Custom Screen Print and Embroidery

Here are some tips for ordering screen print or embroidery on t-shirts, polo shirts, accessories or custom apparel online. Follow these guidelines and you are sure to end up with a quality product that you will be happy with.

1) Find out how long your screen print company has been in business. You may not want to use a company who does not have a track record yet.

2) Ask about print sizes. Some companies have a limit to how big they will screen print your image. If you need a large image, you may want to ask for oversize or jumbo print dimensions.

3) Minimum orders can vary widely from company to company. Some have an order minimum of only six, whereas others may require that you order at least fifty t-shirts.

4) Check out the quality of the apparel that they offer. Do they have just a few generic colored t-shirts and baseball caps? Or do they offer a wide variety of styles, cotton blends, brands and products? Ordering a name brand that you trust can help you avoid getting a finished product that seems cheap or poorly made.

5) Ask about embroidery detail. How small of print can you get before it looks blurry or unreadable? This could be an important factor in determining the provider. What good is your logo if no one can tell what it says or means?

6) Ask about color options. This is especially important for logos. Many times, the color that you choose for your logo needs to be consistent. If your screen printer can’t match the color, then the product will be useless at branding your image.

7) When getting embroidery, ask about thread contents. Cotton threads, cotton covered polyester, and polyester threads are generally not suitable for embroidery. This is because they can pill or fray after washing. Good embroidery thread should always be rayon. Metallic threads are also suitable for embroidery work.

8) Ask about specialty inks or processes that you might need. A high heat press will create a shiny and heavy screen print. This is often used for high visibility prints, like on sports jerseys. If you may need this, make sure your supplier offers it. Also ask about glitter inks, metallic inks, foil printing or 3D embroidery if you need it.

9) Find out how long orders generally take. Good companies usually have a turnaround of about a week. Shipping costs should be considered and usually deals can be made when you order in bulk.

10) The last thing to consider is how easy it is to get your design to them. Can you simply e-mail a file? Or do you have to actually meet with a designer and have it laid out in a certain way? Good companies will have someone on staff who can take an e-mailed design and create a template for you.

With these tips, you are sure to end up with a screen printers t shirt or embroidery custom apparel company that you are very happy with.

Justin Hoehn is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t shirt. Companies purchase t shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Embroidery Logo Concerns

When ordering custom apparel for your business or organization, you can’t go wrong with a high quality embroidered logo. But, how can you be certain that the embroidery services you order will come out how you expect? Will the colors be right? Will the logo look crisp and sharp? Will the threads fray or get fuzzy? These are questions and concerns that you may have. Here are some basic embroidery facts to help you know what you are getting when you order your company logo embroidered on custom apparel.

1) Ask about number of stitches per square inch. The number of stitches is usually about two thousand per square inch. If your embroiderer uses a machine that maxes out at one thousand stitches per square inch, then you can expect that the logo will be thin and that you may see the fabric through the design. This is not a good thing.

2) Talk to a knowledgeable person about your choices. Number of stitches can vary greatly depending on the type of fabric that you choose. If you want your embroidered logo to look its best, then ask if the shirts or custom apparel that you chose works well with embroidery.

3) Consider 3D embroidery for very bold designs. Your logo or design may have to be altered to look its best in 3D embroidery, but the payoff could be great. 3D embroidery is most popular on hats.

4) Find out what thread options your embroiderer offers. Polyester and cotton threads may be strong, but they will lose their sheen, get fuzzy and pill up after washing. Top embroiderers only use rayon thread for embroidery.

5) Ask about colorization. Most companies will dye embroidery thread to match your logo colors exactly. This is of great importance when you are using embroidered custom apparel to help brand your image or send a consistent message.

6) The image that you send needs to be digitized in order to show up exactly as you planned. Take a look at the final image to approve it before you order, or ask for a sample to be sent before you order in bulk. Letters generally cannot be read if they are smaller than 3/16”.

A good embroidery company will talk to you about all of these things when you get ready to order. They should happily address all of your concerns and be able to give you details about the work that they do. They should also be able to point out reasons for doing things the way that they do, and the reasons should point to higher quality, not saving money. Choose the right embroiderer and your custom clothing will come out looking great and stay looking great, wash after wash.

