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Shirts are also great PR, prize rewards, and 'thank you' gifts for users who run into nasty bugs. We've had a lot of success and fun with our HipChat shirts. Ou
by powdahound 16y ago
Shirts are also great PR, prize rewards, and 'thank you' gifts for users who run into nasty bugs. We've had a lot of success and fun with our HipChat shirts. Our tips for others:
1. Buy high-quality shirts (American Apparel)
2. Buy small and women's sizes
3. Show some attitude, not company boilerplate
4. Buy from a local shop
5. Have a few different designs - people love having a choice
6. Make sure the shop saves the screens (cheaper to re-order in the future)
7. Quadruple check the spelling and capitalization :)
Full post: http://blog.hipchat.com/2010/08/19/7-tips-for-making-company-shirts-that-people-will-actually-wear/ http://blog.hipchat.com/2010/08/19/7-tips-for-making-company...
- randallsquared 16y ago2. Buy small and women's sizes This one puzzles me a lot. The place I work recently ordered a bunch of shirts for everyone who wanted one in the dev team. The sizes went up to XL, and their "XL" was the same size as an "M" in some stores. Fully half the devs in our shop couldn't fit into the largest size offered. Here's a tip, as someone who likes wearing t-shirts: buy larger sizes. Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL", but the reverse is very much not true.
- cpeterso 16y agoPlus, American Apparel t-shirts (recommended in the article) are notoriously undersized. An American Apparel "large" is more like a snug "medium". But they are high-quality shirts (even if Dov Charney is a lecher).
- jarek 16y agoOnly in the U.S. is an AA large a snug medium.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- nopassrecover 16y agoYeah this has always puzzled me. Everytime I order an AA t-shirt (I live in Australia) I get warned to order a size up because they trend slim. After getting bit once or twice by this, I just order my regular size or even one smaller now and have no issue.
- rocktronica 16y agoValid point, but _fit into_ and _wear_ are different things. Most skinny people don't like swimming in their clothes.
- zach 16y agoRight, and that's what the topmost poster meant by "buy small and women sizes" -- if you really care, you won't have to say "we don't have anything smaller than a large." People used to hearing that line really appreciate when you go the extra mile: http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/12/tech_tshirts_ar.html http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/1...
- TillE 16y agoThat Webstock t-shirt is pretty nice. I think you could take it a step further and make a stylish / designer / funky t-shirt that a reasonably large subset of people will actually want to wear. Not just a blatant ad for your company.
- imp 16y ago> Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL", but the reverse is very much not true. It's that thinking that leads to skinny people (like me) having a lot of large t-shirts that they don't fit into. Just because it can physically go over your body doesn't mean that it "fits."
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- derekdahmer 16y agoAgreed, there are always way too many M's, never enough S. Offering a one-size-too-big shirt is a great way to get someone to take the shirt but never wear it because it looks sloppy.
- Fargren 16y agoI have the same issue, but some of those huge T-Shirts can be really comfortable during a hot summer day, if the cloth is thin enough.
- bethling 16y agoMight be true for guys, but if you give me an L or and XL, I might use it to sleep in, but the chances that I'll wear it out in public are essentially zero. When I see at least some smaller sizes (and I'm not a petite woman), I feel like at they least they were thinking of people like me.
- adatta02 16y agoAs another data point, I'm a pretty small guy (5'8" and about 150 lbs) and I can't stand wearing L shirts - I feel like I'm wearing a dress. Given the choice, I'd much rather a S than a L.
- adamcw 16y agoGotta concur with this. Just because you can drape something over yourself, that's still not the same as having it fit.
- lsc 16y agoA short friend of mine complains that even the small American Apparel shirts end up looking like dresses on him. "It feels like I'm wearing a mini-skirt" he says.
- solid 16y ago>Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL" Sure it is physically impossible, but that person will end up looking like a slob. Fit is the most important factor in style, so if you're going to "brand" your employees at least do not force them to swim in the clothing you give them!
