Shirt that won't stain

There are some things in life that have a dreadful inevitability about them.

White shirts, for instance: you put one on, all freshly laundered and nice and just the thing to look smart in as you go for that important business meeting/job interview/hot date - then what happens?

You're drinking your morning cappuccino, some idiot at the coffee counter bumps into you and, lo and behold, your pristine white shirt is not quite so pristine any longer.

It's a disaster. Or at least it was. For now a shirt manufacturer has come up with a new fabric that it claims is completely resistant to stains such as wine, beer and coffee, and even copes pretty well with real killers such as barbecue sauce and curries.

It works, apparently, by forming a molecular barrier around the individual fibres "to lower the critical surface tension, so the fabric does not attract stains or soil".

It sounds impressive - whatever it means.

It is not the first, of course, but Rocola claims that its shirts differ from previous efforts by rivals in that they still feel good and look great.

That, of course, is a matter of opinion. But how does the shirt - "the ultimate," they say, "in 100 per cent non-iron cotton" - stand up to the test?

Worn by someone particularly clumsy - or, let's be frank about this, drunk - would it end the day all spotless and white, or a nasty hotch-potch of spots, splodges and stains?

Here is what we found ...

Lager: we invested in a can of Stella Artois and then threw most of it at the shirt - which happened at the time to have an Evening Standard reporter inside it.

The result? The lager did not soak into the shirt at all but formed little droplets that rolled straight off - on to the shoes and trousers, unfortunately. So far so good (apart from the dry-cleaning bill).

Coffee: next up was a strong black coffee - no point messing about with weedy cappuccinos here. Splosh!

On went the coffee. Now here was the interesting bit: it just went on to the shirt, and rolled off just like the lager.

Well, most of it, anyway, despite attempts to wipe it off.

Presumably the rest would come out in the wash ... but that is not what Rocola claimed: its promotional material said clearly that the shirt would resist coffee stains.

One down. Red wine: we chose an interesting Portuguese red - Segada, by José Neiva, if anyone is interested - which boasts a "deep ruby colour". If anything would stain, that would. So what happened? It just rolled straight off, without leaving a mark.

It is, I can report, a very strange sensation having someone pour a bottle of wine over you, and you scarcely feel a thing.

Segada nil, Rocola one. Overall verdict: the shirt performs pretty well and is even moderately comfortable to wear - better than polyester, not quite as good as the best cotton. But coffee drinkers take care ...

The Rocola Shirt Tec range will be in the shops from next month. Prices start at £50.