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Traditional Collar Starching: Ultimate Guide!
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
- Hello and thank you for clicking on this video!
I promised that I would make a video on how I starch my collars traditionally, and here it is!
After sharing some images of my collars I got a really good response, so I've decided to show you 4 different techniques to make your collars stiff, crisp, wrinkle-free and shiny just like they were back then!
I DON'T recommend using Borax or Turpentine!
Be careful with chemicals.
You can also find me on Instagram, @kasasenchou
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Timestamps:
0:00 Explanation
3:22 Intro
3:43 Heads up
4:35 Things you'll need
5:08 Cleaning the collars
6:30 Making the starch
7:28 Grating Method
8:45 Chemist's Method
10:32 Wax Method
11:02 Starching Process
12:17 Drying
13:03 Ironing
14:49 Polishing
15:55 Lathering Method
15:44 Shaping
17:50 Results
19:29 Final Thoughts
20:59 Outro
Music:
Danielle - Dlife - Silent Film Music - Maple Leaf Rag (Royalty Free)
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royalty free Music by Giorgio Di Campo for FreeSound Music
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Collaborations:
This channel is open to collaborations with fellow RUclipsrs, sponsors and other businesses.
#starchedcollars #vintage #Victorian #Edwardian #mensvintage #1910s
Disclaimers:
The Antique Menswear channel strives for accuracy in our videos, drawing information from reliable primary and secondary sources, fact checking and partaking in peer reviews of our scripts. We do, however, recognise that we may miss some information or make mistakes simply due to the nature of the subject of men's clothing being vague and not well documented, as well as new information that may surface, rendering information in the video invalid. However, we do our best and fully believe, with the best intentions, that all the information presented in our videos are accurate.
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
It would be great if you made a video about your entire collection of antique and vintage clothing .
Yes please
It might take 5 hours to watch 🤣
@@AntiqueMenswear I'd watch it...
Maybe you can split it into several parts.
My grandmother used to air dry then starch and iron our sheets.. my parents purchased a vacation resort the American presidents and posh society used for health. My grandmother taught all our maids and butlers to starch. You'll never have a better sleep than an extremely high linen thread count starched and pressed sheet that's been dried in the sun in a lavender and honeysuckle field.
Nice to see another gentleman in a monocle!
Omg that head floating effect in the beginning just cured the Delta variant.
Haha!
I hope it helped cheer you up!
Here's my two cents worth (if you care to read). The grating method will have to be my preferred method partly due to the fact the ingredients are readily available, inexpensive, and mixed together at the start. Note that the starch mixture presented is 5 parts starch to 13 parts water, where roughly 2/3 of the water is hot, should you want to make the starch in a smaller batch for starching cuffs or stiff shirt fronts. I used this method to starch a "Grafton" wing collar (a high wing collar (approx 2 1/4" high)) I made myself from a pattern of my own design, and the cuffs (attached) on a plain-fronted, white, single-link-cuff tunic shirt for formal morning dress. One would typically wear this combination with a cravat and stick pin with a black morning coat. To starch the cuffs, I applied the starch mixture to the shirt with a damp cloth until somewhat saturated (just dab the cuffs until saturated, this won't take long). Next, I sandwiched the cuff between two layers of baking paper and ironed until the mixture began to dry somewhat. This initial step is important to minimise the chance that the iron will stick when ironing the cuffs hard. Then, it was just ironing the cuffs until they were completely dry and stiff. It will help to have a spray bottle of water nearby to spray on to the cuffs in case the iron begins to stick. The cuffs came out very stiff, like I was hoping they would and I'm very happy with the results. I'm starting to see the benefits of detachable cuffs, especially from a cleaning and starching perspective, as starching attached cuffs is arduous and takes a great deal of care not to get any starch on the shirt sleeve. Will probably stick with soft, attached French cuffs for the time being, although the starched single cuffs will make you feel like a true gentleman lol. From what I understand, this method of cuff starching also works for starching stiff bib front shirts, such as for white tie. I got really good results with the collar as well. The real key is to make sure there isn't too much extra starch in the collar so that your iron won't stick to it excessively while ironing (having a spray bottle of water here really helps too). The collar went for a five minute spin in my washing machine and that seemed to do the trick with the drying. The collar is very stiff now and has a nice shine as well.
I saw another comment on here that was wondering about reusing the starch. I wouldn't recommend it personally, at least from my experience. I did my cuffs one day, but had to do my collar the next day as I didn't have enough time on the day I did my cuffs to do the collar. The starch mixture went into the fridge for about a day or so, and I made sure to stir it every so often. The real problem with the starch mixture is that the starch really wants to settle on the bottom of the pot, so it's essential to keep it moving to prevent this. When you go to reuse the starch mixture from your fridge, it's more than likely going to have settled on the bottom of whatever vessel it's being stored in. You'll have to stir the mixture to "unclump" it and restore the original milky consistency, where it can then be used as normal without issue. However, when stirring to "unclump," the mixture has the consistency of cement, or porridge that's sat out for way too long. It takes a lot of care not to make a mess or bend your spoon, which is why I wouldn't really recommend reusing the starch mixture, even though it's totally doable (as long as it gets used in a timely manner). I've personally found this procedure of collar starching to be a little bit messy and time consuming, but the results are sooooooo good to the point it's completely worth it. Trust me, when you wear detachable collars, you will never want to go back to attached collar shirts except for when you're in the mood of being really casual.