Justin Hoehn is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t shirt. Companies purchase t shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Custom Art on Custom Apparel

Some companies may charge a fortune to review and prepare you custom art for print. But, if you look around, you can find screen printer companies that do not charge for having their art department make your design look fabulous.

You can expect a charge if your logo or art design needs a lot of work, but it should not be more than a couple of hundred dollars. Some companies will even let you see before and after designs that they have worked on. Determine for yourself if they seem like they are proud of the work that they do, or if they are trying to get work off the line as quickly as possible, even sacrificing quality to do so.

Remember that screen printing is an art. Even though the process is becoming more and more automated, you still need an artistic mind to look over your custom work and help you determine the best ideas for printing it. The best designs are printed after being diligently worked on and digitized by a competent art department. The screen printing industry generally hires the best designers for this job, so take advantage of their talent, input and ideas.

Custom art can also be applied by embroidery. Here, you are looking at many of the same issues. Make sure that your color scheme, design details and image size are exactly right to get the results that you are looking for. With embroidery, you will need to make sure that a rayon thread is used. Also, make sure that letters are not too small to read. Specify instructions like 3D embroidery, heavy visibility or fine line embroidery. Make sure that you and the artist are on the same page.

With both embroidery and screen printing, you should make sure that the clothing or accessories you are using are compatible with the options you have chosen. For example, slick fabrics may need to be heat pressed for screen printing to stick and not peel. This will have you end up with a much heavier, thicker appearance of the artwork. If that is not what you want, then you may want to look at other forms of apparel.

Embroidery is best when done on heavier fabrics. Thin fabrics can bunch up, or the heavy embroidery can pull down on the light fabric, making it look low quality, even if it is not. Select fabrics that are compatible with the results that you would like to see. Furthermore, select name brand custom clothing for a guaranteed high quality result.

Justin Hoehn is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t shirt. Companies purchase t shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Who is Ralph Lauren and What is the Polo?

If you have heard of the Polo shirt, it is most likely the name Ralph Lauren is also familiar to you.

While the polo is older than Ralph Lauren, it was Ralph Lauren who made the polo shirt what it is today. The polo shirt’s beginnings may have started as early as the mid-1800s. Sporting teams were wearing long sleeved jerseys made from the same knitted material as the polo is today. Rene Lacoste added some flare to the shirt in 1926 producing it in white with short sleeves and with an un-starched, flat protruding collar. It also had a buttoned placket, and a longer shirttail in back than in front for tennis players. As a tennis player, he first wore the shirt at the 1926 U.S. Open championship.

Later on, clothing retailer Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lischitz, was getting his own name brand off the ground. This was in the late 1960s. By 1971, Polo Ralph Lauren launched its first women's collection and his first standalone store in Beverly Hills, California. Ten years later, in 1981, the brand went global with its first international store on London's New Bond Street. The Polo Sport line was introduced in 1993.

Ralph Lauren’s brand now produces clothing, accessories, fragrances, furniture, operates the restaurant RL in Chicago. The flagship store is located in the former Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue in New York City. Ralph Lauren is one of the largest retailers in the United States with revenues reaching $4.2 billion in 2007.

Some of Ralph Lauren’s classics are of course his Polo. One of the most famous pieces in the Polo line is the classic polo short-sleeved knit shirt featuring the now-iconic Polo player on the left breast of the shirt. This shirt in particular became a fashion must-have in the 1980s with the preppy set. Other Polo classics include the cashmere cableknit sweater, chinos and the oxford cloth button-down shirt.

Since Ralph Lauren's first brand, Polo, was launched in 1967, the company has expanded to include a variety of luxury brands. They include:
* Purple Label: Launched in 1994, this is Ralph Lauren's signature, and highest end, men's line, with classic, traditionally British styling. It includes ready-to-wear suits and sportcoats (made by St. Andrews and Cantarelli), dress shirts, sportswear, accessories, and footwear, as well as a collection of made-to-order suits, sportcoats, shoes (made by British company Edward Green), dress shirts, exotic skin luggage, small leather goods, and jewelry. Purple Label is only available in Ralph Lauren stores, the company's online store and high-end department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
* Black Label: Black Label for men and women. The men’s clothing tends to have a more modern, Italian cut to its suits, sport coats (made by Raffaele Caruso), dress shirts, and sportswear, with higher armholes and a slimmer silhouette. Black Label for women demonstrated more modern, high-end casual and semi-formal women's wear.

