July 2008
On Deanna, a cap-sleeve “Out of Reach” 100% cotton tee (Cap-Com) from Street N Sport (asi/89895). Front design is a heat-applied patch decorated with digital printing and rhinestone studs. Reader Service #137
The New Crop of T-shirts
Move over, big white tee, and make room for the new crop of fun, fashion-forward T-shirt styles that you can pitch to lots of businesses looking to make a promotional splash.
When Ken Lomaglio, owner of Custom Design Corp. (asi/173173), saw Days Off Designs’ sublimated shirts, he knew he had a likely sale with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, despite the high-end shirt’s price tag. “The cost is justified because the design on the shirt is beautiful,” he says.
He took numerous samples of the shirts to museum buyers, who had never seen anything like them. The Met placed an order for 600 shirts imprinted with artwork displayed at the museum and with the museum’s logo on the tag, to sell in the gift shop. Although it wasn’t a huge order, Lomaglio anticipates subsequent orders. “We heard back that the sales are very strong on it, which can lead to other designs that can be put on these types of shirts,” he says.
Lomaglio had been selling promotional items to the museum since 1987, but he doesn’t think it’s difficult to break into a new market with sublimated shirts, because “it’s unique,” he says. “You can print any design and cover every centimeter of a shirt. You need something different to break into a new company.”
He believes that showing a variety of samples enhanced his pitch. “If you show one or two, you may not show them how effective it can be. With eight or nine samples, sometimes something clicks. Most buyers, whether with museums or corporate accounts, are so visual. Good samples are worth more than anything.”
So move over, traditional promo tees: white, boxy, one-size-fits-none and imprinted with the company logo. Sure, the bland counterparts are inexpensive, get the point across and fill the need, but fashion tees can do so much more. Market them carefully to the right type of business, and these T-shirts can make a promotion really pop.
A women’s “Out of Reach” baby doll tee (SS-T) made of 95/5 cotton/spandex. The front design was digitally printed and features rhinestone studs. Available from Street N Sport (asi/89895).
Reader Service #1371. Organic. It seems like everyone’s going green these days, but the core market for these products will really embrace organic cotton T-shirts. Many organic tees look just like their non-organic brethren, so an organic cotton tee with an off-white color and natural slubbing really shows its organic origin. You can even get it rolled and tied with raffia for a giveaway perfect for a fundraising event or business grand opening.
Market organic shirts to natural or health-conscious businesses, such as food stores, supplement distributors, health spas and outdoor/environmental or New Age organizations.
2. Trendy polos. Polos are pretty trendy these days and can be a great substitute for a typical tee. Look for trim such as contrasting piping, imprinted collars and side vents so that the shirt can be worn untucked. Newer fabrics add appeal to polos, too, such as those containing spandex or cotton/microfiber polyester blends that give better finish and fit.
Women’s polos have come a long way since the unisex squares of yesteryear. Bust darts, narrower, fitted waists and shorter lengths acknowledge the feminine form, and style cues such as cap sleeves and Johnny collars will lead women to view polos as fashionable shirts, not the uniform of Frumpyville.
Fashion-forward polos will offer an extra edge for businesses such as restaurants, lodging and recreation, where the employees’ image impacts customers’ perception of their experience and, subsequently, their satisfaction.
3. Sporty. Consumers want feature-rich goods, such as a cell phone that takes pictures, accesses the Web and functions as a PDA. Active wear should also provide lots of features. Bodek and Rhodes’ (asi/40788) UltraClub Collection offers several choices, such as style M1004. Treated with an antimicrobial agent, the shirt helps the wearer stay fresh and look professional. The contrasting insert at the sleeve and color block shows cutting-edge fashion sense in a practical, sporty shirt available in numerous colors.
Market sporty shirts not only to teams, but also to sports-related businesses such as sporting goods stores, sports therapists and personal trainers. Consider active professions such as delivery services, too, where looking and feeling cool and professional is always a challenge.
4. Distressed/destroyed. Broken-in shirts not only lend a fashionable look, but they also give wearers the comfort that an oft-worn, favorite tee possesses. For example, some distressed offers grinding on the hems and a mineral-washed finish for random color variation.
These most casual of T-shirts work best for dressed-down, youth-oriented businesses, such as those in the popular music industry, recreation, or at trendy youth clubs, or retail segments geared toward the Gen-Y crowd.
5. Burnout. Like branded leather, the burnout technique literally burns the design partially through the T-shirt. The result is not only fashionable but lasting, as the design can’t peel, fade or wash away.
For example, Boxercraft’s (asi/41325) burnout tee, style T70ACH-W, is made from a 3.5 oz. jersey 65/35 blend of polyester and cotton for a good fit, durability and a smooth finish. Since it’s available in 15 colors, you can likely find one suitable for a corporate promotion or in any team’s colors.
Like distressed/destroyed tees, burnout tees appeal to an edgy, casual crowd. When calligraphy-inspired fonts are used, they can look a little gothic, too. Sell them to skate stores, motorcycle shops, tattoo and piercing establishments and the like.
