Tyrone126

In doing research for my new line of t-shirts, many of my friends who dont mind spending top dollar for t-shirts say that the main reason they dont mind is because the t-shirts stay "dark" black after many washes and the collars stay fit, lay flat & dont stretch.
Ive been sampling: Article 1, alternative and Royal Apparel.
How do i find shirts like this? What should i be looking for in the design? or is it just some ppl pay closer attention to the washing instruction?

thanks

 

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pukingdeserthobo

How do i find shirts like this?
look online for this shirts.
What should i be looking for in the design?
the design of the shirts?

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Rodney

Quote: How do i find shirts like this?

Most likely you'd keep sampling shirts. But it will probably be a challenge to find t-shirts that fit a sort of arbitrary criteria that isn't even your own (your friends idea of "quality" could differ from your own or from your customers and there's a lot of factors that go into how a shirt feels on a person and how it washes)

Quote: What should i be looking for in the design?

There are some t-shirts that have tighter necklines, like Luxe-T, ProClub, CityLab, American Apparel. At the same time, it's hard to say if those would fit your needs.

Quote: or is it just some ppl pay closer attention to the washing instruction?

This is true, and it's also that some people pay closer attention to their t-shirts in general than others.

Like me, for instance. I could give you a laundry list of pet peeves I have for t-shirts I've worn and tested so many t-shirts, that there are likes and dislikes from all of them.

That doesn't mean the ones that don't have qualities I personally like are bad quality. It doesn't mean that I wouldn't use or sell t-shirts that don't fit my own standards, because I fully realize that I'm an odd duck and I probably notice more stuff about the t-shirts I wear than most end consumers ever would. Also, I'm not always my own target customer, so while it might not be the right shirt for me to wear on a daily basis, it may be the perfect t-shirt for a particular market or niche.

The more you know who you're going to be selling to and what kind of t-shirts they like, the easier it will be to pick out a good blank t-shirt for your line. Couple that with your own preferences about how you want your line to "feel" and "fit", and you should have no trouble picking out a good blank.

Buying samples is key though

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Tyrone126

Thanks Rodney, good stuff..
Im glad to at least see that im doing the right thing starting off. Ive been ordering numerous samples from various manufacturers (while having my target customers try them on) and planning to attend my 1st trade show next week.

Thanks again for your insight !!

 

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SunEmbroidery

To help prevent fading use a blend rather than 100% cotton style.

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Tyrone126

Quote: Originally Posted by SunEmbroidery To help prevent fading use a blend rather than 100% cotton style.

Yeh, a lady from Article 1 told me the same thing. Are there any negative aspects to having a 50/50 poly/cotton t-shirt?

 

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hazmatts

American Apparel is pretty popular. It's high quality, and made in LA. You can get a wholeslale price list from their site, Buy T-Shirts Online - American Apparel - Panties, Bras, Shorts, Shirts and More or, if you can't sign up for wholesale, try Trendy Blanks - American Apparel. They accept everybody for wholesale.

 

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SunEmbroidery

Some people prefer the feel of cotton and when considering basic T's (not performance), cotton is cooler. I don't think you'll find the perfect T that suits everyone because people's tastes and applications vary. We only sell T's to businesses, clubs and groups. These T's are pretty basic (not fashion) but its pretty evenly split between 100% cotton and 50/50. Some businesses like restaurants want 50/50 because they are more wrinkle-resistant while other businesses like plant nurseries prefer 100% cotton because they are cooler in the summer.

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Solmu

Quote: Originally Posted by Tyrone126 Are there any negative aspects to having a 50/50 poly/cotton t-shirt?

Some people dislike polyester. Blends can be more difficult to print on (depends on your print method).

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aokusman

My opinion: if you want quality stay away from Hanes, Fruit of the loom and gildan. I tried them all and went with the more expensive American Apparel.

 

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