* Polo Ralph Lauren: His first brand for men, and also the most widely available. This 'blue label' line spans from tailored clothing (ready-to-wear and made to measure), sportswear, accessories (including luggage) to small leather goods. Available at many department and specialty stores as well as Ralph Lauren stores and the company's online store.
* Polo Golf: A sporty collection catering to golfers since 1987 and often featuring celebrity golfers as advertising models (see Sports sponsorship below).[4]
* Polo Jeans Co.: Denim inspired line. Now discontinued in the US.
* Polo Denim: A 2007 relaunch of the Polo Jeans Co. line of 1996. Denim basics available online and in department stores.
* Lauren Ralph Lauren: Basics and suiting. Divided into Green and Silver (slightly slimmer cuts) Label. Available primarily through department and outlet stores, and not at RL stores or ralphlauren.com.
* Ralph by Ralph Lauren: Men’s clothing exclusively available at Dillard's stores, this label offers suits, sport coats, dress trousers and suit vests.
* Collection: The highest end clothing line for women (also carries a purple tag), as seen in his runway shows. Includes classic eveningwear, tailored blazers, outerwear, sportswear, handbags, and accessories.
* RLX: A technical sports apparel line, focusing on clothing and outerwear built for outdoor sports such as tennis, golf, skiing, sailing, and hiking, launched in 1998. Primarily distributed through RalphLauren.com
* Polo Sport: A discontinued line of casual sports clothing that was introduced for men in 1993 and women in 1996. It was retired in 2005 and ultimately replaced by RLX as well as the Golf and Tennis lines. The Polo Sport fragrance lines continue to exist as remnants of this label.
* RRL (pronounced "Double-R L"): A denim and sportswear line that takes its influence from the American West. Available in Ralph Lauren stores as well as several smaller signature Double RL stores.
* Rugby Ralph Lauren: A brand launched in 2004 focusing on collegiate apparel with a similar look to the pricier Polo and Blue Label brands. Sold at signature Rugby stores.
* Tennis: Sports clothing for tennis players. Special collections for the US Open tournaments.
* Pink Pony: A charity line of sportswear and accessories all carrying a pink Polo pony. A portion of the proceeds benefit cancer research. Predominantly for women, the line also includes polo shirts for men.

Yes, the polo shirt spurred on the growth of a number of other types of clothing but it is still the preferred style of shirt for outdoor enthusiasts and for business casual. It is still comfortable and colorful, even after all these years.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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The Life and Times of the Scarf

When we think of scarves we may conjure up images of Hollywood celebrities riding around in convertibles. Scarves have an elegancy about them… a style. So where did the first scarf come from, who invented it and how did it evolve through history?

According to research, the scarf dates back at least as far as ancient Rome. At that time, a linen kerchief known as a sudarium (Latin term for “sweat cloth”) was used by the Romans to wipe sweat from their faces. Something that started out for pragmatic use quickly became a fashion statement and the ancient Romans quickly developed the scarf into an accessory. Women weren’t to be left out, seeing the men in their scarves, they too began wearing them.

The Chinese of course aren’t to be left out of scarf history. Warriors of the Chinese Emperor Cheng (Shih Huang Ti) wore scarves made of wool, which indicated their rank.

Scarves seemed to be a hit around the world over time. The French loved the idea of wearing pieces of fabric around their heads or body, especially if they had color. They called their scarves cravats, from the Croatian word kravata. Ones political inclinations were often demonstrated by the color of their scarf.

Scarves have and may always have a practical use. In drier, dustier climates, or in environments where there are many airborne contaminants, a thin headscarf, kerchief, or bandanna is often worn over the head to keep the hair clean. Religions have integrated the use of the scarf to show modesty. Many Muslim women wear a headscarf often known as a hijab, and in Quranic Arabic as the khimar. The Keffiyeh is commonly used by Muslim men. Women in the Haredi Judaism community often wear a tichel to cover their hair. Several Christian denominations include a scarf known as a stole as part of their liturgical vestments.

