Top 6 apparel items your customers will love

There are so many apparel options out there that it can be overwhelming to find the right items to recommend to your customers. Obviously a lot of what you recommend to them should be based on what they are looking for, but I’ve found that most people love a soft t-shirt. So no matter what the purpose of the order is, I always let my customers know about the premium options, and what they cost, just in case they want to spend a little more to get something great.

The purpose in this is not to get my customer to spend more. The way my pricing is set up, I don’t make much more when they choose a nicer shirt. Sure they spend more, but I don’t profit more. The key is that they get something nicer so they’re more likely to be happy with the order, thus more likely to recommend me and to come back next time they need apparel.

If you’re just getting started, then finding the “best” items can be difficult without spending a bunch of money on samples. So let me save you the time and money. Here are my top 6 items that I recommend to my customers, depending on the type of apparel they’re looking for. I’ll include a few short sleeve t-shirt options, a long sleeve t-shirt, a hoodie, and a long sleeve hooded t-shirt.

Let’s start with the t-shirts.

Bella+Canvas 3413 Triblend Short Sleeve T-Shirt

Bella+Canvas is hands down my favorite brand and it’s the brand I sell the most of. Their best item is the 3413 triblend t-shirt. When I say this is everyone in my family’s favorite shirt, I mean everyone. Even my 3 year old loves them. If you want a unisex shirt that everyone will love, then this should be your go-to. It comes in a crazy number of great color options, it comes in crew neck or v-neck, and it even comes in toddler and youth sizes. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with this shirt.

Bella+Canvas 3001 & 3001CVC Short Sleeve T-Shirt

While we’re on Bella+Canvas, let’s go ahead and talk about the 2nd best option if the triblend is too expensive. The 3001 and 3001CVC are Bella+Canvas’ more affordable cotton options. So when your customers need to keep budget lower, then I recommend this shirt. The 3001CVC is the slightly nicer version of the 3001. Instead of 100% cotton, it contains an amount of polyester. That split of polyester and cotton is a great blend for apparel and it makes for a great mid-range shirt for your customers. Plus, it comes in a ton of color varieties. Between the two versions, there are 80+ colors to choose from. With the CVC version, many of the colors are heathered, which is typically a nice look that people are drawn to.

Sport-Tek ST406 Long Sleeve Hooded T-Shirt

Sport-Tek is one of Sandra’s house brands and is typically a great choice for athletic wear. However, I’ve recently stumbled upon this long sleeved hoodie and it is fantastic. It’s thin, lightweight, and extremely comfortable. The only downside is it only comes in 5 color options. The bright side is the are a really nice colors. They make for great summertime sun-hoodies or an extra layer in the fall.

Bella+Canvas 3719 Hoodie

Let’s get back to Bella+Canvas for a minute. They seriously just make great apparel. This one is an extremely soft hoodie that comes in many of the same colors as the 3413 t-shirt. It also comes in a crew neck for those who want that option. My only issue with these is they are on the short side, but they’re so soft that it’s easy to look past that part. Everyone I have done these for has loved them. Just be sure you size-up for these. That’s typical with most hoodies.

Next Level 6210 Short Sleeve T-Shirt

When I first got into the screen print industry, this quickly became my favorite shirt. I had a product company at the time and we always did our brand apparel with these shirts. Our friends and customers loved them so much, they eventually became known as the “family shirts.” Everyone was always asking for more of them. I’d consider these a great alternative to the Bella+Canvas 3001 & 3001CVC. They come in a bunch of great colors options and they’re super comfortable. They’re a blend of polyester and cotton.

Next Level 6071 Triblend Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Long sleeves can be difficult to find because most of them have ribbed cuffs on the sleeves. Personally, I like the ones with no cuff. Next Level did it right with their triblend long sleeve shirts by leaving the cuffs off. These are triblend, so they’re thin and comfortable. Plus, as with other Next Level items, they come in a great selection of colors. If your customers want a premium long sleeve shirt, this is a great one to steer them towards.

What are your favorites?

These are just a small sample of great items available to decorate. There are literally hundreds of options available so if these don’t work well for you, then there are hundreds of other options that you might love. If you already have some favorites of your own, I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment below with your favorite apparel items.

Print type matters

I’ve had great results from these with my customers and with my own brands, so if you’ve never tried these, I’d encourage you to get some samples and see what you think. The one caveat I’ll give is that I’m printing with only water based inks, which goes perfectly with premium triblend apparel. I’m not a fan of the end result of a plastisol print on a nice triblend shirt, so if you’re using plastisol, these might be too thin for you. If so, that’s ok! Get what works best for you and your customers.