Sizing, Fits and Ordering the Right Size Mix

Here it is: the decision that scares first-timers more than any other. Not the design, not the fabric, not even the budget. It's the moment the order form asks "how many of each size?" and you realise you're about to guess the body shapes of dozens of people you may never have met.

Deep breath. This chapter is for anyone placing a garment order: bands, businesses, charities, teams. By the end you'll know the difference between the main fits, how to actually use a size chart, and a sensible method for choosing a size mix, whether you know every wearer by name or you're selling to strangers at a festival.

This is Chapter 6 of Making Merch People Actually Wear. New here? Chapter 1 has the map.

Quick answer

First, know your fit: regular fits are the safe all-rounder, fashion fits run slimmer, oversized runs big and boxy on purpose. Second, never trust high-street size instincts; use the garment's size chart, ideally by measuring a shirt that already fits well and comparing. Third, the size mix: if your wearers are a known group, collect their actual sizes (the easy case). If you're selling to strangers, weight your order towards the middle sizes, keep the small and large ends lighter, and treat your first order as the research for your second. When in doubt, ask your printer what they'd suggest for your crowd.

Fits, translated

"Fit" describes the shape the garment is cut to, and the same size letter in two different fits can feel like two different shirts. The main ones you'll meet:

Regular or classic fit. The straightforward cut most people picture: room to move, nothing clingy, nothing baggy. The safe default for mixed audiences, staff tees and giveaways, precisely because it flatters nobody perfectly and offends nobody either.

Fashion or slim fit. Cut closer to the body, often slightly longer in the arm and torso. Looks sharp on the right frame; unforgiving on others. A deliberate choice for image-led brands with a young, style-conscious crowd, and a risky default for a general audience.

Oversized. Big and boxy on purpose, with dropped shoulders and a wide body. Very much a current streetwear look, and popular for premium merch. The catch: sizing gets doubly confusing, because wearers often size down for the intended look, and an oversized medium can dwarf a regular large.

Ladies' fits and unisex. "Unisex" on a garment listing usually means a regular fit cut on a traditionally male block, sized to fit a wide range of bodies. Ladies' fits are cut differently (typically narrower shoulders, shaped sides, shorter body). Some audiences appreciate the option of both; others happily wear unisex everything. If you're deciding, look at your actual audience, and know that offering two fits doubles your size-mix decisions, so it's a choice to make deliberately rather than by default.

The practical rule: pick the fit that matches your audience, not the fashion. The band with a streetwear crowd can go oversized with confidence. The village fun run cannot.

Size charts: the thirty-second habit that prevents most sizing pain

Here's the trap: everyone thinks they know their size. But sizes aren't standardised between brands, so the "large" your wearers buy on the high street may not match the "large" on your chosen garment. This is where most sizing complaints are born.

The fix is the garment's size chart: the table on the listing giving actual measurements (usually chest width and body length) for each size. And the best way to use one requires no tape-measure-around-the-body awkwardness:

1. Find a shirt that already fits the way you want (yours, or a typical wearer's).
2. Lay it flat and measure it: across the chest from armpit to armpit, and top of shoulder to hem.
3. Compare those numbers to the chart and pick the size that matches.
4. Repeat per fit: an oversized chart and a regular chart for "the same size" will read very differently, which is the point.

Sound familiar? It's the favourite-shirt test from Chapter 4 again, doing a second job. One beloved shirt from your wardrobe can specify your weight and calibrate your sizing.

The size mix: two cases, two methods

Now the main event. Which case are you in?

The easy case: you can ask the wearers

Workwear for staff, kit for a team, hoodies for a committee: if the wearers are a known, countable group, do not guess. Ask. Send the size chart round (with the measure-a-shirt tip attached), collect answers, order exactly that. Add one or two spares in the middle sizes if the budget allows, for new starters and laundry disasters.

Scenario: the plumbing firm from Chapter 3. Five staff, five answers, one afternoon. This is the entire method, and it's bulletproof. The only real mistake available here is not bothering to ask and guessing anyway, which happens more often than you'd think.