- Locke1689 16y agoTo be honest, as a smaller man (5'9") who prides himself on having a little style, the difference between giving me an 'L' and giving me an 'M' is not wearing it but feeling a little more comfortable, it's the difference between wearing it and not wearing it. I refuse to look that unattractive on purpose. Also, if your T-shirt looks good and is really well designed (high quality, maybe fitted, good graphic design and color work) I might actually wear it other places, even though I don't usually wear T-shirts.
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoShrinking a shirt is easy, you throw it in the dryer. You can't make a shirt bigger though. That's all I think the OP is saying.
- jrockway 16y agoIf you're buying high-quality shirts, they don't shrink in the dryer. I pretty much only wear American Apparel t-shirts, and they don't shrink. I doubt printing your logo on it is going to change that :)
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoI am about 6ft 4 so I never dry anything but socks or towels because even when I dry something (like boxers or plain white tee) on low or medium heat I notice shrinkage. And as to high quality, I've had Gitman Bros. shirts shrink in the dryer over time because that's just what happens. Cotton does shrink in the dryer. Yes, higher quality dryers cause this less, but they all cause shrinking to some degree.
- Locke1689 16y agoOf course it shrinks. I'm a medium size after the shirt has been shrunk. If I were a large after it has been shrunk I would have said that's my size.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- jonknee 16y agoI immediately throw away any free shirt that is L or larger. I think the best thing would be to order multiple sizes.
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoWhy not donate or give it away?
- cpeterso 16y agoThe PBS TV series "Independent Lens" had an episode ("T-Shirt Travels") about groups in Africa that import American thrift store t-shirts by the bushel and resell them. Very interesting (and economical). http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tshirttravels/film.html http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tshirttravels/film.html
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoI don't get it, are you saying become some groups might misuse the clothes donated to the Salvation Army or Goodwill I should never donate my clothes and that I should just throw them away? I really don't understand what point you're trying to make. Donating clothes to thrift stores helps people everyday if you don't believe me just go hang out at one in Chicago during January or Minnesota, people would literally die in these places without thrift stores.
- cpeterso 16y agoSorry for not being clear. <:) I agree that people should donate clothes they no longer need or want. I was referencing the documentary about Africa as an example of just how far the benefit of donated clothes can reach.
- Splines 16y agoOur awesome admin has a spreadsheet with all our sizes in them, so our t-shirts always fit :) (barring production variations in size, I suppose).
- farout 16y agoexcellent idea however this too has a way of failing. T-shirts are listed not by inches or cms, which would tell you exactly what you getting. hence the recent posts of different definitions for different sizes by different mfg. If they listed the actually sizes like they do with most suits. Then you have a reasonable chance of a good fit.
- mryall 16y agoMy company tends to get t-shirts from the same supplier most of the time. So keeping a size on record for everyone would be a great idea for us.
- rdouble 16y agoProgrammers come in two main sizes: too skinny, and too fat. If your engineering team is mainly "seasoned pros" you want to avoid american apparel altogether. If it's fresh grads you have a few years worth of size medium before 14 hour days and free soda catches up with everyone. It's different if you are buying shirts as schwag. I once worked for a startup where the t-shirts were more popular than the product and the most important sizes were mens and womens size medium.
- swaits 16y agoBS. Programmers come in all sizes.
- jpr 16y agoYep. Some are in transition from "too skinny" to "too fat".
- KaeseEs 16y agoThere is some data to back up this fattening-over-time thesis: http://imgur.com/OjWoz http://imgur.com/OjWoz
- nopassrecover 16y agoInteresting data point, but it doesn't support the thesis that programmers get fatter the more they've programmed unless you can show the attendees at the Linux symposium are older/more experienced now than in the past. You'd probably also want some external data as I'm pretty sure people as a whole are getting fatter.
