If you or someone in your family is preparing for a mission, the clothing list is one of the first real decisions you make — and one of the few you can't easily redo once the plane leaves. Two years is a long time to live out of one suitcase.

This is a practical guide to the clothing portion of the packing list: what to bring, how many of each, and what actually survives two years of daily wear, hand washing and heat.

The short version

For most missionaries serving in a temperate climate, the clothing list looks roughly like this:

• 6–8 white dress shirts — a mix of long and short sleeve
• 2–3 pairs of slacks
• 6–8 ties
• 1–2 belts
• 8–12 pairs of dress socks
• 2 pairs of dress shoes
• 1 suit or sport coat, depending on the mission
• A coat or layer appropriate to the climate

Your mission president's letter is the authority here, and the specifics vary — some missions ask for pocketless shirts, some specify sleeve length by season, and a few have rules about tie patterns. Read that letter before you buy anything. What follows is how to think about each line once you know the rules.

White shirts: the line that matters most

This is the item worn every single day for two years, and it is where most families under-buy and over-spend at the same time.

How many. Six is the number most missionaries settle on. Fewer than five means laundry becomes a scheduling problem. More than eight is weight you carry and space you don't have.

The fabric question. Traditional cotton dress shirts are comfortable and they look excellent — for about four months. Then the collar softens, the whites go grey, and every wash needs an iron that may not exist where he's serving. Wrinkle-free cotton treats the fabric chemically; the treatment fades with washing.

Performance fabric behaves differently. It's a woven synthetic blend engineered to release wrinkles as it dries, repel liquid rather than absorb it, and wick sweat away instead of showing it. In practice that means a shirt that can be washed in a sink, hung overnight, and worn in the morning without an iron. For a missionary, that isn't a luxury feature — it's most of the argument.

What to look for:

• Opacity. White shirts vary a lot here. Check that it's opaque enough for your comfort over a garment or undershirt.
• Four-way stretch. He'll be on a bike, carrying bags, and reaching. A shirt that pulls at the shoulders every time he moves gets worn less.
• Collar structure. A collar that collapses after twenty washes makes the whole outfit look tired.
• Sleeve and body length options. Tall sizing exists for a reason.

Slacks

Two pairs is the working minimum; three is comfortable. Look for the same properties as the shirts — stretch, wrinkle resistance, machine washable — because the same laundry constraints apply. Dark grey and navy cover almost every situation.

Fit matters more than it seems. A slim fit and an athletic fit are genuinely different garments through the seat and thigh, and a young man who has been lifting or playing sport will usually want the athletic cut. Getting this wrong means two years of pulling at the waistband.

Ties

Six to eight is standard. Ties are the one place where a little personality is allowed within the dress standard, and they're cheap enough that replacing one mid-mission isn't a crisis.

Practical notes: stain-resistant fabric earns its keep here more than anywhere else, because ties sit directly under whatever he's eating. Avoid anything with a delicate weave or a dry-clean-only label.

Socks, belts and shoes

Socks. Buy more than you think. Ten to twelve pairs. He is walking or biking most of the day, and socks are the first thing to wear out. Breathable, moisture-wicking dress socks are worth the small premium.

Belts. One good black belt, and a second if the budget allows. Weight changes over two years — a belt with enough holes matters.

Shoes. Two pairs, so one can dry while the other is worn. This is the single item most worth spending real money on, because it's the one that can end a day early.

Sizing when he isn't standing in front of you

A lot of mission clothing is bought by a parent, a grandparent or a ward, sometimes while the missionary is away at school. Three things make this survivable:

• Buy his usual size. Most young men wear the size they already wear. Resist the urge to size up "so he grows into it" — he'll spend two years in a shirt that doesn't fit.
• Read the returns policy before you order, not after. Most windows run 30 to 45 days from the day the order arrives. Several retailers, ours included, only make returns and exchanges completely free if you add a returns-protection option at checkout — otherwise you cover a return label. Neither is a problem if you know about it in advance.
• Order early enough to swap before he flies. This is the one people miss. Most US brands do not ship exchanges internationally, so once he is in the field, a size that doesn't fit is very hard to fix. Build in a few weeks of slack.

What actually lasts two years

If we had to reduce this whole guide to one idea: buy for the laundry situation, not for the first day.

Almost every clothing decision on a mission is really a laundry decision. Can it be washed in a sink? Does it dry overnight? Does it need an iron he won't have? Will a spill in month three ruin it for the remaining twenty-one months?

Cotton answers those questions badly. Performance fabric answers them well. That's the whole case, and it's why so much missionary clothing has moved in that direction over the last decade.

Common questions

How many white shirts does a missionary really need?

Six is the number most missionaries settle on — typically four long sleeve and two short sleeve, adjusted for climate. Five is workable; eight is generous.

Long sleeve or short sleeve?

Both. Long sleeve is the default for most missions and required in some; short sleeve is what gets worn in heat and humidity. A 4:2 split is a reasonable starting point in a four-season mission, reversed in a hot one.

Do missionary shirts need to be pocketless?

Some missions specify it, most don't. Check the mission president's letter before ordering. Pocketless shirts are available if you need them.

Can performance dress shirts be ironed?

They generally don't need to be, which is the point. Most release their wrinkles as they hang and dry.

What size should I buy if I can't measure him?

His usual size — and order early enough to exchange it before he leaves the country. Most returns windows run 30 to 45 days from delivery, and most US brands don't ship exchanges internationally, so a swap is far easier while he's still home.

Where &Collar fits

We make performance dress shirts, slacks, ties, socks and belts in a fabric built for exactly this problem — wrinkle-resistant, stain-repellent, machine washable, with four-way stretch. Shirts come in long and short sleeve, standard and button-down collar, with and without a chest pocket, in sizes XS–5XL including tall, in slim and athletic fits. Shirts are $49.99, or any three for $99.

Our returns policy, plainly: 45 days from the day your order arrives to return or exchange, unwashed and with tags on if you still have them, no questions asked. If you add risk-free returns at checkout, every return and exchange ships free. If you don't, you're charged only for the cheapest return label we can find. Exchanges are US only — so if something needs swapping, swap it before he leaves.

We'd rather you buy the right thing than the most expensive thing. If that's us, good. If it isn't, the guide above still holds.