I met an entrepreneur at one of the Travel & Adventure Shows I attended this year who told me that he had created the most comfortable and stylish travel shirt. He said, “See my shirt? I’ve worn it 17 times all around the world and I haven’t washed or ironed it and it still looks and smells like new.” I was intrigued since I usually wash my clothes after wearing them, but if I could get away with not washing one for 17 uses, I would of course be impressed.

The name of his company is called Libertad Apparel. He got the idea for his shirt on the hottest, slowest and most uncomfortable train in Myanmar (Burma) in June 2004. He believes most nice clothes don’t travel well and typical travel clothes aren’t very fashionable. His dress shirts are made up of 100% Merino fabric that extends the effective temperature range for multi-climate use. Libertad uses the latest textile technology to create a fabric that manages macroclimate transitions while controlling the microclimate next to the skin. I have no idea how they keep the shirts odor- and wrinkle-resistant, but they do, and that’s probably why the shirts aren’t cheap ($129 each). They come in four colors: Black, Italian Navy, Parisian Blue, and Wine Red. Sizes are S, M, L, XL, an XXL, and you can choose between two types of fit: Modern and Classic. Grab one here.

Something to keep in mind is that when you do wash/dry/iron a Libertad shirt, for best results they recommend, when washing:

  • Wash on a cold/cold cycle
  • Buttoned up and inside out
  • Do not bleach

And when drying:

  • Hang dry in the shade
  • Do not tumble dry

And when ironing:

  • Warm iron only. Do not exceed “Wool” setting on the iron. Try ironing inside out until the right temperature has been achieved. Wool will get scorched if the iron is too hot.
  • Consider an intermediate cloth or iron inside out.
  • You can also dry clean it, but tell the cleaners to do it on a normal cycle and not to use trichloroethylene.

 

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