During the First World War, silk scarves were used by pilots in order to keep oily smoke and exhaust out of their mouths while flying. These pilots often preferred silk as it helped prevent neck chafing, especially fighter pilots, who were constantly turning their heads from side to side watching for enemy aircraft.

Scarves are also popular with British sports enthusiasts. Since at least the early 1900s, fans of football teams have worn colored scarves. These scarves come in a wide variety of sizes and are made in a club's particular colors. They may also have the club crest, pictures of renowned players, and various slogans relating to the history of the club and its rivalry with others. In the United Kingdom, the most popular and traditional type is a simple design with alternating bars of color in the individual team's traditional colors.

As part of pre-match build-ups, or during matches, fans will create a 'scarf wall' in which all supporters in a section of the stadium will stretch out their scarves above their heads with both hands, creating an impressive 'wall' of color, usually accompanied by the singing of a club anthem such as "You'll Never Walk Alone". This was initially solely a British phenomenon, but has since spread to Europe and South America.

Scarf wearing is also a noted feature of support for Australian rules football clubs in the Australian Football League, and are always in the form of alternating bars of color, usually with the team name or mascot written on each second bar.

Scarves have had fashion ebbs and flows throughout time. Having flexibility in how they are worn, they always make a comeback in color, design and style without seeming to have to strong of tie to the past.

Whether you are wearing your scarf for your favorite team or to add some elegance to your wardrobe, your scarf can represent your unique personality and preferences.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Screen Printing Materials

Screen-printing has been around for thousands of years. The concept has remained the same but the available materials today as well as types of inks have evolved.

To start, screen-printing is a printing technique particularly suited for flat or relatively flat surfaces. The heart of the process involves a fine mesh or screen that is tightly stretched around a rigid frame. The areas that are not to be printed are masked out on the screen. There are several ways to create a stencil for screen-printing. An early method was to create it by hand in the desired shape, either by cutting the design from a non-porous material and attaching it to the bottom of the screen, or by painting a negative image directly on the screen with a filler material which became impermeable when it dried. For a more painterly technique, the artist would choose to paint the image with drawing fluid, wait for the image to dry, and then coat the entire screen with screen filler. After the filler had dried, water was used to spray out the screen, and only the areas that were painted by the drawing fluid would wash away, leaving a stencil around it. This process enabled the artist to incorporate their hand into the process, to stay true to their drawing.

So what types of materials are used in today’s screen-printing world? Let’s look at them:

1. Plastisol – Plastisol is an ink and one of the most commonly used, especially in the commercial garment industry. It has Good color opacity onto dark garments and clear graphic detail with, as the name suggests, a more plasticized texture. Using plastisol, a print can be made softer with special additives or heavier by adding extra layers of ink. Plastisol inks require heat (approx. 150°C (300°F) for many inks) to cure the print.
2. Water-Based inks – Water based inks are known to penetrate the fabric more than the plastisol inks. With this penetration comes a much softer feel to the print. Water-based inks are ideal for printing darker inks onto lighter colored garments. They are also useful for larger area prints where texture is important. With water-based inks, sometimes they require heat or an added catalyst to make the print permanent.
3. PVC/ Phthalate Free – This ink is relatively new to printing and has the benefits of plastisol but without the environmentally toxic phtalate.
4. Discharge inks – These inks are used to print lighter colors onto dark background fabrics. They work by removing the dye in the garment – this means they leave a much softer texture. They are less graphic in nature than plastisol inks, and exact colors are difficult to control. If you are looking for distressed look, these inks are excellent. They are also wonderful for dark garments that are to be printed with additional layers of plastisol.
5. Flocking – This is a technique and material that consists of a glue printed onto the fabric and then foil (or other special effect) material is applied for a mirror finish.
6. Glitter/Shimmer – Using metallic flakes that are suspended in the ink base, a glitter shimmer or sparkle effect can be created on the print. These flakes are usually available in gold or silver but can be mixed to make most colors.
7. Metallic – Metallic is similar to glitter, but smaller particles are suspended in the ink. To apply, a glue is printed onto the fabric then nanoscale fibers are applied on it.
8. Expanding ink (puff) – To create a raised effect or puff, inks with a plasistol additive helps raise the print off a garment giving a 3D feel.
9. Caviar beads – These beads are applied with a glue printed into the shape of the design. These beads work well with solid block areas creating an interesting tactile surface.
10. Four color process – You may have heard of this in printing, it also works with screen-printing. The artwork is created and then separated into four colors (CMYK),which combine to create the full spectrum of colors needed for photographic prints. This means a large number of colors can be simulated using only 4 screens, reducing costs, time, and set-up. The inks are required to blend and are more translucent, meaning a compromise with vibrancy of color.
11. Gloss – This is simple a clear base laid over previously printed inks to create a shiny finish.
12. Nylobond - A special ink additive for printing onto technical or waterproof fabrics.
13. Mirrored silver - Another solvent based ink, but you can almost see your face in it.
14. Suede Ink - Suede is a milky colored additive that is added to plastisol making any color you print have a suede feel.