If you're interested, here's the link to the full video regarding industrial starching that was referenced at 11:10
ruclips.net/video/UJp3V9TL8xs/видео.html&ab_channel=114madcat
Sorry for the wall of text, I'm just really happy with how my collar and cuffs turned out lol. I will be making an Albany collar (cutaway turndown collar), a Double Round collar (club collar) and probably a short wing collar (1.5" high or less) in the coming weeks (the patterns need some adjusting), and so will have to practice my starching technique in the meantime. I don't have any turndown collars in my collection at the moment either (wing and imperial collars atm), so I'll have to figure out the technique for turndown collars at some point. Your content is very inspirational, thanks very much for this!
Edit: Forgot to mention that after my iron has cooled down after starching, I also like to thoroughly clean the bottom just as an extra precaution to remove any traces of starch.
yessssssssssssss come on with that God tier editing
I try, but alas! 😭
Could you possibly make a video on Edwardian men's sleepwear, undergarments and underwear in the future? It's an area of Edwardian menswear that's never talked about and explored.
I'd love to thanks for the idea!!
Till the 1920s the shirt was considered an undergarment but i know ur reffering undershirts though
@@henryw.elliott499 What u mean is this
-In the early 1830s the first TAILORED shirt makers appeared in Jermyn Street London n so from thence the shirt was a more SEEN undergarment (in the sense way more of the bosom of the shirt was shown; way more of the time) but to be presentable men had to wear at least a coat on top of the shirt (many working class men would just be in their shirt but it was not expected of the common lot to be necessarily presentable) BECAUSE the shirt was considered an undergarment. In fact Aaron says that himself in a previous video (the one where he delves more deeply into detachable collars)
Henceforward the few men of the polite society (even if they may have been a poor retired doctor sharing a flat like John Watson) by the laws of society HAD to wear at least a coat at all times when in public (cept for a picnic or the seaside etc) to hide the body (or most of) the shirt which. After WW1 the woman roared for the firts time in a hundred with the flappers movement. Flappers were like the equivalent of 70s punk; for the periods standard they were hardcore trashy, ultra provocative and sexualised. The younger more rebelious men did not know n or or dare to create a whole new punkish style equivalent of their flapper sisters but instaed that is first when one stars seeing that men began to litteraly just wear less layers of clothing publicly. Hence it was in that period that it gradually became acceptable to wear just a shirt in public. Hence that by 1930 the shirt was more or less; no longer regarded as an undergarment.
In the Victorian times think of the mens shirt as like the womens undergarments; They had multiple layers of them n some petticoats would remain utterly hidden below while the top one would usualy be desight to show at the bottom. The mens equivalent of the first layer of petticoat was the (optional) undershirt n the partly displayed petticoat was the partly displayed shirt. One cannot beat me when it comes to mens clothing.
@@henryw.elliott499 U dont understand what i am writting. Reread carefully again. I never said or thought men DID NOT WEAR UNDERSHIRTS TILL 1920s. I wrotte thet the shirt was STILL CONSIDERED AN UNDERWEAR TILL 1920s. Of course they wore undershirts but nevertheless the dress shirt was considered an underwear (like an extra undergarment) till the 1920s
PSBesides many men did not wear ANY undergarments (dress shirt exempted) in summer if it was too hot as Aron White said in the same video i ready mentioned but that is another point altogether.
PPS. some men even wore an extra layer called an undervest which was worn on top of the undershirt, below the dress shirt as an extra layer of warmth. In this case they would ahave worn 3 top undergarments.
@@henryw.elliott499 maybe to the middle class clerk but probably was considered undies by polite society (upper middle class onwards
This filled in the missing info I needed! I did a starch collar video a while back and didnt know how to get it crisp and shiny. Thanks for this vid!
Hello! I hadn't seen your video! I just subscribed! I hope this can help you get that crisp and shiny look!
@@AntiqueMenswear Thanks for the sub. I will practice.
I love to see how your channel is growing.
Hopefully others will be inspired to wear these collars 😁
Edits:
1) When I say grams I mean the line on my cup as opposed to weight (sorry I'm dumb)
I'd also recommend maybe 150-200g instead of 250!
2) If you're using the lathering method you want to iron the soap with a medium to low setting so that you don't burn it!
3) For the grating method, only grate a bit of the soap bar, not the whole thing!! A few table spoons will suffice!
