Well Pressed Clothing

My mother-in-law bought a condominium in Southwest Florida in 1987.  My husband and I used to visit her during the winter months or "The Season."  We would always pack nice clothes to wear to dinner in most of the restaurants in Naples and the surrounding areas.  There were some restaurants that required men to wear a coat AND tie!  My mother-in-law would iron her best warm weather outfits and put on lots of jewelry so she would look "presentable" at dinner.  I would iron our clothes almost as soon as we arrived. EVERYONE who wanted to show that they were well off would dress in their very best "Resort Wear" for that year and stroll around downtown where all of the high end stores and restaurants provided a "promenade" for the wealthy.

Now it's 2015 and things have changed as the "Greatest Generation" as passed on or living in assisted care facilities.  Their children (my age) and grandchildren have taken over the condos and homes of their parents and grandparents.  The Baby Boomers are a more casual group.  We don't want to bother dressing up while "Wintering" or vacationing in Florida.  Most of the nice restaurants have tables and chairs outside for Alfresco dining.  You never see a man in a coat and tie in these places.  The women wear capri pants and pullover tops, something our parents' generation would feel inappropriate to wear to dinner.  I also see pretty sundresses and usually wish I had shopped for a few for myself.  The casual wear of decades ago has now been upgraded and manufactured by many of the brand name design houses.

One of the things that separates the well off from the casual tourist is sending their Burmuda shorts and golf shirts to the dry cleaners.  I like the look of well pressed clothing, especially when the clothing is casual.  Ironing clothes makes them look more expensive. Unfortunately ironing is not being taught to the young.  That's really a shame because knowing how to iron your clothes is important, especially if a young person is going for a job interview.

A typical iron has several settings according to the kind of fabric being ironed.  Look on the clothing tag that is usually sewn into the side seam to find out what kind of fabric or blend of fabrics has been used.  Look at the iron controls and choose the number that corresponds with the type of fabric.  I like to put clean water in a spray bottle and lightly mist the garment before I iron it.  I've had bad luck (scorching and rust stains) from using the steam option on irons so I just spritz before ironing.  YouTube has many ironing videos to choose from if you have never seen anyone ironing before.  Invest in a good ironing board too.  It's very hard to iron on a counter or table plus you will probably burn the surface.  Ironing boards with padded covers are the best option.  Irons and ironing boards are available in discount and big box stores as well as re-sale shops.

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