While the technique of screen-printing is ancient, the new inks and additives are new and always changing, which gives the artist more license to create an array of designs for you.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit http://www.leadapparel.com/

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Style, Fashion and Tennis

Tennis players and their apparel have changed drastically over the past one hundred years. This is especially the case for women who once had to play in large bustles and petticoats.

But it isn’t just comfort that tennis players have evolved into, it is also fashion and performance. With new types of performance fabrics being created from fabrics like polyester, nylon, and spandex – which breathe unlike traditional textiles allowing you to stay cool and dry even during the height of summer, tennis clothing has become functional in addition to fashionable. They are also practical in that these high tech fabrics hold their shape and color much better than their cotton counterparts, allowing you to look good before, during, and after your match, and their high durability will allow you to continue to look good in the future.

While tennis apparel for many years came in the colors of white or white, so that when one sweated it couldn’t be seen – today tennis apparel comes in numerous bright colors and prints. Tennis players are enjoying more and more the versatility they are offered off the court, during warm up and during competition. Most tennis players own a warm-up outfit, which is typically a two piece suit consisting of long pants and a long sleeved top. A warm-up outfit helps the athlete stay warm and get loose before a match, and it is also the traditionally preferred attire for arrival at the court. Tradition also holds that warm-up suits should be removed during the actual match unless it happens to be a very cold day.

Yes, there is still tradition in tennis apparel, despite the evolution of fabrics. What are some of these traditions? During a match, men should wear tucked shirts and tennis shorts, although more and more the untucked look is becoming a presence in professional and amateur tennis. Women should wear short sleeved or sleeveless shirts paired with skirts or skorts – shorts that have styling that resembles a traditional skirt.

In some places, such as country clubs or in certain countries, proper tennis attire is very important. It is important to note that the traditional tennis attire is still alive and well in some places, particularly at some tennis and country clubs. If you are invited to play as a guest at a club, check with the club or your host in order to be certain that your tennis clothes are appropriate and fitting with their dress code.

Beyond the regular tennis apparel are the tennis accessories. No tennis outfit is complete without the ever-important accessories. There is the very important tennis shoe. As with most shoes, the tennis shoe is designed specifically for tennis and it is important that you wear such shoes on the court. Not only will such shoes perform better, but they will not have black or dark colored soles, which can leave scuffs on the court and are therefore banned from many courts

And what about the sweatbands, hats, wristbands and such? These too are important as they will keep the sweat out of your face and your hands dry so that you can keep a good grip on your racket. A good sun visor will help protect your eyes from the sun above and shade your face.

Yes, in many ways the apparel and fashion of tennis has evolved and changed and in many ways it is much the same. While there is flexibility in some areas of tennis wear, there is practicality and tradition in others. The most important thing is to be comfortable and enjoy the game.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit http://www.leadapparel.com

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Defining Apparel And Why We Have It

As a species, we humans wear articles of clothing, also known as apparel, dress, garments or attire) on the body. In its broadest sense, clothing includes coverings for the trunk and limbs as well as coverings for hands (gloves), feet (shoes, sandals, boots), and head (hats, caps).

While we also adorn ourselves with accessories such as purses and scarves or decorate our bodies with makeup or cosmetics, perfume, jewelry or arrange our hair with a hairstyle or our body with tattoos, scarifications and piercing, all of these decorations just contribute to the overall effect and message of clothing, but do not constitute clothing per se.

