How To Iron Your Shirt Like A Man

Not many men grew up ironing their shirts. While most had the privilege of their mother doing this for them when growing up, a select group of boys that went to boarding school has to rely on this very basic skills to ensure a presentable and clean outlook. Very much like how one would wear cufflinks and shine their shoes, ironing one's shirt is a skill that not many has, let alone able to master and do it well. This post serves as a rough guidance to this skill. As the old saying says - Practice Make Perfect. I found the perfect opportunity to show this when i packed for Canada trip and the shirts were crumpled even though i took good care to fold them to be crease free.
What You Need:
1. Iron - i suggest the manly heavy 2kg type, they are actual gives the best results. Otherwise, any iron you have would be good. Just keep in mind that the heavier the iron, the sharper and less effort your ironing will be.
2. Ironing Board or a 1.5feet by 1.5feet surface typical of a movable side cabinet, or the floor.
3. A thick blanket if you are ironing on the Cabinet or floor.
4. And obviously - your shirt that needs ironing.
How It Is Done:
1. Switch ON the iron and set it to the correct temperature setting. It is a no brainer. If your Shirt is Cotton, you obviously set it to the "Cotton" setting - which are usually the second highest temperature after LINEN. How you know the iron is ready? Well, the indication light will go off on the iron, pay attention to these tell-tale sign.
2. Start by ironing the collar.

Make sure the collar are spread flat

 3. Lay out the sleeve and allow it to lay flat with the lower stitched part as guidance to the top part. This is super important to ensure a STRAIGHT ONE WAY LINE on the sleeves. You press the iron onto the shirt

Remember - FLAT

4. Repeat on the other sleeves the same way.
5. Next, fold the shoulder portion along the creases and iron them flat. This will take away any ugly hanger lines.

See how the collar stood up due to proper ironing?

 6. You then spread the front part (left or right) and ensure that they are flattened before ironing. This will ensure the front are crease free. This is the important part as this will be the first thing people will see when they sees you. Repeat on the other side. No cheating here.

See the lines due to folding for travelling?

7. Flip the shirt over and iron the back. As you notice, my shirt has no funny folds. You should avoid them too unless the shirt is very fitting and you need the extra room to allow you to flex/reach your arms.

Creases be gone!

 8. Once done, give the shirt a once over to see if the ironing was done correctly. Hang it up and admire the pressed shirt!

Sharp and Ready to wear

Being trained in Royal Military College (RMC), we were taught that shirt and pants should be ironed with just ONE line showing on the sleeves or anywhere that typically allows for creases. You must maintain ONE single line and not create more than one line (which we will then call HIGHWAY). Remember this - ONE WAY STREET!

A demonstration of a perfectly (or what i think) pressed shirt with ONE line on the sleeves running from the shoulder to the wrist.

So there you have it. How to Iron a Shirt Like A Man.