From The Straits Times    |
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You start your day off with a perfectly ironed white shirt and by the time it hits lunch hour, you already have a wrinkly outfit hanging off you – it’s as if you grabbed it straight out of the dryer and made no effort to iron it. 

Yes, the struggle is real. It seems like no matter how well-pressed your clothes are, all you need is a couple of hours of walking and sitting before the wrinkles set in. While it might be unavoidable, we’ve found some clever tricks that you can employ to fight back against this problem. Read on!


Balenciaga Fall Winter 2016 / Image: Showbit

Prepping:

1. Only wear clothes that are completely dry 
Fabrics crease most easily when they are warm or the slightest bit damp. Don’t wear any fresh laundry that just came back from drying. Leave them to cool until room temperature and make sure they are thoroughly dry before putting them on. 

2. Iron your clothes well
In order to minimise the creases you create throughout the day, iron your clothes inside-out, and along the seam lines. It also helps if you set the iron to the exact heat setting required on the clothing label. 

3. Anti-wrinkle spray 
This is self-explanatory. Spray your clothes with an anti-wrinkle spray before you wear them out. This will greatly reduce the number of wrinkles that will form. 

4. Buy wrinkle-resistant fabrics
If you are on a zero-crease quest, look out for clothes made from fabrics that have a lower cotton content, as cotton wrinkles very easily. Materials like silk, polyester and viscose usually wrinkle less. There are also some clothes that boast wrinkle-resistant fabric. 

While sitting: 

1. Pull your clothes flat against your thighs and chair 
For those of us who have desk-bound jobs, the biggest culprit when it comes to creases is definitely the act of sitting. Make a conscious effort to smoothen your pants/dress and stretch it flat to be slightly taut on the tail so that you are sitting flat on the fabric.

2. Try not to cross your legs 
It’s one of the toughest “rules”, but crossing your legs causes the fabrics to rub against each other, creating small folds and creases. If you are wearing a dress, make sure that there’s no fabric caught in between your thighs. For those who are wearing pants, it’s best if you keep your legs outstretched when sitting. 

3. Avoid pressure on clothes 
Any form of friction, contact or pressure will create creases. Let your clothes hang freely on your body and avoid pressing it up against your bag or arms This one is quite impossible to pull off but it’s still worth a shot!