Custom Embroidered Dress Shirts and Woven Shirts

We have supplied some details below that may help you understand some of the differences among various woven shirts.  But if you just want to dive right in and start browsing our suppliers’ catalogs, go right ahead and then contact us when you have questions or when you think you are ready to order.

Woven shirts come in a variety of styles to meet a variety of needs.  The biggest difference to contemplate is whether you need more of a dress shirt or more of a casual shirt.

On the dressy side are pinpoint oxford dress shirts.  In the middle are twill shirts.  And then there are true heavyweight workwear shirts that some of our customers even use in welding environments.

Things to consider:

1) Common Fabric Types

a) 100% cotton – Cotton is often described as comfortable and breathable.  The natural fiber is also more heat resistant.  The downsides of cotton are the need for ironing, its tendency to fade faster than blended shirts, and the likelihood that cotton will shrink further over the life of the garment.

b) 60/40 cotton/polyester blend – Blended shirts offer ease of care and a lower likelihood of fading.  They are still likely to shrink somewhat, but not as much as 100% cotton shirts.  Colors will still suffer some fading over time, but will hold up longer than 100% cotton.  The polyester aspect of the blend will cause these shirts to retain body heat more than cotton.

c) 100% rayon — Rayon is an artificial fabric derived from cellulose.  It is popular in hot and humid climates because it does not retain body heat well.

2) Fabric Weight – Consider whether you have a preference for thicker or thinner material.  Fabric weight is measured in ounces and refers to the weight of a square yard of fabric.  A shirt rated at 5.5 oz. will be heavier than a shirt rated at 4.0 oz.

3) Stain resistance – Many suppliers offer stain resistance treatments of the fabric of their shirts during the manufacturing process.  Scotchgard and Teflon are some of the treatments that can be offered with some shirts.  The advantage of stain resistant properties should be obvious to anyone who has ever spilled coffee down or splattered soup across the front of his or her shirt.

4) Male and female companion pieces – If you are outfitting a team comprising both sexes, consider selecting a garment that has male and female companion pieces.  We can help you identify those if you need assistance.  The women on the team will be grateful to have the opportunity to wear something with a form fitting ladies’ cut.

5) Big and tall sizing – Think through your entire team to who is the biggest.  Some manufacturers’ sizing goes up to 3XL, some to 4XL, and some to 6XL.  Many, but not all, garments are available in tall sizes as well.  Availability will vary from garment to garment and within the colors of any one style.  In general, staple styles and staple colors will be most likely to be available in the full range of sizes.

6) Sleeve length – This would seem to need no explanation; however, once you start asking around, you will find that some people really have strong preferences for short sleeve, long sleeve, or 3/4 length sleeve.