As the vintage and colorful saying goes – "You can't swing a dead cat without hitting" someone wearing a logoed garment. Whether it's a cap, T-shirt, leather jacket, button-down or polo shirt, and yes, even socks, businesses portray their images and people express their allegiances, alliances and passions via their clothing.
Americans really love to show off their identities and what makes them unique. This is the genesis of social media engagement, which allows us to have opinions, get noticed, gain admiration. Now more than ever in our recent history, apparel that is decorated with screen printing or embroidery fits right into the mindset of, "Hey, this is part of who I am!"
With that in mind, don't just limit yourself to businesses proper – whether it's the local mom-and-pop operation to local manufacturers in your area. Think of events, charities, and celebrations. Is there a town nearby that either has an annual town celebration day and/or an anniversary such as a sesquicentennial (150 years), centennial or bi-centennial? How about a local festival to attract tourism, or a charitable fundraiser? These events are perfect for headwear, T-shirts, visors, tank tops and even shorts.
As these needs around you remain constant, and your wide-ranging target clientele seeks – and will absolutely ask – "What's new?" – industry suppliers have an abundance of options, based on their own trend research and response to demand.
Below is a random sampling of what some suppliers find trending in the wearables market this year.
Doug Burkett of Burk's Bay: What really seems to be trending and what's new for 2015 at Nucom/Burk's Bay are our new Bravo series MA-1 flight jackets. These jackets give an air of nostalgia and are reminiscent of the 1950s when military pilots and personnel wore them. The classic styling is made for today's everyday warrior. Whether used for service awards or for corporate gifts, these, jackets are a great choice for customizing with an embroidered patch or logo.
Dave Porter, Sportsman Cap & Bag: In caps, the hot trends follow retail, sports, and TV. We’re seeing a lot denim – the darker, the better. Outdoor Cap’s heavy washed denim cap DN200M is a great example of this. And the new industries series from DRI DUCK features excavating, oilfield, and railroad work. It’s flying off the shelves.
Taraynn Lloyd, Edwards Garment: The new hot trend for Edwards is adding styles that are retail inspired and in fabrics and colors that people want to wear for their image apparel program. In 2015 Edwards added two new styles of a roll-up sleeve shirts for men and ladies and a rugged comfort pant that targets a younger audience (18–24). These new styles were to address many markets including restaurant, industrial work wear and special events. The roll-up sleeve poplin shirt as a restaurant application mixing the color schemes really showcases the brand. Versatility with this shirt allows the wearer to have stylish half-sleeves or wear it as a traditional long sleeve. It also serves to cover up body art that the owner may not want displayed. The chambray roll-up sleeve shirt is an alternative to the traditional denim shirt and is quite popular amongst light industrial industries. Both shirts are paired with the rugged comfort pant which is made with a softer poly/cotton twill. The men's is a five-pocket alternative to jeans and the ladies is a mid-rise that fits comfortably below the natural waist. The pants combined with the roll-up sleeve shirts provide uniform fashion that is on trend and appeals to today’s millennial.
Elson Yeung, Jason Buchanan, alphabroder: While bright color-blocking will still be popular, especially during the spring months, expect to see more earth tones in the 2015 collections. The color scheme is largely influenced by the popularity of activewear, which often features muted hues that reflect environmental elements. Consumers are looking for clothes that are more versatile and not loud all the time. There’s definitely a use and time for louder color blocks, but the trend is moving toward apparel that you can wear from your place of business to a casual environment during the weekend. An example of this would be our new North End® Excursion Performance Waffle Henley, the Nomad Henley (88221/78221) in stone.
Layered styles are also making a comeback – look for garments that complement each other as an outfit, rather than separate pieces. The past few seasons focused on individual items with specific styles. That’s not to say that the look is going away, but people are starting to look at layering different garments together and even putting ensembles together – be it for uniform or weekend purposes.
We have heard the need for an apparel collection that provides consistent color ways, while providing options for different climates and settings. We have taken some of our best-selling fleece pieces and added polo options that work great together. For example, our North End® Color-Block Fleece Jacket, Strike (88201/78201) and Extreme® Eperformance™ Color-Block Snag Protection Polo, Strike Polo (85119/75119) is a great way to provide the customer-facing staff with a warm jacket, featuring reflective piping, to be worn over the staff polo that the rest of the auto shop is in.
Eric Rubin of Blue Generation: Our hottest selling knit category last year was moisture-wicking polos, including the introduction of our value wicking polo Bg 7300 in men's and ladies at an unbeatable price. Based on the huge success of the item, we are introducing a Moisture Wicking Value Collection for 2015. New in the collection is a youth polo, men's and ladies' t-shirts, tipped-collar polos, and a tone-on-tone stripe. All at incredibly sharp pricing. Many of these are available in the hot "Hi Vis" colors including optic yellow and safety orange. These colors have moved from athletic wear to street wear.
Add this to our 'open mesh moisture wicking' and 'snag resistant ' solid and color-blocked polos, and you have one of the most comprehensive moisture-wicking collections available in the market today.
Scott Thaxton of Aprons, Etc.: We are seeing increased interest in both performance fabrics and eco-friendly options. Many of our chef coats use performance fabrics and construction to help beat the heat in warm climates or hot kitchens. For environmentally concerned customers, we have eco-friendly fabrics on stocked Chef coats. We also provide several choices of Made-in-the-USA aprons, smocks, and vests. This fabric can be either eco-twill or our value priced recyclable non-woven fabric for short term use needs.
