Ironing is so two decades ago. Wearing your clothes all wrinkled and crappy-looking is the only way to dress up. If you don’t buy my anti-ironing manifesto, then you need this: the Auto-Lift Iron from Italian appliances company Ariete.
Why do you need it? Because it does one thing no other iron can do – it actively keeps your clothes from getting burned. It doesn’t do it because it’s smart either. In fact, it’s just really, really attentive, closely monitoring when you have your hands on the handle and when you’ve let it go.
As long as your hands are wrapped around the grip, the Auto-Lift Iron does its job normally, straightening out those wrinkled areas of any fabric you put under it. Once you let it go, however, it immediately assumes that your attention is elsewhere. To ensure you don’t char that overpriced $70 T-shirt, it props itself up using two small platforms, keeping that scorching hot area away from your Affliction shirt. Once you pop back to earth from whatever distracted you and grab the handle again, the legs slide back in, allowing you to resume your pressing duties.
It’s quite a handsome 2.4 kW pressing iron too (okay, I’m lying, all irons are ugly). Features include a stainless steel plate, a see-through 250 cubic-cm water tank, anti-drip, thermostat control, automatic steam regulation and button spray. In case the distraction lasts longer, it automatically shuts off after eight minutes too.
Seriously, all this technology and we still don’t have pressing irons that can do the deed automatically? I’m appalled, mankind. What have you been doing all this time? Oh wait, you read this blog? Go ahead, you’re excused.
The Ariete Auto-Lift Iron is available now for €65 (approximately $90+).