For the grating system, the iron setting will be te same . Isn't? Thanks
A long waited video has arrived!
And very good also,thankyou for the tutorial Aron!
Hello again, from a damp and dismal Llanelli in November. I've just finished trying your greaseproof paper method on an antique semi-stiff 1940s spearpoint collar and I thought you'd like to know it's turned out fairly well, for a 1st attempt at any rate. I had a modern collar done by D M Leigh's in Wavertree recently and the stiffness and shine is excellent thanks to the ancient gas powered press they use. However the younger Mr Leigh has not inherited his father's skill in shaping the collars and there are a few wrinkles on the neckband - not that you can see these from the outside. I only had 1 or two slight ones with your method so, well done that Chap !! Long may your collars shine !
The press is definitely something I lack!
Necessary for mass producing collars, but you may be pleased to know that many men had them ironed at home, either by servants or their wives, so perhaps the effect we achieve is just as accurate!
If you find greaseproof paper to be irritating, a more eco friendly option can be some plain linen or thin cotton squares of fabric!
Happy starching and thank you for watching!
Great video lots of fun, and great information. Thank you very much :D
this is THE video at last i cant wait to try out these methods !!
Your usage of what seemingly a small metal saucepan is GENIUS! I'll look into using it for my future collar starching adventures!!
Absolutely love the starting frame with the headless suit! Cool editing!
What a lovely video, thank you. Your manner of delivery is very gentle and informative, and the amount of research and trial and error you must have done is evident. Your passion shines through, thank you for this little tonic 🥂
An excellent video sir , as a novice I found this to be an amazing learning curve .
Fantastic video. I've always struggled with doing this myself so wonderful to see your efforts. Glad to see someone else who also appreciates a highly polished glossy finish. I'm often envious of the immense shine you see in those old black & white films where they're wearing white or black tie, the collars and dress shirts look fantastic!
I first entered into the world of detachable collars back around 1989/ 90 whilst at college in Brighton. Having discovered some wonderful vintage emporiums selling clothes. Here you could pick up all manner of waistcoats, dinner suits, evening (& morning) tails and of course collars and collarless shirts. I was also gifted some collars and then found out my father also had an old leather bound collar box with some lovely examples from the 60's that he wore. He also gave me his mother of pearl collar studs!
Whilst in Brighton I made a few enquiries looking to get the collars laundered and found a local company called "Regency Cleaners". Their service was amazing! The collars and dress shirts I gave them came back with the best shine I'd ever seen, never beaten since. The gentleman they employed to do it was in his 80's at the time and had been with them since he was 14. Very skilled and the only person who could perform that task. The collars and shirts would also have a little numbered laundry tag sewn in to them prior to the process (I still have those collars too). Once ready everything was beautifully wrapped up in a white and pink striped tissue paper, ready for collection.
Thank you for doing these video's and keep going with your vintage passions...so good to see and has made my day sir!
Great video, very informative. I tried starching and shining collars about ten years ago and failed miserably. This video really changed my outlook on trying to do this process of starching. I use to buy collars from Darcy and stocked up on them. Now I can wash and refinish them with the help from this great video you made, Thank-you!
I hope it's easy to follow!
I'll be adding time stamps soon to help!
Amazing video!
Thank you for the great video!
What an absolutely fantastic video! I had been look forward to it but it exceeded expectations in the best way! Thank you so much for this, I might have to try the beeswax-method if I can get my hands on some beeswax!
Hearty Congratulations on success in a tricky and frustrating process. I have tried and tried over the years to do this to 2 vintage dress shirts with stiff bosom panels and cuffs and also with less success to their corresponding collars. In those days I had Robin starch and an old heavy electric dry iron. Scorching was a problem and also not being able to get the layers in the collars to stick together. The damn things preferred sticking to the white cloth protecting the ironing board. Recently I've acquired some pure rice starch which was what the old laundresses preferred for its whiteness and firmness. Alas, however, my technique has not improved even though I also have 2 vintage polishing irons to help. You seem to have cracked it, Old Chap, so very well done, that Man ! Britannia is proud of you
I’m your ten thousandth subscriber!!! Love your videos!
Wow! What a milestone! Thank you so much for subscribing!
Great video. I've been starching collars here in New Zealand for about 32 years and this is the closest technique to what I use. Certainly the best video I've seen - well done and thanks for spreading the knowledge. And yes you can still get laundry blue - at least you could about 10 year ago when I last bought a box. I sourced it from the Carbolic Soap Company in the UK along with Kershaw's starch. You could also find it on eBay and Amazon. I am a musician specialising in 1920s dance band, light orchestral music 1880- 1940s, classic banjo, silent film music etc and when I was regularly working (before health troubles prevented it) wore self laundered boiled shirts with detachable collars regularly. I also used to wear detachable collars (although both soft and starched) most days and hope to again soon.