Gary Mosley, Kati Sportcap & Bag: Knit caps or beanies continue to be a top seller for us. It’s a trendy take on a classic look. We carry many different versions but our camouflage knits are always strong. Our 12" camo knit LCB12 is now available in many two-tone versions with licensed camo patterns, and it’s flying off the shelves. It eventually gets cold – or at least cool – everywhere in the country. So, knit caps are always a good promotional item. This is especially true for any companies that sponsor or promote outside events.
Marie Jensen of Jensen Apparel: How many times have you seen contrasting pockets on everything from Ts to dresses? They are everywhere. Jensen Apparel introduces our new style, 'Pocket Change,' to allow customers to design their own pocket T combination. Since we are made in the USA, quick turnaround and low minimums are possible. Customers can choose from over a dozen shirt and pocket colors to create endless color combinations. Printers and embroiderers can offer a more personalized shirt to their customers. Pockets are sized to fit a sleeve pallet for easy printing to create a unique custom-made shirt.
Lori Anderson of Rivers End Trading: Performance and technology is still a hot trend and our 2015 product line reflects that with new styles from Columbia like the Watertight™ and Arcadia™ jackets with Omni-Tech, the Perfect Cast™ Polo with Omni-Shade™ and Omni-Wick™. For spring, look for the men’s and women’s Freeze Degree™ II pullovers with Omni-Freeze™ Zero sweat-activated super cooling. We’ve also added a new performance brand called 'Greenlayer,' which is full of lightweight performance fabrics and bright colors as well as technologies like enhanced moisture wicking, thermal regulating and anti-bacterial odor regulating.
Color is also a hot trend in the corporate market with new blues and purples like Columbia’s Quill and Dark Compass, Groovy Pink and Hyper Purple. Lastly, new ways to decorate and partner the customer’s brand image with great retail brands. River’s End now offers heat transfer along with screen printing, digital printing and embroidery. Heat transfer offers a much larger decoration area and along with greater detail for a logo or graphic.
Take the time and create "look books" that are appropriate for your clientele. Review the suppliers' sites or literature, and find photos and descriptions of the garments that are most appropriate for all your clients' necessities all year long. When you show you have done your homework and culled from the extremely large herd of available garments, you are more likely to net an apparel program rather than just a random sale.
Porter advises to keep merchandise fresh – vary it, and don’t keep showing the same things repeatedly. And, he says, don't limit yourself to just shirts, consider the impact of headwear and other items for brand building. "The average cap is worn six times a month – that’s fantastic brand exposure. Bags are carried almost daily and they have the added value of being appreciated for the convenience of carrying necessities easily."
Beyond finding and presenting the variety of items, your expertise in your clients' eyes is also the ability to lead in the actual visual presentation of the logo. Anderson suggests, "Take advantage of the ability to offer so many types of decoration techniques on nearly every part of the garment – suggest size and placement of the logo on the back, front, collars, hems, sleeves, pockets, etc. The opportunities to find ways to design and decorate a logo are endless today."
Comfort, the quality of the apparel, style and use are four key areas to discuss when presenting your customized look. Then present the many ways your client's logo or tagline (or even combination of both) can be applied. Don't forget, too, to stress the importance of extras. Employees can be harsh on clothing. Accidental tears and rips and stains, happen.
Finally, your first logoed apparel client should be yourself. Walk in to all your presentations wearing your own logoed merchandise that mirrors what your client will need. As Buchanan from alphabroder sums up, "The most important piece to building your business is your brand and the recognition it has in the marketplace."
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| Game Sportswear Up your GAME with the new Endurance Poly Hoodie. Featuring 100% polyester performance fleece with a quarter zip pullover for easy on and off, details include a rib knit hem and cuffs, a draw string in hood, color contrast hood, sleeves, stitching and pocket lining, mesh lined hood and slash front pockets. |
 Vantage Apparel The women’s Vansport™ Pro Ombré Print Polo features an ombré sublimation print at front panel of the jersey body. Made from is 95% polyester/5% spandex, 4½ oz., Vansport™ moisture management fabric, it offers UV and antimicrobial protection. |
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Champion Vapor® apparel features the fastest in quick-drying technology. In 2015, this 3.8 oz. 100% Performance Polyester jersey now comes in a Long Sleeve Quarter Zip, which features zoned-mesh inserts for ventilation and breathability.
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Jensen Apparel Jensen has introduced its new “Pocket Change” T-shirt Line, allowing customers to design their own pocket tee combination. Since the shirts are U.S.-made, quick turnaround and low minimums are possible. Customers can choose from over a dozen shirt and pocket colors to create endless color combinations.
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Sportsman Cap & Bag This new Outdoor Cap style features a heavy washed 100% cotton denim front and 100% polyester mesh back. The six-panel low-profile cap has contrast stitching, contract undervisor and a denim Velcro® closure. It is offered in navy/khaki and black/putty.
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| River's End This Brooks Brothers printed argyle polo features a moisture wicking antimicrobial fabric with the Golden Fleece logo embroidered on the right sleeve.
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Tri-Mountain The Brody is a striped hoody with a warm, fuzzy fleece lining. This hooded full zip sweatshirt features a shell of 60% cotton/40% polyester peached jersey and a 6.3 oz charcoal color micro fleece lining, and is accented with a drawstring hood and kangaroo pocket.
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| Fruit of the Loom New for 2015 is the Sofspun™ Collection – "a modern fit for today’s fashions." The super soft 4.7-oz. 100% cotton pre-shrunk jersey fabric is breathable and lightweight. Style SF45R, shown here, has a contemporary silhouette that is slightly fitted through the chest and sleeves. |