Staff shirts with names, without the cheap look

Work shirts must survive daily wear and still look deliberate. What to put on them, where the name goes, and what makes them look bought rather than made.

A staff shirt has a harder job than a party shirt. Somebody wears it for eight hours in front of customers, repeatedly, and it has to look like a uniform rather than like something ordered in a rush.

Less on the front than you think

The instinct is to put the company name large across the chest. In practice the shirts that look most professional carry a small mark and nothing else on the front, with the name where a name belongs rather than as a headline.

Where the name goes

• Small on the chest reads as a uniform
• Large across the back reads as a team, which suits events and warehouses
• Large across the front reads as a party, which is fine for a party

Colour that survives the job

Consider what the work does to clothing. Kitchens and workshops make light colours a short term decision. Very dark colours show dust and lint. Mid tones are usually the practical answer, and they hold both light and dark ink.

Sizing for adults you have not measured

Collect sizes rather than guessing them, and expect a wider spread than you think. A team of twelve will usually need at least four different sizes, and ordering everyone a large produces twelve shirts that fit two people.

Sizes are set per person in the bulk creator, so one order can carry a small, six mediums and a 2XL without splitting it into separate purchases.

Order for the people who join later

Staff turnover is the reason uniform orders get repeated at awkward moments. Keeping the design saved means a reorder for one new starter takes a minute, and the new shirt matches the ones already in the building.