However, you are not mixing the starch the way I understand (from my research) that it was most often done historically. After you add cold water and mix the starch to a paste, the water you next add should be boiling and the starch magically turns clear for a few seconds. This gives a much crisper finish and won't go dry or crusty (which can happen otherwise). What you do achieves much the same thing, you are still "cooking" the starch but in the ironing process rather than the mixing process. I have found that when mixed with boiling water, the starch will develop a slight shine without adding extra things - although the additional things soap, borax etc. will certainly improve the shine. I have found it is also a good idea to dip your collars in cold water very quickly immediately after dipping them in starch. They can still get a crustiness to them as they dry (especially given the high concentration of starch in the mixture - especially if I'm using cornflour rather than rice or laundry starch). I usually allow the collars to partially dry wrapped around a small saucepan (I thought I was the only one who does this! Glad to be in such good company!) and then iron them in small area maintaining the curve on the ironing board. I use a vintage iron with a polished face (from the 1920s). The polished face helps achieve a nice shine without quite so much effort but as there is only one (hotter) temperature it is easier to burn the starch. I used to use a steam modern iron and found it takes a great deal more work. The vintage irons are much heavier than most modern irons.
Something I have been going to try is using a clean hard wooden board, rather than a padded ironing board. I'd be interested to know if others have had any experience with this. I can imagine it would be a great aid in crisping up the fold in fold down collar styles.
Thank you so much for your insight and advice!
As I have found, there are several different methods. One includes cold starching, as I have demonstrated, one includes hot starching as you mention, and another is boiled/steam starching, which is done in a very special machine that also mixes in beeswax (such as those found on French collars).
It's so fascinating!
I wish I was fortunate enough to have one of those lovely domed polishing irons! That must help a lot!
I actually bought a square ironing board from Amazon. It doesn't have any of the ridges you find on a normal board and is instead a piece of wood wrapped in cloth and some foam. It works much better!!
@@AntiqueMenswear The steam starching sounds fascinating - that’s new to me.
And I have a wooden ironing board covered it myself with about 6 layers of cotton waddling. It’s fabulous for general use and tailoring projects. The type of thing I have heard of is an uncovered ironing board (possibly burnished but not varnished, oiled, waxed or such). It’s the hard surface which I guess would help achieve the finish. And the variety of timber probably helps although I don’t know what it would be. Maybe I shall have to experiment. Anyway, thanks again for the great video(s)
Stellar!
Thanks! Great content.
The borax is interesting. If you're having a cockroach issue, drop a good bit of borax in a bucket a v hot water and mop your floors with it. It disrupts their paths across the room, and also scares them away.
A fascinating idea for cockroach infested Japan!!
Very informative, going to have a go.
Fascinating history!
I've also used this method with good success to starch the bibs of stiff fronted shirts
I use a very fine cloth soaked in the solution to apply to the bib until saturated and then iron like in the video
I posted this because I've noticed the starch was wearing off on some of your bibs in other videos and thought the tip might come in handy if you hadn't figured it out already! Hope it helps!
Thank you! Will try this! I love the Darcy washables, but got some thin washable collars to try this on.
IT'S SPELLED DE BAERDEMAEKER!
So this is the step that your friend had the accident with the collar on the pot?
@@judithgarnett5307 Yes he was probably drying it out on there.
The video was amazing! I'd love to see a video one day on hats and accessories (watch chain variants, stick pins, ect.) in the future! Where do you advise one attempts to find such collars?
YES YES YES I WAS WAITING FOR IT FOR SO LONG
Thanks!
Great intro
A random spur of the moment thought, haha!
I have no intention of starching collars, but I love your suit.
Love your video's (is that still a word?). I had my first go at starching today - so much fun, so much mess! Muslin and Linen came out stiff as a board, lol. Regarding the Kershaw's Starch - it actually contains Maize starch and Borax, (I read the MSDS) calling it a "natural whitening agent".
I've also found some proportions for using white beeswax: Buckeye Cookery & Practical Housekeeping, 1877 Enamel for Shirt-Bosoms: - Melt together with a gentle heat, one ounce of white wax and two ounces spermaceti; prepare in the usual way a sufficient quantity of starch for a dozen bosoms, put into it a piece of this enamel the size of a hazel-nut, and in proportion for a larger number. This will give clothes a beautiful polish. (The “usual amount” seems to be 2 tablespoons of starch to 1 pint of water). Modern equivalent/replacement for spermaceti (whale oil) is Jojoba Oil. So a 1:2 ratio would be 28.3g:56.6g.
Definitely on my list of things to try.
Thanks!
I recently found a dozen linnen granddad shirts by my great grandpa. They have a decorated front, almost like evening shirts.
Yesterday I found 14 wing collars, 5 pairs of detachable cuffs and a celluloid spearpoint collar. Thanks to you I will be able to wear those old family heirlooms!
The celluloid collar has some crincles and yellow discolloring. Still good enough for verry informal wear.
