How to Iron An Oxford Button Down Shirt

I know to some it might seem very elementary, however there is a certain knack to ironing a man's button down shirt... especially if it is not the wrinkle free kind that just requires a quick hang up after coming out of the dryer. If you're kinda absent-minded like me, you rarely catch those beauties in time and they will require a pressing too. First it helps to have a good solid iron with a pronounced point... I use the Rowenta Focus, a sturdy German made model of excellent design. This has both a steam blast button and a spritz button to ward off those stubborn wrinkles... especially the ones you create when your not being careful. I keep a small bathroom cup handy to fill the water chamber (it's best to use distilled water) and find that one little cupful will iron a pair of men's cotton pants or two button down shirts. First, make sure all the buttons are unbuttoned and then start with the collar opened and flat and steam blast front and back. Then pull the shoulder of the sleeve over the tapered end of the ironing board and iron the front and back of shirt up to the shoulder seam. Next, I smooth down the full length of the sleeve and carefully iron front and back with a crease opposite of the inner seam. Iron the cuffs closed but unbuttoned... front and back. Repeat the opposite side of the shirt and sleeve as above. Arrange the front of the shirt parallel with the tapered end of the board and smooth the surface with your hands first. Start with the buttoned edge (if your right handed) by gently pushing the point of the iron into each space between the buttons. Then in long sweeping stokes go down the length of the shirts front. Rearrange the shirt to iron the sides using the point toward the seam and keep rotating the shirt when each section is completed. Use care around the back pleat of the shirt, doing the center of the pleat first and then on either side will prevent unwanted creases. Carefully rotate and smooth the shirt, and then iron until you get to the button-holed front. One slow sweep along the buttonholes is usually good enough. Lastly, I fold down the collar and iron the points down flat, then place the creased back of the collar over the taped end of the board and iron this flat as well. Place the shirt carefully on a hanger and hang on a door hook. Then re-button the collar points and the top button. Make sure the shoulders are properly hung over the shoulders of the hanger. Place in the closet with plenty of room between the shirts so all your effort isn't wasted... no cramming. Enjoy the beauty of those shirts hanging so smoothly and know that with the effort that it takes to perform this task, you've saved yourself a bunch of coin.