"Breaking Starch"

[Mossyrock]

This may be seen by some as a strange fetish of sorts, but after having spent almost a quarter of a century in the US Army, one of my favorite parts of the day was to put on a freshly pressed and starched uniform from the laundry. I routinely requested heavy starch, and my uniforms would almost stand up on their own! Sometimes putting on a heavily starched uniform could be a bit of a struggle, with the pant legs being essentially glued together with starch. Put on a crispy new uniform and a highly shined pair of boots, and you were stylin'!

Fast forward a couple of years....I retired from the military and had to go out and get a REAL job that required me to actually CHOOSE my clothes on a daily basis (not an easy task after 25 years of uniforms). I ended up buying quite a few sets of khakis, microfiber dress pants and dress shirts, all of which were wash and wear. I recently bought several shirts and a pair of khakis that were advertised as being permanent press, but when you took them out of the dryer, it looked like you had slept in them. I dropped them off at the cleaners the other day to be laundered and starched, and put them on this morning.....Ahhhh. THAT'S what I was missing! Nothing quite like putting on a freshly pressed and starched shirt first thing in the morning!

 

[Mike K.]

I love the smell of starch in the morning. It smells like...victory!

 

[Mossyrock]

I love the smell of starch in the morning. It smells like...victory!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! lol lol

 

[shortbow]

Mike, that'n just about killed me.lol

 

[Mike K.]

Well, you know we can't be too...ummm...stiff around here!
lol lol lol

(sorry couldn't resist that one either)

 

[MPicciotto]

I was able to obtain some early Air Force (1949-53ish) uniforms. The "Suntans" Khaki Tropical shirts are so starched that you could play Frisbee with them. Those weren't yours were they?

On the other end of the spectrum is my 100% cotton "Safari" shirt that I call my "Ever-Wrinkle" It has never been starched. Once I tried ironing it. The moment I shut off the iron the shirt began wrinkling lol

Matt

 

[jamespowers]

This may be seen by some as a strange fetish of sorts, but after having spent almost a quarter of a century in the US Army, one of my favorite parts of the day was to put on a freshly pressed and starched uniform from the laundry. I routinely requested heavy starch, and my uniforms would almost stand up on their own! Sometimes putting on a heavily starched uniform could be a bit of a struggle, with the pant legs being essentially glued together with starch. Put on a crispy new uniform and a highly shined pair of boots, and you were stylin'!

Fast forward a couple of years....I retired from the military and had to go out and get a REAL job that required me to actually CHOOSE my clothes on a daily basis (not an easy task after 25 years of uniforms). I ended up buying quite a few sets of khakis, microfiber dress pants and dress shirts, all of which were wash and wear. I recently bought several shirts and a pair of khakis that were advertised as being permanent press, but when you took them out of the dryer, it looked like you had slept in them. I dropped them off at the cleaners the other day to be laundered and starched, and put them on this morning.....Ahhhh. THAT'S what I was missing! Nothing quite like putting on a freshly pressed and starched shirt first thing in the morning!

Ah yes, that feeling of putting on a freshly starched shirt and having to pry open the chest pocket. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap You are preaching to the choir with me. I love starched clothing.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I guess I fall on the opposite end of the spectrum as I cannot stand the stuff. I prefer the comfort of starchless shirts, of course you get wrinkles but those are the breaks...

 

[MisterGrey]

I think this might be fairly common among servicemen, at least in the US. My own father served in the army, and recalls he would sometimes try to get his shirt to stand up on its own after getting it back from the cleaners. He found it highly unusual to re-adjust to wearing denim work shirts when he left (he got out at the end of the 60s).

 

[Mossyrock]

He found it highly unusual to re-adjust to wearing denim work shirts when he left (he got out at the end of the 60s).

You know, that brings up another starchy memory! Before I decided to play Army, I worked as a carpenter. My last job involved concrete construction with lots of iron work. It was very common for the welders to wear stiffly starched denim shirts. Why? The starched shirts had less of a chance of burning if they caught a stray spark.

 

[Nash Buckingham]

Ah yes, that feeling of putting on a freshly starched shirt and having to pry open the chest pocket. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap You are preaching to the choir with me. I love starched clothing.

Agreed - also the feel when the pleat in the back pops loose and you can then move - and collars and cuffs that look right!

 

[Feraud]

Don't forget out own diy starch thread courtesy of Scotrace.

 

[jamespowers]

Agreed - also the feel when the pleat in the back pops loose and you can then move - and collars and cuffs that look right!

The back pleat! There you go. I forgot to mention that. :cheers1:
Collars that don't look like you slept in the shirt and cuffs that you can drum out taps on. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Warbaby]

When I first read the title of this thread I thought it was gonna be about flatulence from eating too many potato latkes. :eusa_doh: