Family Vacation Shirts

Matching shirts look like a photo idea, and they are. Their more useful job is practical. In an airport, a cruise terminal or a crowded boardwalk, a group in the same color can count heads at a glance. A grandparent can spot the grandchildren from across a plaza, and a child who wanders knows exactly which shirts to look for.

That makes color the first decision, ahead of the artwork. Choose something that stands apart from what crowds usually wear. Black, navy and plain white disappear in a busy terminal. A clear coral, a bright teal, a sunny yellow or a strong green is visible from a distance and still looks good in pictures against sand and water.

Then decide which day the shirts are for. Most groups pick one or two, such as travel day and the day of the group photo, because laundry on a trip is limited. Knowing the day tells you the garment. A travel day in a cold airport suits a heavier tee, while a beach day in humid heat calls for a lighter color or a tank top.

Garment-dyed tees deserve a short explanation. They are dyed after sewing and washed soft, which gives the relaxed, slightly weathered color people love. It also means the shade varies a little from shirt to shirt, and that is normal. They are thick, so they shrug off a week in a suitcase but feel warm in tropical sun.

The designs that age best are specific. The family name, the year and the place, such as a coastline, a lake or a mountain town, turn a shirt into a record of that trip. Cruise shirts often add an anchor, a ship's wheel or a wave. Keep the main line large enough to read in a group photo taken from across a deck.

Personal touches are popular, and they change how the shirt is made. A role on each shirt, such as grandma, the navigator or the birthday girl, means every print is different. Screen printing needs identical prints to be efficient, so one-off names are usually added with direct-to-film, which handles a different design on every shirt without extra setup.

Do not borrow from the destination. Cruise lines, theme parks and resorts own their names, logos, lettering styles and characters, and we cannot print them or close imitations. A design built from your own family name, the year and general travel imagery is yours to keep and reprint for the next trip.

Sun, salt and sunscreen are hard on clothes. Sunscreen can leave marks on white and very pale fabric, so mid-tone colors are forgiving. Wash printed shirts inside out in cool water and skip the hot dryer when you can. Both screen prints and DTF prints last far longer treated that way, well past the trip itself.

One note on the range. We do not make swimwear, rash guards, beach towels or tote bags, which families sometimes want to match. We do make t-shirts, long sleeve tees, tank tops, polos, hoodies, hats and beanies, so there is something for the beach, the plane and a cool evening on deck.

Every group trip has one organizer, and the shirts usually land on the same person. Make it easier on yourself by offering the family one design and one color, not a vote on five. Ask for a size and a yes or no by a set date. People who miss the deadline can still be added, since there is no minimum.

Sizing a family means sizing every age at once. Check the size range for your chosen garment in the studio before promising a shirt to the smallest and tallest members. When in doubt, go a size up. A roomy tee is comfortable in the heat and fits over a swimsuit, while a tight one stays in the suitcase.

Money is simpler with a figure in hand. The studio shows the price as you change the quantity, so you can tell each household what their share comes to before placing the order. The price per piece drops as quantity goes up, so one combined family order costs less per shirt than each household ordering alone.

Have the box sent to whoever is least likely to be traveling early, and bring a couple of spare shirts in common sizes. Someone always spills breakfast on travel day or decides at the last minute that they want one after all. If you only have a rough idea, send it. We clean up or redraw rough art so it prints well.