These are actually quite good shirts. They look good, wear fairly well.
Dry them in an uncrowded dryer and remove promptly and they look very good with no ironing whatsoever.
So what's the catch? Well, they are stiffer and definitely less comfortable than untreated cotton. They tend to wear and fray at the neck and collar tips the same way the wrinkle-free chinos wear and fray at the hemmed bottoms. So it's convenience and appearance vs comfort.
I think some of the "wrinkle-resistant" shirts Bean had maybe seven years ago or so were better. They looked good enough just out of the dryer for "business casual", though just barely, definitely no sharp arm creases, but they actually felt like cotton.
Incidentally, online the 'dark elm' shirt looks to be dark green in color, the actual shirt is a much, much paler gray green, so be warned.
What a shame. When I was in high school and collage, for the sake of argument we will call it the early 1980s, I would look forward to every fall when my Grandmother would gift to me a few back-to-school gems from LLBean. Invariably, they would include the same items. Oxford clothe shirts in white, pink, and blue, a few pair of chinos, and a new pair of camp mocs. If I was lucky, I could sneak in a heavy gauge Norwegian sweater to brace against Colorado’s winters. All were classics. Over time, they would begin to age, deepen, and mellow, and take on a personality of their own in the variations of hue and above all, softness. They would become the frayed, sun washed envy of my friends and, especially, my girl friends. In the end, I would not discard my old oxfords so much as give them an honorable burial. Not any more. LLBean’s wholehearted embrace of the non-wrinkle frenzy is regrettable. These shirts and chinos feel like they are made of plastic, not cotton. Who wants a pair of khakis or an oxford shirt with a permanent crease or sheen like cell0phane? They don’t breath, they don’t age, and they don’t soften. They just wear, and then fall apart. And goodness knows what the non-wrinkle treatment does to the environment. Do yourself a favor. Buy a pair of camp mocs and wear them into the ground. But eschew these shirts and get back to nature. I bet the next time you put on a regular oxford cloth shirt that had been washed a few hundred times and feels like silk, you will thank yourself.
Response from L.L.BeanBy L.L.Bean Product Team, May 25, 2010
Thank you for sharing your comments. We’re always glad to hear from customers who have “grown up” with L.L.Bean, but we’re sorry to hear that you’re disappointed with this shirt and we will certainly keep your concerns in mind. If you’re interested in button-front shirts and pants that are not treated to resist wrinkles, you might consider other styles, such as our seersucker and poplin shirts and our 1912 Chinos.
Please call us anytime if you’d like help finding our untreated styles, and so we can help you return this shirt. Everything we sell comes with our 100% guarantee, and it’s our top priority to make sure you’re satisfied with everything you purchase from us. Again, we’re sorry for the inconvenience and thanks again for taking the time to send your feedback.
Overall rating
5/ 5
FarWest
fromSan Diego, CA
Gender:Male
How often do you shop at L.L.Bean?Occasionally
Great Shirts
PostedApril 14, 2010
Love these shirts. Reasonably priced and exceptionally durable. Easy to care for as well.
The shirts come out of the dryer ready to wear. I know have seven or eight of them and I can't tell which ones I purchased last year vs last week.