People wear clothing for many reasons, from functional to social. Clothing protects the body against strong sunlight, extreme heat or cold, and precipitation; protection against insects, noxious chemicals, weapons, contact with abrasive substances. Humans have shown extreme inventiveness in devising clothing solutions to practical problems.

Clothing also delivers social messages to other humans. These messages can include social status, occupation, ethnic and religious affiliation, marital status and sexual availability. Humans must know the code in order to recognize the message transmitted. If different groups read the same item of clothing or decoration with different meanings, the wearer may provoke unanticipated responses.

In many societies, people of high rank reserve special items of clothing or decoration for themselves. Only Roman emperors could wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple; only high-ranking Hawaiian chiefs could wear feather cloaks and palaoa or carved whale teeth. In other societies, no laws prohibit lower-status people wearing high status garments, but the high cost of status garments effectively limits purchase and display

People also dress according to their occupation, ethnic, political or religious associations and even martial status. For instance:

* Occupation: Depending on your occupation, whether you work for the military or as a policeman or firefighter, you will typically wear a uniform. School children can also wear uniforms. Although belonging to a religious order isn’t an occupation, many religions require a particular kind of dress, such as nuns who wear ‘habits.’ In many regions of the world, styles in clothing and ornament declare membership in a certain village, caste, religion, etc. A Scotsman declares his clan with his tartan; an Orthodox Jew his religion with his (non-clothing) sidelocks; a French peasant woman her village with her cap or coif.
* Marital status: In some cultures, ones clothing indicates their marital status. Hindu women, once married, "wear" sindoor, a red powder, in the parting of their hair; if widowed, they abandon sindoor and jewelry and wear simple white clothing. Men and women of the Western world may wear wedding rings to indicate their marital status.
* Sexual availability or modesty - Some clothing indicates the modesty of the wearer. For example, many Muslim women wear a head or body covering (hijab, bourqa or burka, chador, abaya) that proclaims their status as respectable women. Other clothing may indicate flirtatious intent. Clothing that is tight fitting or body revealing could be meant to show sexuality. Clothing accessories such as extreme stiletto heels, flashy jewelry and perfume also are meant to entice sexual behavior.

Depending on what culture you are from, clothing’s message fro modesty to allurement varies. A person can also choose to ‘wear’ a mixed message. For example, a Saudi Arabian woman may wear an abaya to proclaim her respectability, but choose an abaya of luxurious material cut close to the body and then accessorize with high heels and a fashionable purse.

Western fashion and apparel have a definite international draw. Very few parts of the world remain where people do not wear items of cheap mass-produced Western clothing. Even people in poor countries can afford used clothing from richer Western countries.

Will apparel become universal over time, despite culture, religion or occupation? As long as humans enjoy being unique, it is possible people may compromise for likeness but cling to uniqueness. Who knows how fashion will be defined or who will be defining it?

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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The History of Tennis Apparel and Fashion

Clothing, from style to fabric, has changed drastically in the past one hundred years. This counts for tennis as well. Since tennis competition began, apparel wore by tennis players has gone from full-length dresses for women to short skirts, from pants on men to shorts.

Tennis apparel has become so important that there are numerous designers in the business and Wimbledon has now become the stage for tennis fashion as well as play.

Let’s look back in history to see the changes. Starting in the 1860s when women first began playing tennis, the outfit of the day was a heavy material, like flannel or serge. Believe it or not, some women’s tennis apparel included a bustle and sometimes a fur. But that was all changed. In 1884, when Maud Watson won the first Wimbledon Ladies' Championship, white tennis apparel had become the most popular. Why? It was simple – it was all because of sweat. When the trussed-up ladies of the 1890s played in earnest, they wore white because colors revealed sweat stains. This was the start of the tennis whites, which prevailed as acceptable tennis apparel for many decades.

So now that women’s clothing was white, it was time to experiment with styles. When Lottie Dod won Wimbledon, she wore calf-length skirts. But she only got away with it because they were part of her school uniform.

May Sutton, in 1905 won at Wimbledon wearing one of her father's shirts. She claimed it provided extra freedom of movement. She created even a bigger stir when she rolled her sleeves back revealing her wrists. She had complained that the sleeves on her dress were “too long and too hot.”

