guushar4

Polo shirt collar bind I have a huge collection of polo shirts, and I wash them myself. Once they have been through the washer a few times, the collars never seem to lie correctly. I have tried to iron them, but I must be doing it wrong. Help.

I have noticed that after a while, some polo shirts get kind of limp and floppy in the collar. I’d recommend that you try spraying the collar with sizing before you iron it. Sizing is the stuff that makes brand-new clothes so crisp. It comes in a spray can, like spray starch, but it’s softer than starch, making fabric firm rather than hard. You should be able to find it at the grocery store or at what we used to call the five-and-dime. It may cost more than a can of spray starch, but a little goes a long way.

Rolled up shirt sleeves I work at a restaurant, and we tend to roll up our sleeves there. I think it looks nonchalant and cool, so sometimes when I go out with a dress shirt on, I roll the sleeves up to my elbows. My girlfriend says I look like I'm still on duty as a waiter. Am I making a style mistake?

Thank you for your letter. Check, please! Just kidding. You look like either a waiter or a presidential candidate. Politicians are always taking off their jackets and rolling up their sleeves and pretending to help build a house somewhere. It's that getting-things-done look. I don’t buy it. Part of my "keeping it real" policy means not rolling up my sleeves unless there’s genuine work to be done.