Are you planning to buy shirts or tops for your team, employees or group? Do you know how many will you need of each size?
Choosing the quantity of each size for your order can be tricky as no two people are equal. Our t-shirt size breakdown tips will help you find the right fit for everyone.
Personal selection
Ideally out know everyone’s size up front but that’s not always the case. The best way to get the best fit is simply ask everyone what size t shirt they want! Your vendor should be able to provide a sizing chart for the t-shirt you have chosen and then you can collect responses for each individual. You could also request a few samples in advance for people to try on if they aren’t sure of the fit. This method only works best however for small audiences, and you would need to know who the audience is.
Fit
When deciding what sizes of t-shirts to buy, consider the type of fabric and fit of shirt as well as the brand and manufacturer. Some brands always run a little larger or smaller than others. Certain designs of shirts are created to be more loosely fitting than others and if that’s the case a large may be too baggy considering both the larger size and baggy cut. In contrast a tight fitting shirt in a XS could end up too tight.
Shirts labeled “adult sizes” are actually cut for men so a large adult size may be too big for a typical large sized woman. Ask your vendor for a few samples of different tees in different fabrics and styles to get a general idea.
Audience
Who will be wearing your tees? Are they older.. young.. male..female.. trendy? What else do you know out the audience that could influence their shirt size? Females will generally choose small or medium shirts, whereas men will go for large and larger. Younger fashion conscious people tend to prefer smaller slim fit size shirts even down to XS however a female sports team may prefer a baggier look.
One size doesn’t fit all
It can be cheaper and easier to go with a one size fits all solution. But this can mean the shirts won’t fit well on most of your audience. They could be too small for bigger people, or leave smaller women left with huge shirts that are only good for sleep. Either way if they aren’t worn in public then nobody sees them which defeats the purposes of a promotional tee!
Saying that, more people are willing to fit in a shirt that’s too big than too small so err on the bigger side. At a very minimum offer two different sizes, medium and XL, which will fit most people.
T-shirt ordering size ratio chart
The ratio depends on your audience and market but the below t-shirt sizing distribution chart is a helpful starting point for most groups. To be on the safe side, it’s always a good idea to order a few extra and you can always use them at future events. Lastly, keep note of what you ordered and use the data to reorder next time.
Standard adults / men’s shirts
S- 10%
M- 25%
L- 30%
XL- 25%
XXL- 10%
Ladies shirts
XS – 10%
S- 25%
M- 30%
L- 20%
XL- 10%
2XL- 5%
Teens/early twenties
XS – 5%
S- 25%
M- 25%
L- 20%
XL- 20%
2XL- 5%
Still not sure what sizes you need? Contact us and let us give you some more detailed guidelines based on your audience.