Hats and bustles went out of style between 1903 and 1914. Dorothea Lambert Chambers, Wimbledon’s seven times champion during this time wore two or three stiff petticoats, as well as corsets with her tennis apparel. This must have been difficult to play in!

Suzanne Lenglen changed tennis apparel again in 1919. She wore a flimsy and revealing calf-length cotton frock with short sleeves and delivered women from the corsets on the court. Ms. Lenglen changed her tennis apparel even more. She added several yards of colored silk chiffon, shiny white stockings that were rolled to her knees, and a headband. She created quite a stir on the court with her new tennis apparel.

It seemed that the women who dominated Wimbledon set the fashion mood for other tennis players who followed. Before the Second World II, Helen Wills Moody dominate Wimbledon for 14 years. She made the golf-style eyeshade a fashionable addition to tennis apparel and also wore the familiar school-type white blouse and pleated skirt. On cool days, she stopped her tennis apparel with a lambswool cardigan.

Today’s game not only embraces new fashion as well as color beyond white, but also sophisticated fabrics. Performance fabrics that include Coolmax™ and Wickaway™ are available in a wide range of knits and colors. People on and off the court enjoy these performance fabrics not just because they are utilitarian but also comfortable while relaxing or playing.

Where will the future of tennis apparel go for men and women? Who can tell, but it should be interesting to see its potential.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Custom Artwork Screen Printing

Screen printing has come a long way. Custom screen printing is a great way to get your personal designs and artwork on to lots of different custom apparel.

Remember when screen prints and iron-ons used to fade and peel? Or if you ordered a shirt, there were a lot of limitations on size, color and location of the print? Sometimes you even had to let a company’s artist come up with the design. If you did have your own logo or picture, you would have to go to great lengths to get it put on the shirts and it still may not look exactly like you wanted. Today, you can simply make your design, e-mail it to the screen print company, and expect that your exact design, color and specifications will be what ends up on the custom t-shirt.

Today’s screen print technique is a lot more accurate and versatile than the printing of the past. There is no worry of peeling or fading with a high quality print. Furthermore, you can choose from many name brand products to put your image or artwork on. You know that you are not ending up with t-shirts that are nearly transparent, strangely sized or with shotty seam-work.

Not only can you get custom printed t-shirts, but you can screen print on almost anything. Hot press screen printing is perfect for thicker or heavier prints, such as the ones you see on jerseys. You can get hats, sweatshirts, tank tops and a wide variety of other custom apparel.

Because the industry has had some great advances, the process has become very streamlined and fast. All of these things have brought the price down. Schools use screen printed items as fundraisers because they can get the wholesale screen printing done so cheaply. Using your own logo or artwork is so easy, that you can custom design apparel to create your own unique wardrobe or line of clothing for very little cost.

Consider screen printing for band t-shirts, team t-shirts, Christian t-shirts, casual wear, team spirit wear, club t-shirts or personal wardrobe. Custom shirts, when you buy name brand, can last through years of wear and washing. Screen printing companies can even hold your designs on file for contract screen printing jobs. This is useful for bands, corporate apparel and branding a logo.

Custom printed tees are inexpensive, especially if you buy t-shirts in bulk. Wholesale priced t-shirts, even name brand t-shirts, make it easy for you to complete your project for less than you may imagine. T-shirt printing on custom clothing has never been easier.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t shirt. Companies purchase t shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Creating Company Culture

For company’s, creating culture is important because the first indication that a company might be in trouble is not decreasing sales or shrinking profits but rather an eroding employee morale.

Whose job is it to improve company culture? Often the CEO, but any type of manager will do. It is then his or her job to help the company build values, vision, and cohesiveness and pride in what they do and with the company.

People are the common denominator of any organization. And people are anything but simple. But instead of looking at "the people issue" as a problematic quagmire, I suggest that you embrace all those thoughts, feelings, emotions, and moods that all people have as the solution rather than the problem.

First of all, to help build company culture, you need to know that people must be encouraged to express themselves. By their very nature, people need this. They need to know they are being heard or not and creating an atmosphere that embraces people who are expressing their true feelings is the first and biggest step in protecting a company's culture. Of course even this can be taken advantage of as some employees may use it as a way to sabotage others or the company itself. But this isn’t often the norm and can be worked with.

