Collecting Sizes Without the Headache

Nobody enjoys chasing thirty people for a shirt size, and getting the spread wrong is the most common way an apparel order goes sideways. A few things make it easier.

A reasonable starting spread

If you genuinely cannot collect sizes, this is roughly how a mixed adult group falls out. Treat it as a starting point to adjust, not gospel — a construction crew and an office skew differently.

Two adjustments worth making. Order slightly heavier on L and XL than feels right — running out of the middle sizes is far more annoying than a couple of spare smalls. And if the shirts are worn over a uniform or a hoodie, shift everything up one.

Extended sizes cost more, and that is not us

2XL and above carry a mill upcharge — more fabric. Ours are $2.50 for 2XL, $3.75 for 3XL and $5.00 for 4XL, added per garment and shown separately in every quote so you can see exactly what it is.

Some organizations absorb it, some pass it on. Either is fine, but decide before you collect sizes rather than after.

Getting sizes out of people

• Give a deadline and mean it. "Sizes by Friday or you get a large" collects sizes remarkably fast.
• Ask for a size, not measurements. People know what they wear. Chest measurements invite debate.
• Order a few spares. Five percent extra in the middle sizes covers new starters, shrinkage and the person who gave you the wrong answer. It is much cheaper now than as a second order later.
• Ask us for a size sampler. For a first uniform order we will send blanks in a size run so people can try them. It removes almost all the risk on a program you will repeat.

Save the spread and stop redoing this

Once you have collected sizes, put them in your brand profile. Every future apparel order starts pre-filled with your spread and you adjust from there instead of starting at zero. It is the single most useful thing in that profile.

If you hire year-round

Ordering 12 shirts every couple of months costs meaningfully more per shirt than ordering 144 once. If you hire steadily, buy at the volume price and let us hold the stock — you pull a kit when someone starts and nothing sits in a cupboard at your office. How that works.

A word on fit

Sizing is not standardized between brands. A Gildan large and a Bella large are not the same shirt, and the difference is bigger on women's cuts. If you are switching brands from a previous order, tell us — we will flag it rather than let you assume last year's numbers still apply.