) wear out is the collar and the cuffs, mostly the collar. Those areas are reinforced and edged stiffly, making them likely to abrade in the wash. I think the hair idea is totally wrong, for a bunch of reasons, chest hair, different lengths and type of hair, etc. It’s also not the iron. I have shirts that I have never ironed and the top edge of the collar has worn through. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/12 "2017-03-30T03:46:28Z")
The washing machine acts sort of like tumbling rocks in a tumbler, the sharp edges get worn the fastest. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/13 "2017-03-30T04:32:29Z")
The collar points will wear too, though. I think **steatopygia** is right there. I have heard that starching shirts also makes them wear faster, though I don’t like starched shirts so have no experience with that. Finally, I think machine pressing wears the shirts out faster (and also ruins the buttons) which is why I get hand pressed, though I suspect a very large number of cleaners are lying when they say they’ll hand press. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/14 "2017-03-30T06:31:41Z")
Never mind why, it is possible to unstitch the collar and turn it round for a few extra years’ wear. I 've saved several favourite shirts that way. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/15 "2017-03-30T12:26:52Z")
For me, the most common wear points are the tips of the collar. And the topside, as well as the underside (which could rub against the shirt front). Not a tie wearer or any such thing. Not an ironer. Not a collar fidgetter. Etc. This is presumably due to washing/drying. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shirt-collars-wear-out/783309/16 "2017-03-30T13:35:54Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I have heard that starching shirts also makes them wear faster, though I don’t like starched shirts so have no experience with that. ^^^This. It’s the starch used by professional launderers that will wear your shirts out much more quickly. After college and entering the professional ranks, I began using a professional cleaners to have my work clothes cleaned…shirts washed and pressed, suits dry cleaned. Wanting crisp pressed shirts, I requested _starch_ in my shirt cleaning orders. Many other men in my office did the same, and we noticed that the 100% cotton shirts would weaken over time that a shirt that was only a year or two old would more likely have a blow-out at the elbow or shoulder, meaning that you would be working and the fabric would rip from the pressure of your body part on the shirt. After some experimenting from light starch to no starch, I now **never** request starch in my laundry. You are going to get some just from the residue left in the machines from other batches, but now my shirts last many more years, without the starch.