6. Retro prints and graphics. Unless you’re old enough to remember their first go-round, wearing retro prints seems fresh. And if this is your second time around with now-retro prints, it’s still fun. Retro tees that feature all-over prints are especially hot, and Sublimation X (asi/90027) represents old-school graphics well. Flames, checks, animal patterns and splashy waves are among the designs offered on its pit crew and cycle jersey shirts. And the supplier’s HQ Fashion line also makes great promotional shirts, “because the logos are dyed directly into the fabric,” says Rick Resener, vice president of sales and marketing. “It allows you to wash and wear, and it will never fade, and it won’t inhibit the integrity of the fabric like silk screening.”
Days Off Designs Inc. (asi/48720) also decorates by sublimation. The company’s numerous designs, including European vistas, statuary and landmarks, would be a good fit for “any company that wants to give away something that’s different that shows good art,” says Dave Bonner, president.
Any art may be sublimated onto a shirt. “I do sublimated shirts now for museums and rock concerts, and from cruise lines to SeaWorld. They’re great for travel-related businesses like airlines or a travel agent,” Bonner says.
Days Off Designs also glams it up for the beauty industry with several designs that feature women wearing makeup. “We use them for cosmetic companies, and I put rhinestones on the top that spell out the company name,” Bonner says.
On Deanna, a long-sleeve poly/cotton tee decorated with digital sublimation. Available from Days Off Designs (asi/48720). Reader Service #138
8. Baby tees. Body-skimming and always feminine, baby tees exude fun and frivolity. The new twist on this trend is layering longer tees under them. A touch of spandex will help these sweet little numbers fit well and look good longer.
Baby tees work best in markets predominated by teenagers and college-aged young women, such as cheerleading squads, girls’ athletic organizations and teen retail stores.
Pair up baby tees with longer, coordinating tees to wear underneath, and your promotion will really stand out. Or use clever packaging as a tie-in, such as a sports bottle for a girls’ athletic promotion.
9. Embellished V-necks. The “vee-shirt” has proven to be popular among women and men as an alternative to the classic crew. Women’s V-neck shirts are often embellished along the neckline or down the center of the front with anything sparkly, including rhinestones, glittery print and sequins. For example, Street N Sport (asi/89895) offers several great examples, such as item SS-V, a cotton/spandex shirt that comes in aqua, black, orange, pink, red, turquoise and white, and with custom or stock rhinestone patterns. Embellished V-neck shirts work well where casual bling reigns. Consider beauty schools, salons and spas as target markets.
For the guys, make sure the “V” is shallow, because deep V-neck men’s shirts (and, yes, they’re out there) look too feminine for most men to want to wear them.
10. Ringers. Yet another retro look, ringer shirts clearly convey a promotion’s color scheme by offering contrasting or coordinating trim on the neck and cuffs while leaving the rest of the shirt available for imprinting.
Kara York, vice president of product marketing for Staton Corporate and Casual (asi/89380), says that the shirts are popular because “they’re different from the basic T-shirt.”
Leah Robinson, vice president of sales and marketing for the company, says ringers have been strong in school programs and with athletic departments.
Ringers are distinctive enough to offer corporate identity, when used as a uniform in an informal business. Since the look is closely associated with the easy-going attitude of its original ’70s heyday, ringers should be used to promote businesses whose brands reflect that sentiment. Casual restaurants, bars and entertainment venues provide a few examples.
Hot Decoration Options
From rhinestone transfers and sequins to digital printing and distressed screen printing, today’s promotional tees are looking pretty darn cool. Not to mention more like retail tees every year, says Gina Barreca, director of marketing for Vantage Apparel (asi/93390).
Perhaps the most retail-oriented trend, distressed screen printing, is what’s hot again this year – for the third year in a row. Only now, customers want patterns all over the garment, rather than across the chest or back. “Vintage-based, all-over designs are really popular, especially among high school- and college-aged kids,” Barreca says. To create the look, decorators use various filters at the artwork stage. “There are probably over a dozen kinds of filters, so we can really be creative in how distressed an image looks,” she says.
While screen printing is still king, Barreca says digital printing is hotter, as people get more eco-conscious and want more elaborate designs. “Digital printing is a direct-to-garment process that uses water-based inks,” she says. There are never any screens used, so there’s no excess waste. Even the cartridges can be recycled.
“It’s also ideal for reproducing something that has a photo in it,” Barreca says. While it’s not really cost effective for large-quantity orders, it works for small runs, and Barreca says people really like it for its soft hand and the fact that it has the durability of traditional screen printing.
Decorators looking to create flashy designs should check out sequins, Barreca says. While rhinestone transfers have dominated the sparkly market for the past few years, she says sequins can be sewn onto a garment via a machine attachment. “It’s a seamless process,” she says. “And, you can really achieve some noticeable dimension by incorporating different color threads or combining the sequins with embroidery.”– AL
DEBORAH JEANNE SERGEANT is a contributing writer based in NY.
