Which Apparel (Hats, Shirts, Sweatshirts, etc.) Should I Choose For My Business?
Selecting the right apparel for your business can be an overwhelming task, whether you're embarking on this journey for the very first time or you're a seasoned professional with a hundred experiences under your belt. The process involves considering many factors such as the latest fashion trends/colors, the specific needs and preferences of your target audience, the quality and type of the materials, weather, uses, and the overall brand image you want to project. Additionally, there seems to be an endless amount of options which can make the process more frustrating!
At TM Impressions, we're here to help simplify this process to help your business look it's best! We've worked with hundreds of businesses and can make recommendations to help meet your needs at a reasonable budget and timeline. Here are a few tips that should help narrow things down.
1. Who is the intended end user? This can be broken into 2 categories.
a. Merchandise for your team: These items will be worn by yourself and your team. If your industry has a high turnover, or these will be work uniforms that will be worn daily and will get dirty, you may want to consider purchasing more shirts than you think you'll need in a brand that offers durable stitching and a thick fabric unless you work outdoors in a hot environment. For sweatshirts, we recommend crewnecks (without a hood) so that the hood doesn't get in the way while working.
b. Merchandise offered for sale: You and your team might wear some of these items, but they are mostly intended to be offered for sale. If this is your first time buying apparel for sale, or if you're trying something new, we recommend trying a few different shirt/ink colors and maybe styles/variants . At TM Impressions, as long as your design stays the same, we can switch ink colors and shirt colors for you for free (12 shirt/color minimum) so that you can try out different options. Once you offer these shirts for sale and you find a winning combo, double down on those for your next order! We can help you create a size breakdown based on our experience, but ultimately you will know best what size breakdown would best suit your business. Many shirt brands fit differently so we offer free samples so that you can try them out to make sure that the size you expect is the way that the shirt fits.
2. What is the weather like?
We know that sweatshirts and beanies are for cold weather and tee shirts and trucker hats are for hot weather, but many people miss small details like fabric weight and breathability. For example, a Bella Canvas long sleeve tee is very thin and breathable with its 3.8oz tri-blend fabric which is perfect for 90+ degree weather. Comfort Colors long sleeve tees are a 6.1oz cotton fabric that is less breathable and is very close to the thickness and warmth of a thin sweatshirt making them perfect for colder states and winter weather. And for sweatshirts, The Gildan classic crewneck is an 8oz blended fabric which is not much heavier than the Comfort Colors shirts above, perfect for a slightly chilly morning/evening. On the other hand, the Independent Trading Co legend sweatshirts are a 13.5oz mostly cotton fabric that is very heavy almost like an anxiety blanket.
3. What should these items say about your business without saying it.
Some things that can be indirectly communicated with your brand's merchandise are quality, theme, and vibes. Quality doesn't necessarily have to come at a high cost, you might be surprised at some of the great options available at a reasonable price point! Your theme can be communicated by styles, colors and types of colors. For example, a rustic BBQ restaurant might want to opt for pigment dyed shirts and hats with a vintage look; and an upscale QSR might opt for a more slim/retail fitting solid colored Bella Canvas shirt. If your business has a simple model and branding, you might want to keep your design minimal to help with your brand continuity. If you have more of an artistic vibe in your business, you might want to take your time and create a more intricate and thoughtful design.
Conclusion:
The merchandise purchase for your business may seem confusing and even frustrating, but we hope that these tips can help narrow things down! We have a few of our best sellers available on our website, but we have thousands of other options as well if you have something specific in mind. If this is your first merchandise purchase, congratulations! This should be a fun time to celebrate the growth of your business. If this is your 100th time to purchase merchandise and apparel, you may want to experiment and try something new! Ultimately, we hope that we can help make your merchandise and apparel purchase fun and stress free :)