School starts soon, and apparel is the most time-sensitive item on every school’s list. Spirit wear, staff shirts, faculty apparel, none of it happens overnight. Here’s the checklist to run through now, not the week before you need it.
Before you order
- Confirm current-year spirit wear designs. Colors, mascot, any grade-level variations. If last year’s design is being reused, confirm nothing needs updating before it goes to print.
- Set sizing deadlines with staff and parent coordinators. Give yourself 1-2 weeks just to collect sizing before the order can even go in.
- Reorder staff and faculty apparel separately from student spirit wear. Different sizing, often a different look, and mixing the two orders together tends to slow both down.
- Lock in quantities now if you need product in hand for the first week of school. Standard runs take 3-4 weeks from an approved design to delivery, so if school starts in early September, this is the week to place the order.
Deciding on the details
If you haven’t locked in colors yet, our colors page has the full palette to choose from, worth a look before you finalize a design, since some combinations print cleaner than others depending on decoration method.
Speaking of decoration, if you’re deciding between screen print, embroidery, or something else for your design, our decoration methods page breaks down what each one actually looks like on different garments, useful if this is your first order or you’re trying something new this year.
Browse what’s available
Our main apparel page has the full current lineup, tees, hoodies, polos, and everything in between. If you want the deeper dive, decoration options, industries we serve, sizing guidance, our Apparel & Branding Basics page covers it, and our colors page is worth a second look once you’re narrowing down a palette.
The one rule that matters most
Lead time compounds. A design decision that takes an extra week, a sizing collection that runs long, a district approval that sits in someone’s inbox, each one pushes your delivery date back further than it feels like it should. Start today, even if the order itself is still a few decisions away.
Ready to place an order, or just want a hand narrowing down a design? Get a quote and we’ll get started.