Is it possible to get rid of the discolouration tho?
Greetings from Germany!
Thank you for the lesson! Please do a video on how to starch shirts.
I shall attempt to restarch my collars with your methods. Thanks in advance.
Great video, this has actually to be the ultimate guide about traditional collar starching, no exaggerated claim !
When doing a research about that topic, I stumbled on a French article from the year 1935 (search for bmlisieux repassage) that mentions exactly borax, and as cheaper substitutes, wax (cire vierge = whitened beeswax), soap or paraffine. The recommended proportion for raw starch is 50 grams for 4 litres of water (1 : 80), but I guess this has to be for clothes not as stiff as collars.
As far as the polishing is concerned, the article says : "The piece to be polished must be dry and cooled down. Put a bit of wax on the iron and wipe off any excess. Make the item to be polished a bit damp with a cloth that has been dipped in soapy water, then iron." It mentions a special polishing board, but says that if no such board is at hand, a plain, smooth wooden board will also do. At any rate, a certain pressure is necessary.
That said, I wonder if you do not use a bit too much starch. You recommend 250 gr for a total of 650 ml of water ( = 1 : 2.6), while I have lately successfuly starched a collar with 2 teaspoons in approx. a half pint of water, in other words, 12 gr in 240 ml ( = 1 : 20), a disproportion of 20/2.6=7.6 fold. I don't intend to say that my formula is necessarily the best one, and I guess that you simply followed a recommendation that you have found, but at first glance I would say that a lesser concentration would also do.
Thank you for this insight!
I'm interested in trying that polishing method!
And yes, you're right. The collars that I starched in this video were linen and needed a lot of starch to end up smooth, but depending on the fabric (linen or cotton) and the ply inside the collar you could use less.
The collars that are sewn with two pieces and have a third ply inside would need less; I use around 100/150g depending on the amount I'm starching, when starching this type.
The type I starched in this video were a single layer with some structural tape on the underside, so they needed a bit more! 😁
@@AntiqueMenswear Thank you very much for your reply, I understand. You confirm what is further written in the article, which says that the thicker the fabric, the lesser starch is to be used, since more starch will be retained in the thickness.
Thank you very much for the video, I have used the grating method on one of my wing collars and it turned quite well, I got some warping but I think it happened because squeezed too much starch from the collar after the starching, because yours looked much more saturated before you left them to dry.
Instead of squeezing or ringing try to lay them on some grease proof paper or some cling film and have a go at massaging the collar. It sounds weird but it helps it spread evenly through the fibres to help it laminate better!
Fantastic guide, im so eager to try it now. Also i feal famous now haha
Thanks for the very informative video :) As for the cleaning bit: how do I know when I've gotten all the starch out? And what sort of cycle should I use when machine washing (after I've boiled it)?
That is a great video! Finally I can starch my favorite collar.
I think I’m going to try out the “grating” method.(I’ll come back when it’s done and comment on that) but before I do that I would like to know if ironing the tips of a wing collar down (my favorite is a wing collar) will leave it turned down completely or if it stays at a sort of 90 degree angle. Keep up with the great videos!
It will stay at an angle just press it then move it as you wish and leave it that way
thats a nice vintage detachable head
Great tutorial! Almost got it, sadly I didn’t dry the collar after it being washed
I just found out that Castlebank laundry was only a few miles from where I am (the laundering company where the historic footage comes from). Fascinating!
Good evening,
Such a great video and I am really grateful for it as it may have been the only reference out in the internet that talks about the topic.
I had few questions though please:
-I have been following both the laddering and the grating method (separately) with kershaw’s starch but I keep encountering yellow stains very easily even at the lowest temperature of my iron. The biggest problem though, once I manage to it stainless, is that once I wear the collar my jacket gets all “powdered “ from the starch. It seems like some of it does not hold on to the fabric well.
- I have a shirt with non detachable bib which I d love to starch but it makes the process of soaking complicated as I don’t want to make a mess with the rest of the shirt l. I thought about spraying but it doesn’t soak as much - any ideas please?
Again thank your so much for sharing your knowledge
Sincerely,
AvS
Thank you for the very informative video! I’d love to know if/how you starch shirt fronts and cuffs. I imagine it’s a similar mixture but applied differently?
Great video as always! I have a question regarding the drying and wringing of the collars post-wash: Would it be a good idea to use a rolling pin (to simulate the heated rolling pins in the video) instead of using the spin-dry function of a dryer?
Cheers!
A very informative content. I was thinking of trying out the soap method, when I saw the Japanese writing next to the gas hob and on the washing machine. You yourself then explained that you are (were?) in Japan at the time of the making of this piece.
I happened to be in Japan right now, and rather than having a go myself, I wondered if you lived nearby for me to ask you do them for me :)
Failing this, would you know of any local laundrette that can do starching for a detached collar?
