I have been wearing the dress shirts from Bluffworks for the past several years and they are by far my favorite dress shirt. Not just for travel, but for wearing at the office or out on the town. I have gone through a couple different versions of the shirt as they continue to improve, and this latest model, the Meridian 2.0, is awesome, as it combines the great look and insane wrinkle protection and durability into a lighter fabric.
Bluffworks is a company that is focused solely on making great travel clothes for men (rumor has it a women’s line is coming soon). Bluffworks claims it “was founded to fit into every aspect of your life’s journey – work, travel, play (and everything in between).” In my opinion, they knock that goal out of the park with the dress shirt. They are comfortable, durable and sleek looking enough for so many uses. Below, I am going to address in detail why I think every person should own a pair, especially those of you that love to travel.
The Fabric
The Bluffworks dress shirt is made of 98 percent technical, breathable quick-dry polyester and 2% spandex. This combination makes for a 2-way stretch fabric that is designed for movement. This fabric is designed to keep you from overheating no matter the conditions because it is very breathable.
This was definitely the biggest change between the previous model shirt I own and the current Bluffworks dress shirt. The old fabric I still loved because it performed so well for travel and avoiding stains, but the new fabric does all the same while being super light and breathable. I was ecstatic when I received the new shirt because of this.
Another big perk of this fabric is that it is machine washable. There are few things that are more annoying to me than clothes that have to be dry-cleaned. It is both a time and money suck, so I am glad that these shirts are machine washable, or can be easily washed in a hotel sink, as I have done many times.
The Dress Shirt is Legitimately wrinkle free
Bluffworks advertises that this shirt is “intensely wrinkle-free.” They claim the no iron shirt is further accomplished without formaldehyde or other harsh chemicals. I can’t tell you how they accomplished it, but they sure did.
I am an attorney and wear a dress shirt Monday through Friday, and again for church on Sunday. I have worn dozens of different so-called wrinkle free shirts. In my experience, that usually means it will iron in about half the time of a normal shirt coming out of the dryer, but still has to be ironed.
The Bluffworks shirt not only doesn’t need an iron out of the dryer, it doesn’t need an iron after being shoved into luggage, which is why this is the ultimate travel shirt. It is amazing to have a clean looking dress shirt pulled straight out of luggage.
To really test this out, I simulated packing the shirt between each use for over a month. After weeks and multiple wears, I never had to iron the shirt, and it was always wrinkle free. It looked good enough I have had no qualms wearing it at work where I usually only where freshly-pressed dress shirts.
You can Wear this Shirt Multiple Days without Washing
Bluffworks advertises that the dress shirt is anti-microbial and can be worn for 5 days in a row without washing. I have tested this claim to the extreme and found it to be true. I don’t pretend to understand how it works, but it is amazing how well it does.
The only time I have felt like I couldn’t wear the shirt more than once between washes was when I wore it for two days straight on a trans-Atlantic overnight flight followed by a full day walking around Amsterdam and a hot train ride down to Paris. After that brutal stretch, the shirt didn’t smell too great.
Outside of that one experience, which was the older version of the shirt, I have put this shirt through the ringer and it has never smelled, gotten grungy or looked bad despite multiple wears between washes. This is what makes this my absolute favorite travel shirt. I can take it on a week long trip, wear it four times and not worry about it smelling or looking bad.
To really put it to the test, I wore it 1-3 times a week for six weeks, throwing it on a closet shelf between uses. this let to probably 15 uses without a wash, and it didn’t smell at all and still looked great. It was good enough that I felt comfortable wearing it at the office despite not washing or hanging it for several weeks and many wears. That is incredible if you ask me.
The Look
As great as the shirt performs with all the features discussed above, it wouldn’t be worth much to me if it didn’t look good. Fortunately, I really like the style of the new Meridian 2.0 dress shirts from Bluffworks. For reinforcement, my wife also approves and likes the new styles a lot more than the original patterns.
The Meridian 2.0 comes in 3 patterns. My personal favorite is the Highland Grey Check, but there is also a Deep Blue Mini-Check and a Peak Blue Tattersall. Each of these looks are great because they dress up well enough that you can wear them with a suit or tie, which I do at work often, or they look great when you ditch the tie and wear them untucked, which I also do frequently.
Conclusion
There isn’t much more to say. I really do love the Bluffworks Meridian 2.0 Dress Shirt. While the $98 price tag is not a budget shirt, it is well worth the money in my opinion. Especially for anyone that travels even semi seriously. To have a dress shirt, that looks good dressed up or casual, that is actually wrinkle free, that is comfortable and breathable, and that you can wear every day on a week-long vacation if you want, is absolutely incredible.
If you want to get your own, head over to Bluffworks. My favorite is the Highland Grey Check, but they all look great.