The Incredible Shrinking Shirt

As long as I’m in a rant mode, I might as well comment on another subject that drives me nuts….the incredible shrinking shirt.

With the advent of cooler weather, I switch from short-sleeved shirts to long sleeves, and every year it’s the same thing. The flannel shirts I bought last year have all shrunk. The sleeves and tails are at least two inches shorter than they were when I bought them. I’m beginning to think that they shrink just hanging in the closet.

When buying shirts with even some cotton material in them, I know there will be shrinkage, but why does it take a half-dozen washings before it shows up? If they’d shrink immediately, I’d buy a larger size and wash before wearing. I’ve even tried doing that a couple of times and it looks like I’m wearing a tent most of the season, with the shoulder seams 3” off my shoulder. Then they hang during the summer, and when it comes time to wear them in the fall, they fit like the shirts on the Incredible Hulk about the time he gets mad and begins to turn green.

With all our technical advancements, it seems odd that someone can’t come up with a soft, warm shirt material that doesn’t shrink.