Van Heusen › News & Press › There is nothing like a pristine white shirt

There is nothing like a pristine white shirt

Van Heusen › News & Press › There is nothing like a pristine white shirt

There is nothing like a pristine white shirt

Daily Mail, Robin Yapp (Science Reporter)

When a man needs to look his smartest, there is nothing like a pristine white shirt.

The problem is keeping it that way through everything the day throws at you. Now one manufacturer claims to have the perfect solution - a stain proof shirt that resists beer, coffee, tea and even red wine.

It says most liquids simply 'bead up' and run off the fabric of the Van Heusen Shirt, leaving it virtually unblemished.
Sticky substances such as barbecue sauce, jam and curry should brush away with a wet cloth or the hand, with any remaining smears coming away easily in the wash.

The shirts - which will be in the shops from next week for around £** - are also made of non-iron cotton.

The Van Heusen Brand is owned by Nottingham based Morrison McConnell, which also owns the Van Heusen Label.

Simon Foster, Van Heusens designs director, said: 'We were looking for something to match the modern lifestyle.

There are other things people can be doing rather than ironing shirts and men don't want to faff around and have to go back upstairs to change their shirt if they spill something down themselves at breakfast time.'

The Shirt range, which comes in blue, pink and grey as well as white, works due to a Teflon coating which is applied to the sheets of cotton fabric from which the shirts are to be cut.

After the shirts have been made, they are baked in a large oven at high temperatures to seal in the technology.
Van Heusen will not reveal any more about the process for commercial reasons.

But the idea is that when liquid comes into contact with the Teflon coating, rather than soaking in and staining the material, it will simply form small beads and roll off.

However, a Daily Mail road test - involving lager, coffee, red wine, barbecue sauce and jam- always remain as stain-free as the manufacturer would like, it certainly dealt well with the lager. As the liquid hit the shirt it quickly formed into beads that comfortable brushed away, much as promised. Nor did it leave the fabric clinging to the skin as you would expect.

With coffee, the liquid also quickly formed into droplets. Unfortunately they were less inclined to go anywhere. With the encouragement of a cloth most of it did eventually brush off - but not without leaving a sizeable stain.

Attempts to brush red wine away with hands and a towel were in vain, however.

Barbecue sauce on one sleeve was gone with a few swishes of the hand, although a brown stain was clearly visible. But a blob of strawberry jam on the other sleeve brushed away well, leaving only the faint outline of a stain.