Happy 250th Fourth of July!
I hope you and your family have a lot of fun plans for the weekend, and hopefully we have the same number of fingers for church on Sunday as we all have today.
As I write this, my wife Jenni and our daughters are all dressed up in their 1770s gear helping at the general store at Colonial Days in Orem. If you want to drop by and say hi, she would love to see you.
Just a quick note, Angel Studios (we are not affiliated) is doing a movie called Young Washington that I think starts today. They have some major talent lined up: Mary-Louise Parker, Kelsey Grammer, Andy Serkis of "my precious" fame, and Ben Kingsley. Anyway, great job Angel Studios, and if you are looking for a movie to enjoy this weekend, the trailer looks pretty good.
Watch the Young Washington trailer
Now back to missionary outfitting news!
The shirt built for 100 washes
A missionary shirt has the hardest life of any dress shirt. It gets worn in really rough conditions, washed in sinks, showers, rivers, or cement basins, hung up to dry on a clothesline or chair, and then asked to look sharp week after week for two years.
100 industrial washings
A long time ago, we used the same "business grade" manufacturers as everyone else. And the feedback on the guarantee was terrible. The wrinkle-free and stain-resistant fabric coatings would wear off after 10 to 15 washings. The shirts would get yellow over time. The collars and cuffs would bubble.
While attending a trade show, we discovered where we were going wrong. We needed to partner with a uniform factory that specialized in service-industry uniforms. The kind of shirt you would see employees wearing at a Marriott or another high-end hotel, or on the wait staff at the best restaurants in the country.
We finally found our people! They did not look at Jenni and me sideways when we told them we needed a shirt that would last 100+ industrial washings and be worn by young men all over the world in really harsh conditions. They just kept asking questions and telling us about the actual testing they had done on their fabrics, collars, plackets, cuffs, and more. We could finally build a shirt for missionaries that would last the whole two years and look just about the same coming off the plane as it did going into the MTC.
Our shirts feature:
- A super comfortable 4-way stretch fabric that feels like your favorite athletic shirt.
- An expandable collar. Why have a stretch fabric shirt if the collar chokes you all day?
- P-Day friendly care. Just wash in whatever you have, then hang to dry if you do not have a dryer.
- Work-friendly performance: quick drying, moisture wicking, antimicrobial, and stain resistant.
We do not add heavy teflon-type coatings to our shirt fabric. Not only do we have concerns about the fabric treatment sloughing off over time and being absorbed by skin, it also discolors the fabric over time, causes the fabric to not breathe as well, usually does not last more than a dozen washes, and prevents moisture wicking.
New for Sisters: 80s London Punk + Sister Missionary Comfort
The Eliza and Elise are a highly requested addition to the DOT shoe collection. Customers wanted a big, chunky sole and the feminine, fashionable comfort of the DOT, so we gave it to them. Apologies for the picture quality. It was the best the iPhone could do on short notice. We are doing a real photoshoot for these on Monday.
Fourth of July store hours
All MissionaryMall stores will close at 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 4 so our employees can get to their celebrations.