Encouraging employees to communicate their hopes, dreams, fears, and worries is, in and of itself, protective of the company's culture. But beware. Some employees might use their self-expression to sabotage your company culture. Those saboteurs are called weeds, and a good company culture pulls its weeds quickly.

Secondly, you want to help people feel comfortable in their environment. People need to know that you as a CEO or manager, care about their everyday environment and are appreciative of what they have to offer the company. Without setting a tone from day one of a new hire's start, and without the understanding of how important employee morale is to the health of an organization, employees of a company may not reach their fullest potential.

Third, it is important to define and display company goals. Every individual working for a company needs to know why they are doing what they are doing and how they are responsible for accomplishing such goals.

After you have described the company goals to employees, try and keep them displayed or at the top of their mind so that nobody loses track of the mission. Some people make posters of their company goals, others place them on their screen savers. Goals, whether long term or short term, should always be discussed and made relevant to current issues during company meetings. Timeframes are also important in when goals should be met, where everybody is in meeting those goals and how much further there is to go.

Fourth, there is ownership. Make sure your staff understand their ownership of goals, their personal win that is theirs when they accomplish goals. As stated above, people need to know what they have to offer and what their value is. With ownership, employees feel goals of the company are theirs, not the managers or CEOs. They also don’t want to feel coerced into making goals theirs, goals should truly be made theirs through personal responsibility in meeting them or input in creating them.

Fifth, what kinds of best practices are other company’s using. There is no shame in copying what other people are doing in other company if they are successful.

And last, create a social agenda for your employees. Your “social agenda” can include initiatives like donating a portion of proceeds to a particular cause, or encouraging employees to volunteer for local charities. Social agendas help create teamwork. Employees often love being part of a bigger picture, a group and a whole. Providing your employees with company shirts with the business logo and matching colors can also help create a feeling of teamwork and belonging. It is also valuable when doing social promotions in your community that your employees are showing what company they work for with their company shirts.

Practice these few things above and you too can help your company create culture and longevity among its employees retention.

Justin Morris is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t-shirt. Companies purchase t-shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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Golf Custom Clothing

Golf has a long history of interesting knickers and pants. Thinking about golf in generations past reminds us of bright golf caps with big fuzzy balls on top, pastel plaid pants and argyle polo shirts all being worn at the same time. These styles make a bold statement and are a bit crazy for some, but the vintage style golf clothing has made its way back into the mainstream.

Golfers, like everyone else, want to look good while they play. They want to have style, class and something unique about their wardrobe that sets them apart from others while subtly demonstrating that they are, in fact, part of the club. Even if they are not playing, they want to dress appropriately for the club that they are in or the crowd that they want to be a part of.

The vintage style knickers worn with bright knee-high socks is a good way to make a very bold statement, but this particular style can be a bit much for your run of the mill golfer. So, how do you stand out in the sea of polo shirts and khaki pants? The answer is uniqueness and quality.

You can design your own custom clothing that fits in with the crowd while standing out as something special. You can get in good with the club owners by designing an attractive logo for the course and having it embroidered on a name brand golf shirt. You can start friendly rivalries with your golfing buddies or different golfing groups. Make team shirts with custom clothing designs that identify each team.

Custom designed polo or golf shirts also make great merchandise for golf pro shops. They are commonly used for fundraising or charity events. You can charge top dollar when you use a custom logo, high quality embroidery and name brand shirts. Recognizable, respected and elite golf polo brands are best if you want to sell your shirts to serious golfers. These brands include names like Nike Golf Tiger Woods Collection, Adidas, Ping, Tattoo, Reebok and Tommy Hilfiger. Upgrades like pique designs or climate control fabrics make your custom clothing even more desirable, marketable and valuable.

Using top brands with top quality embroidery can make a big difference. Remember that what you sell, as well as what you wear, reflects on you and your organization. Use custom clothing
to help you stand out among the crowd. Make a bold statement with your custom embroidery and style without having to bring out the pastel knickers.

Justin Hoehn is a Managing Partner of LEADApparel.com. LEADApparel.com offers first class Screen Printing & Embroidery services, custom clothing including printers t shirt. Companies purchase t shirts print services from LEADApparel.com at heavily discounted prices. For more information, visit www.leadapparel.com.

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