- billybob 16y agoThere are way too many variables for that to imply "programmers get fatter over time." 1) Maybe t-shirts sizes themselves are not the same between 1999 and 2008 2) Maybe the average age of the attender has not changed, so there's really no age component 3) Maybe a different demographic is now attending the conference 4) Maybe all Americans are fatter on average and programmers are just part of that trend
- lsc 16y agothe thing of it is, most places charge you one setup fee... you don't have to pay extra for getting more sizes, so there is no reason not to get the XXXL and the XS. I know developers come in both sizes, and as so many other people in this thread have said, people, generally speaking, have a preferred T shirt fit, and if the T shirt doesn't fit that way, they won't wear it. If you are buying for employees, it's easy enough to ask employees what their preferred sizes are. We all have a few tradeshow T-shirts at home, so we know how the various sizes of various brands fit us. Buy some extra; some people will want two, if you have leftovers, mix them in with the next iteration, or leave them on the 'free' shelf in the break room, you know, for when your employees feel like upgrading out of their old copy that has developed holes. If you are buying for the general public, well, you plan to run out, right? it doesn't really matter if you run out of the big sizes before the little sizes. keep track of what runs out of last and adjust accordingly next time. If you end up taking home leftovers, mix them in with the next batch of shirts you give away.
- kemayo 16y agoThat's especially a problem if you follow the "buy American Apparel" tip. Their women's sizing is miniscule; my wife tends to wear medium-to-large shirts in other brands, but has to go up to their XXL before they'll fit her.
- jasonkester 16y agoHe didn't say only buy small shirts. But not everybody is fat and male, so you need to have some. And by the way, it's not 1993 anymore. T-Shirts should fit. This goes double if you're going to a convention. Give a petite girl a men's large and chances are it will never make it over her head once. Be the only booth at the show that gives out fitted women's gear, though, and suddenly you'll find them on every girl in the place.
- nitrogen 16y agoSome people (myself included) look awful in anything bigger than an M. Clothes are about more than just covering one's skin, and conferences and businesses are about more than just one body type. They should buy all sizes, and they should make sure all the sizes look good.
- dwc 16y agoWhy not buy sizes in some proportion to the sizes of actual employees? There's really no other answer unless the company has grown to the point where the size curve approaches a normal distribution. If you plotted sizes where I work now it would look nothing like a normal distribution (our plot would be a lot flatter).
- kariatx 16y agoAgreed, and thanks for bringing up women's sizes. I wish tech companies (and especially tech conferences I PAY for) would realize that men's shirts are not unisex. They're for men. Whenever a women's option isn't available, it definitely feels unwelcoming.
- jrockway 16y agoDepends on your taste, I guess. I know a lot of women and men that wear the same model of unisex shirts.
- kariatx 16y agoFair enough, but even a men's small is too big for me - so it's not even really an option to wear it. Considering I'm a very standard size for a woman, it's hard to feel like the people behind the shirts are considering my gender. Taste is a secondary concern here.
- elptacek 16y agoUnisex cuts of t shirts do not look good on women. Women may wear them, but they are not flattering. Turns out that American Apparel has a girly cut shirt with shorter sleeves that is more fitted through the trunk. And I add: 8. Pony up for a not-white shirt.
- ben1040 16y agoGreat advice. When I get free t-shirts from work or conferences, they're pretty much reserved for being something to wear when I'm painting or mowing the lawn. One such shirt never even made it out of the office; it's still been neatly folded up at the bottom of a desk drawer since the day they gave it to me a few months ago. But this is because I have yet to receive a company or conference t-shirt that either properly fits me or has a tasteful or clever design I'd want to be seen wearing in public. If you print two dozen sponsor logos on the back of a free conference t-shirt, I'll probably toss the shirt and wish you spent the t-shirt budget on better booze at the afterparty. I know I'm not averse to t-shirts in general, since my wife will take any opportunity to give me trouble about how many shirts I've bought from Woot and Threadless...