Laundry. The inevitable task, unless you want to walk around with dirty clothes on or have enough money to buy a new outfit every time the clothes hamper needs emptied… Neither of these options tend to appeal to the majority of the population, so we muster up the energy and wash clothes only to realize that there’s yet another task at hand before we can wear some of our fresh out-of-the-dryer clothing… You got it! It’s ironing. And it’s often the case that our favorite t-shirts that need ironing the most… which begs the question (for those of us who absolutely despise ironing), ‘When is that t-shirt too wrinkled to wear?’.

I think it might be best to tackle this question by breaking it down into 5 degrees of wrinkled; 0) pressed, 1) creased, 2) slightly ruffled, 3) crinkled and 4) unidentifiable.

Starting with the obvious, pressed means that you’ve taken the time to iron your t-shirt, or have a ‘no-wrinkle’ material that dries nicely, and your t-shirt has zero wrinkles.

Next, you have a creased t-shirt, which means the shirt was ironed if needed, folded and put away, and the only ‘wrinkles’ to be found are along the fold lines or creases. Unless they’re ultra picky or obsessive compulsive, no one’s goanna turn their nose up at you for wearing this level of wrinkled, regardless of where you wear it (work, play, school, etc). Some may even argue that creased doesn’t constitute a wrinkled t-shirt, though, by definition, a crease is a wrinkle and a wrinkle is a crease.

Now we’re going to move on to the more questionable degrees of wrinkled. Typically, if you watch the dryer and pull your t-shirts out immediately after it shuts off, some of your t-shirts will still be slightly ruffled (no major wrinkles, but obviously not ironed or wrinkle-free). You may be ok to wear this level of wrinkled at home, to the gym or on a casual walk in the park. You may even be able to get away with wearing it under a button up jacket for dinner, but it might be pushing it to wear it to work. You may receive disapproval from some, like your ‘mother who taught you better’ or your ‘neat freak’ significant other, but generally, most won’t give you a second look.

However, if you’re the guilty one who has pulled the laundry out of the dryer and then simply threw it in the clothes basket for a day or two (or longer!), you likely now have a crinkled shirt; the next to worst kind of wrinkled you could attempt to wear, especially in public (even at the gym is pushing it a bit). You may be brave and throw it on to lounge around at home, but not only do crinkled shirts look bad, they can be fairly uncomfortable. Because they’ve been allowed to crinkle up, they also tend to also stiffen up, which can make for a rough feeling against your skin, especially when t-shirts should be one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing you own! One word- REWASH!

And finally, you know that corner that piles up in your closet? The one that you sometimes forget is there until you either throw something else on it or try to find your missing clothing in it? Well, this pile tends to produce the worst wrinkled t-shirts of all, the unidentifiable kind. To define unidentifiable more clearly, it’s the t-shirt that you think was a t-shirt but you’re not so sure anymore because it’s so wrinkled that it seems to be taking on the shape of an accordion. Another level of wrinkled that should never be worn prior to rewashing!

Bottom line- If your t-shirt’s pressed or creased, where that t-shirt with pride! If it’s slightly ruffled, use caution. And if it’s crinkled or unidentifiable, please pass on pulling it over your head!