I’ve recently managed to get two antique collars form Van Heusen NOS I believe. I noticed the collars say no starch in them. Plus, The NOS shirt I bought them for the collars, from the 1930s, was originally starched, and luckily I can wash it fine though of course the starch is now gone. And I’m not sure how to restarch the shirt besides the dry cleaner. But I do not think the collars need starched.
Because of the starch less collar, all it says is to wash then iron while damp. I’m guessing they can be washed as you show in this video, but I’m not sure. What makes these collars distinct from those with starch? Anything different about them to worry about? They are a bit yellow and I’d like to fix that as well before wearing them.
This is a very informative and wonderful video!
Hello. Great video. I really appreciate your having done the research for us. I'm thinking about trying the grating method and wonder how much soap to add. You didn't grate the whole bar in there did you?
Not the whole bar, just about four passes on the grater.
Two questions pertaining to your excellent video: 1) I have several jugs of Purex "Sta-Flo" concentrated liquid starch - have you had any experience with that? 2) In your "Grating" method, would it make a difference in using a regular hand soap, as you seem to do, or a harder, more "functional" bar soap, such as (in the U.S.) "Zote" or "Kirk's Hardwater Castile Soap"? I'd be grateful of a response. P.S. I do have some Argo Laundry Starch, which is now ferociously expensive here, and have ordered some Kershaw's, which is also monumentally costly now.
Would this general idea also work for starching evening shirt fronts and cuffs?
What kind of fusible interfacing should starched collars have? Only light ones, like H180, or none at all?
Do you have any tips on washing the shirts them selves then starching those? I have 2 wonderful shirts one black tie and another white tie, and they have significant stains all over them and I wanna make an attempt to bring them back. Any tips would be great!
What about washing antique shirts? I have a shirt which is around 100 years old and I'm not sure if I can put it into the washing machine so I rather wash it by hand. What would you recommend?
i have a question regarding darcy clothing collars, i recently bought a starched double round collar and it doesn't say washable, so this has me rather confused as of what i should do with it
I was just trying to figure out how to starch my attached collar for cadets, but, this is acceptable entertainment!
I wonder if you were able to try the did manage to try the wax méthode, and get good results out of it ?
I would love to see one on homewear or what you wear at home. I love smoking jackets 🧥
Hopefully a video on this will be possible soon. A lot of my antiques are still to be shipped from England
Glad to have stumbled upon this. I decided to take the somewhat ambitious route of making a linen shirt with a interchangeable stand collar and starching tutorials I had found were incomplete and didn’t explain the why. Might still have to deviate some from what’s historical(sensitive skin) but, I’m a lot less in the dark now. Now if I can just decipher my pattern correctly…
11:47 Can this manual be found online?
Hi i have seen your video before where you spray starch the washable collars from darcy...
So before that spray starching you did on those washable collars...
you did wash them first in the washing machine right ?
No! Those I put in the machine in the past got damaged and delaminated!
could you make a video describing the outfit wore by a particular individual? Like for example describing Don Fanucci's white suit from the Godfather part 2, and how accurate is for the period?
I do a lot of this writing for the Gentleman's Gazette, so far I've reviewed Downton Abbey for them!
Could I mix grating method with lathering method? Added soap powder and just before ironing rub into collar by soap.
Yes you absolutely could, especially if you didn't get the shine you wanted!
Further to all the below, I thought your followers might like to know that there are TWO public laundries in Britain still doing starched collars the old way. Barkers of Bournemouth is the one that boasts it's the last one but that's not true. D & M Leigh of High Stret, Wavertree, Merseyside have been doing this since the 1930s. it's a family business and their service gives a far better result than Barkers. Just thought I'd let y'all know this.
Thank you, I didn't realise.
I hope their service is! Barker's disappointed me greatly.
Now I'm in Japan I can't use British laundries, but my followers would surely love to know!
I wonder how you did find these out ?
Did you just type traditional laundries nearby in some gentlemanly search engine ? ?
Did they have dry cleaners back than? In summer these clothes needed to cleaned often.
Yes there were!
Summer clothes that were made of cotton or linen could be laundered and mangled at home, however 😁
Thank you so much for this video. My collar turned out pretty well for a first good go at it! I'm pressing hard hard hard but that inside layer doesn't want to laminate entirely. It is a Darcy imperial stiff collar (not the washable). Should I leave more starch in before I iron? I used the washing machine method you described but I'm wondering if I removed too much starch.
Hello there Allen!
The washing machine should be just a dry spin with no extra water for 5-8 minutes depending on how many collars you're using.
If your collar is made of cotton try experimenting with a little more starch. My collars here are made of linen.
@@AntiqueMenswear Wow. That is speedy service! I did spin out the starch in the washing machine. And it definitely did remove the excess. It is good to know that you are using linen collars, as opposed to my cotton collars from Darcy. My ironing board is padded. I have a good iron. Do you recommend a firmer ironing surface? I'm just trying to replicate the pressure needed.
