The image above is of a rather unusual shirt because half of it is made up of non-iron cotton (the right side) and half is made up of regular cotton (the left side). After it has been washed and hung up to dry, you can see the non-iron side stays beautifully smooth and wrinkle-free, whereas the side made of regular cotton will need to see an iron before it's fit for the outside world.

Unlike the non-iron fabric of old, proper non-iron shirt fabric should be made of 100% two-ply cotton so it feels as comfortable as regular shirt fabric. That means it should not contain any man-made fibres such as polyester (a shirt should never sparkle suspiciously in the sun thank you very much) and so should feel luxuriously soft against the skin.

The 'non-iron magic' in proper non-iron shirts doesn't come from the fibres themselves, but from the special treating process which involves subjecting the finished shirt to high temperatures. This ensures that when the shirt is hung up to dry after washing, it stays remarkably crease-free. Of course, there are other non-iron shirts on the market that have been treated using additives that make the shirts feel, and look like, cheap-as-chips nylon. If a non-iron shirt doesn't feel as smooth as cotton, we say avoid it like the plague.

Ah, the washing machine; great at washing clothes, poor at preventing creases. If there's one thing to blame for a wrinkled shirt this is it. However, as it is squeezed and spun inside one of these, non-iron shirt fabric absorbs less water which makes it even better at keeping its shape and colour, less likely to shrink (perish the thought), and able to dry more quickly. "That's how we combat the main cause of crease formation", says Dr Friedrich Reinert, textiles researcher at BASF, the largest chemical company in the world. Hurrah!

Non-iron shirts means ironing can be a thing of the past, especially as ironing can sometimes cause clothes more harm than good. Regular shirts are notoriously difficult to iron and many a man has ended up with brand new creases after attempting to iron a shirt – very frustrating. A poor ironing job can also leave brown scorch marks on a shirt if the water is too hot (not a good look) and if the water is too cold, creases become annoyingly stubborn. Irons are also bulky, making storage difficult and more expensive than a few non-iron shirts. Finally, everyone knows that leaving a hot iron around can invite nasty accidents – ouch!

Because a non-iron shirt begins its life as a regular shirt, you can still find different fits that fall under the non-iron shirt category. Classic fit is built for comfort, with a generous, looser fitting fabric and a long enough tail to ensure it stays smartly tucked in. Slim fit is neater and slightly tapered to the waist. Using less fabric gives a tidier, sharper appearance and can still be worn by men who carry a bit of extra weight round the middle.

Proper non-iron shirts are also available in a choice of cuffs; double cuff so you can wear them with some dashing cufflinks, or two button single cuff. Either way, proper non-iron shirts will make you look and feel comfortable and admirably smart.