Vor dem Spiegel richte ich den Kragen meines Hemdes und ziehe den Ärmel glatt.

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in the second position.

So in:

Vor dem Spiegel richte ich ...

the first position is taken by Vor dem Spiegel, and the verb richte comes second. The subject ich comes after the verb.

You could also say:

Ich richte vor dem Spiegel den Kragen meines Hemdes ...

That would also be correct. Putting Vor dem Spiegel first gives a little more emphasis to the setting.

Because vor is a two-way preposition. It can take:

• dative for location
• accusative for movement toward a destination

Here, Vor dem Spiegel means in front of the mirror as a location, so German uses the dative:

• der Spiegel → dem Spiegel

If it meant movement toward the mirror, you could get accusative, for example:

• Ich stelle mich vor den Spiegel. = I place myself in front of the mirror.

Here richte comes from richten, and in this context it means something like:

• to straighten
• to adjust
• to set right

So den Kragen richten means to straighten or adjust the collar.

This is a very natural use of richten in German. It does not mean to direct here; it means to put something into the proper position.

They are the direct objects of the verbs:

• richte → den Kragen
• ziehe ... glatt → den Ärmel

Both Kragen and Ärmel are masculine nouns, so in the accusative singular they take den:

• der Kragen → den Kragen
• der Ärmel → den Ärmel

This is the genitive case, used to show possession.

der Kragen meines Hemdes means:

• the collar of my shirt
• or more naturally in English, my shirt collar

Breakdown:

• das Hemd = the shirt
• meines Hemdes = of my shirt

Because Hemd is a neuter noun, the genitive singular form is:

• article: des / meines
• noun ending: usually -es or -s

So:

• das Hemd
• meines Hemdes

Because Kragen by itself means collar, and German often wants to specify what collar it is.

So:

• den Kragen meines Hemdes = the collar of my shirt

If you said meinen Kragen, it could sound more like my collar in a broader sense, without clearly identifying the clothing item. The genitive phrase makes it specific and natural.

Because both verbs have the same subject: ich.

German often leaves out the repeated subject in a coordinated structure:

• ... richte ich den Kragen meines Hemdes und ziehe den Ärmel glatt.

This is just like English:

• I straighten the collar of my shirt and smooth the sleeve.

You do not need to repeat I before the second verb unless you want special emphasis.

This is because the verb is glattziehen, which is a separable verb.

Its infinitive is:

• glattziehen = to smooth out / pull smooth

In a main clause, the prefix separates and goes to the end:

• Ich ziehe den Ärmel glatt.

So:

• ziehe = verb stem in second position
• glatt = separated prefix at the end

This is a very common German pattern with separable verbs.

It means to smooth the sleeve out, usually by pulling or straightening the fabric with your hand.

So ziehen here is not just to pull in a general sense. Together with glatt, it gives the idea of:

• pulling something so that it becomes smooth
• removing folds or wrinkles

It is a very physical, natural expression for adjusting clothing.

Yes, but German can still use the singular if the speaker is talking about one sleeve.

The sentence suggests the person is adjusting one part of the shirt at a time:

• first the collar
• then a sleeve

If the meaning were specifically both sleeves, German would more likely say:

• die Ärmel

So the singular here is perfectly natural.

No.

• vor dem Spiegel = in front of the mirror
• im Spiegel = in the mirror

So in this sentence, the person is physically standing before the mirror, not inside the reflection.

That distinction is important in German, just as it is in English.