I tried several recipes from you on my stiff Darcy cotton imperial collar. I've had very nice success with the Chemist's recipe. Very stiff! I needed to watch the temp on the iron. But it produced a pretty nice shine! I just used regular cornstarch.
@@allenw709 I would recommend a flat, harder board (I have a special flat one, now, which is essentially wood with some padding attached), and I recommend a dry iron for a flat, smooth surface!
@@AntiqueMenswear Thanks for this. I do have a hard sleeve board which would work well, i think. The borax and turps mix works VERY well for stiffness when used with regular cornstarch.
"Don't try this kids." Thank you. That's all my kids ever want to do is iron. They can't get enough of ironing clothes or dressing up old timey. My 8 year old looks like Ulysses S. Grant. My girl has so many petticoats I don't know what to do. Lol. Of course I'm being ironic if you haven't guessed.
Hello, I've had much success using your modern method with my white tie shirt, though it tested my patience quite a bit. This one seems more straight-forward but I'm unsure if it'll work with a modern shirt. What do you suggest? Regards.
I wouldn't recommend doing your entire shirt this way. It would take hours and you'd be left with a sheet of armour.
Place the shirt on the ironing board with something underneath. Then use a brush to paint the starch onto only the bib area around the placket. One it's soaked begin ironing. The same can be done with the cuffs.
Let me know how it goes!!
@@AntiqueMenswear Thank you for the speedy reply! I wasn't expecting you to be this fast. I will definitely update you on this. Thank you once more!
@@AntiqueMenswear Just finished starching the bib and the collar. Magnificient results! The bib is perfect and the collar is comparatively better than the spray method, which was a surprise. I'm going to starch the cuffs next, primarily because I forgot to do them before drying (:D) but secondarily because it got a bit tedious; but the work is nothing compared to the spray method. Although I have another question: can I steam a collar which has been starched? There are a few creases on the bib which I couldn't get rid of on account of my unfamiliarity with the tackiness.
(P.S. I used Domol Wäschesteife starch for a more modern/softer feel, still works like a charm!)
For those of us without washing machines, do you feel a dedicated salad spinner would work for removing the excess starch? Looking to start adding these type of collars to my attire.
That could help! It was one of my first thoughts. You can also hang the collars out to dry but make sure they're not really dripping
Quick question. Should the collar be ironed dry or wet still?
You take the collar from the starch, spin it and then slap it straight on the board wet. We use the greaseproof paper to protect the iron from the starch until it dries out a bit.
@@AntiqueMenswear Thank you!!
Damp but not wet. The surface should not be moist, or else you will get flakes or globules of starch coming off.
Can the starch mixture be reused ? for example, keeping it in a jar until another use...
Yes! Refrigerated for about 1 week or so, but do so at your own risk haha
@@AntiqueMenswear thanks ! I will try
I purchased a starched Arundel collar, (The washable and the starched are a bit different in shape) and I need it washed. Can I use the same method that was in your other video, on my starched collar? Thank you.
For starched collars this is the best method!
@@AntiqueMenswear Thank you, my friend!
I really lke the suit you're wering in this video, is it a genuine antique?
Yes, this suit is from the 1890s, I'll make a video about it soon!
@@AntiqueMenswear I was wondering the same if it's antique. I love the suit and looking forward for the video about it. I wish I could have such suit in my size.
Just an afterthought regarding the wax method. If you can't get beeswax have you tried using white candlewax instead ? It apparently used to be used with great success in ye olden days.
Cheerio, Old Chap and happy starching.
I have! And I did get some wax, but it didn't come out so well!
Ah well, never mind. Your results with soap are excellent. I live in Wales and I've managed to obtain a large quantity of rice starch, which is what the old laundresses preferred (apparently). I am going to try again now using your greaseprooof paper method to avoid scorching and mucking up the iron. That and pressing really hard with the polishing iron to finish up with may well do the trick.
Anyway, I love your videos and the fun presentation. You're a one -off and no error. As Spock used to say "Live long and prosper".@@AntiqueMenswear
How much soap powder add?
Actually it's a soap bar!
If grating, I do it by eye, but you want quite a few flakes in there as the collars won't absorb it all.
If lathering, you add enough to lather the collar and create a soapy texture.
Can you name the French collar makers please ?
Nice brooks brothers braces.
There should be a correction. I have phoned up Kershaw, they no longer use whitening additives in their starch
Can I hire you? :D
In March for t 1st time I tried starching the traditional way. They were not detachable collars but modern stuffs; 2 gems uniform shirts n a white waistcoat n a dickey w a collar i made from a too small shirt. In dubai i only found cornstarch n used a method i got from the fedora lounge, article called how to starch ur shirts grandma's way. I was so dissapointed for i think the method was actually to get a soft starch, nothing to do with the plywood like collars. For I wanted all these items tobe as hard as cardboard.
