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I want to cast my model wearing a shirt. How I can prep a shirt to release from alginate? I will try to pick a shirt that is less likely to stick but I am looking for suggestions for something to apply that will make it release easily - without losing much detail. Are there any hair conditioners that would work? Should I soak the shirt in something?

I've used canola oil with success. Keep in mind that the more fibrous the clothing material is the more it will mechanically stick to the alginate. Keep in mind that when you wet the clothing with the oil, the cast will come out looking like it's wearing a wet t-shirt.
Another option is to cast the model nude and put the clothes on later. I've soaked the clothes in a thin plaster mix and applied it to the cast. This gives you more control on how the clothes will look.

Use Algi-Slo to slow the set time of any alginate. 1/2 ounce to a pound of water adds about one minute. It might be helpful to get the DVD on "How To Cast The Female Torso". It shows you how to cast over clothes.

Soak clothes before wearing in skin-sensitive fabric conditioner. Its icky to put on wet clammy clothes but works a treat. Or you can put them on the model first then paint the fabric conditioner on with a brush.

Cholestrol by Queen Helene-- saturate the clothes completely and you wont have any problems