You cannot really starch modern stuff. Modern dress shirts have interfacing which does not starch properly unless you use extremely high pressure and a lot of starch. Also, the lamination is quite weak and puckers very quickly.
@@splm958 But even the body (which has no interfacing n is only 1 layer) did not starch much at all and it was 100 percent cotton. To be honest I send it to barker (another shirt which is also modern but at least am sure is 100 percent cotton) to see if at least the body n sleeved will get plywood like hard n i think they should be able to do it. Though the collars n cuffs might just be half as hard cause of laminated interfacings.
@@aloisguillerm4104 You need at least two plies to get stiffness. One is not enough. It's having two layers bonded to each other which gives it the stiffness. You can try folding over your shirt body fabric so there are two layers and ironing. It should get stiff if they are properly stuck together.
@@splm958 In July and August experimented w the chemist method like 10 times on the same shirt; an 1980-2000 100 cotton navy shirt with very little interfacing in cuffs, collar and cotton. I used a LOT of starch n contrary to what u all say. I got it plywood like; I mean even the one layer body and sleeves n in fact the placket, collar n cuffs (that have modern, mlaminated interfacing) were even harder. The problem wasnt the hardness at all but that the shirt looked like it had been dipped into cement; it had white spots of starch all over it. I tried countless ways but could'nt mangae it. Even that happened on white garments though the spots wouldnt be as noticeable indeed since it is white on white! Thats why I give up
Seems similar to my approach. I would like to emphasise that from my experience, you should not try to starch fabric which has been interfaced with any glued or synthetic interfacing. The starch does not stick and you will not laminate the plies together. Otherwise, you can very easily starch collars, cuffs and shirt-fronts with just plain starch and water.
That is absolutely true! I talk about this a little bit in my video, and I have another video about starching fabrics with glued interfacing too, which is by spraying the surface.
@@AntiqueMenswear I learnt the hard way when I bought a T. M. Lewis “detachable collar” shirt which had an awful, thickly interfaced collar. Funny thing is that a dilute solution of plain starch water made a mere two plies of thin cotton stiffer than that...
I was really surprised to watch this video though, because you did almost exactly the same thing as I did like moulding it around a saucepan with a rounded top lip, and laminating the plies together. I found later on that it wasn't really necessary to mould the collar as the natural curve to the foldover forms it into a curve anyway. You can see my old results here: www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/starching-detachable-collars.80861/#post-2683208 I'm become much more proficient since.
@@splm958 Hello!
Instead of a saucepan, sometimes I just sit the iron over the crease and pull the collar up towards me, that works well too.
I only use the saucepan if the curve didn't come out round, or if I want to add some extra shine to the collar afterwards.
I've never used the fedora lounge before, but I hear it mentioned from time to time, is it still active?
Our methods are surprisingly super similar, and I wish I'd seen this article before spending weeks and weeks experimenting with different techniques I'd thought up.
I'm assuming you also read one of the articles I did in the Australian Woman's Mirror? It also has a strikingly similar recipe. But again, I found that when looking for ways to remove old starch.
This evening I melted some wax and painted it onto the surface of a collar to see if it would shine like the French antiques (total disaster).
I'd be interested to hear any tips you have to be more proficient at this!
So far my favourite ingredients are starch, borax and glycerine!
Get ready to blow up good sire; I got this in my recommended
I read that Edgar Allen Poe was so poor he often went about without a shirt, only a coat. He must have used cuffs and a collar. Could you show a period correct demonstration?
Solved this problem by having no collars.
Wow I was too high for that intro
Sequel
?!?
Do you mean you want one or this is it? 🤣
@@AntiqueMenswear I will let you wonder lol.but in all seriousness I meant this is the sequel but it would be neat to see a factory version someday.
Stephen Fry didn't have anything on you kid.
Please I vitally need to know before i send anything to barker. I asked u on ur mail n ur how to wear detachable cuffs etc video; but u did'nt answer+the lady at Barker's but she couldn't give any clear answer as to a general rule of thumbs but since u wear those everyday and are a man like me; u can at least answer what it is for you personally. So that'll give me an idea to start with;
The question is simple;
How many wears can u get out of your detachable-collars before they become SOFT? (am not talking about the dirt just the softness)
Of course I'm talking about ur starched linen or cotton ones; not the disposable steel, rubber, paper or plastic specimens.
It's starch, Sir, not soft ice... The collars don't get soft at all, as long as you don't get surprised by pouring rain or a wet snow storm...
@@samueldougoud3289 tHANKS! I wonder why the lady at barkers said on average they lasted just 5 wears. Thats also what soeone on fedora lounge said; so ar u sure?
@@aloisguillerm4104 Hello, at 5 wears or so, they will start to get dirty, and you don't want to go much further, for the sake of getting them clean again without too much work, that is the point.
@@samueldougoud3289 Thankyou but she confirmed that usually they did get soft after max 10 wears form her experience
Monocle