The hard case: you're selling to strangers

A band's gig crowd, a shop's customers, festival-goers. You can't survey them all, so you're estimating, and the honest framing matters: an estimate is all anyone has here, including big brands. The goal isn't a perfect guess; it's a sensible starting spread that you improve with real sales data next time.

The general shape most first orders follow: weight the middle, lighten the ends. Most adult audiences cluster around the middle sizes, with genuine but smaller demand at small and at XL-and-up. As a purely illustrative starting shape (not data, just a common-sense sketch): out of every ten shirts, something like one small, three mediums, three larges, two XLs and one XXL. Then adjust for what you actually know about your crowd from your Chapter 3 audience snapshot: a metal band's audience, a yoga studio's clientele and a rugby club's supporters do not share a size curve, and you know your people better than any generic spread does.

Two refinements worth their weight:

• Don't skip the big sizes. Running out of XL and XXL at a merch table turns keen buyers away and feels terrible for everyone involved. If you trim anywhere, trim the small end before the large end for most UK adult audiences.
• Your first order is research. Record what sells out and what lingers. By order two, you're not guessing any more; you're adjusting. (Restocks get a full chapter in Part 7.)

Scenario: the band selling heavyweight cotton tees at summer gigs. First run: middle-weighted spread, nudged larger because their crowd skews that way. At the merch table they keep a tally of what sells and what's asked for. Second run: the tally decides.

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From the print room

The sizing conversations that go wrong almost all start the same way: "just make them all large, that'll cover everyone." It won't; it fits some people and drowns or squeezes the rest, and the leftover pile is always the sizes nobody checked. The conversations that go right also start the same way: someone sends round the size chart before ordering, or brings us their audience snapshot and asks what spread we'd suggest. Sizing is the topic where thirty minutes of asking beats any amount of confident guessing, and we would genuinely rather have the "boring" sizing chat early than the awkward reprint chat later.

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Quick checklist: sizing your order

Copy this and work through it:

• ☐ Fit chosen to match the audience (regular / fashion / oversized / ladies'+unisex)
• ☐ Size chart found on the garment listing
• ☐ A well-fitting shirt measured flat and compared to the chart
• ☐ Known group? Actual sizes collected from every wearer
• ☐ Strangers? Middle-weighted spread sketched, adjusted for my crowd
• ☐ Big sizes protected, small end trimmed first if trimming
• ☐ A spare or two in middle sizes (known groups, budget allowing)
• ☐ Plan to record what sells, for next time
• ☐ Spread sanity-checked with my printer

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1. Guessing sizes for a known group. The easy case, thrown away. Fix: if you can ask, always ask; it costs one message.

2. Trusting high-street size instincts. Brands differ, and complaints follow. Fix: size chart plus the measure-a-flat-shirt method, every time.

3. Ordering flat across all sizes. Equal numbers of every size ignores how audiences are actually shaped. Fix: weight the middle, lighten the ends, adjust for your crowd.

4. Skimping on XL and up. The costliest stock-out at any merch table. Fix: protect the large end; trim smalls first for most adult audiences.

5. Ignoring what "oversized" does to sizing. Wearers size down, charts read big, chaos ensues. Fix: read the oversized chart on its own terms and say clearly in your listing or at your table how the fit runs.

6. Not recording what sold. Order two becomes guess two. Fix: a tally at the table or in your shop notes turns every sale into sizing data.

FAQs

How many of each size should I order?
For a known group: their actual collected sizes. For strangers: a middle-weighted spread adjusted for your audience, sanity-checked with your printer. There's no universal correct ratio, and anyone selling you one is guessing too.

What does unisex sizing mean?
Usually a regular fit cut on a traditionally male block, sized for a broad range of bodies. Check the chart rather than assuming; "unisex" is a cut description, not a promise about fit on any given person.

Should I offer ladies' fits as well as unisex?
It depends on your audience, and it doubles your size-mix decisions, so decide deliberately. Some crowds value the option highly; many are entirely happy in unisex.

What if someone's between sizes on the chart?
General practice: size up for comfort in regular fits, and follow the specific garment's guidance if the listing offers any. For oversized fits, the smaller size often gives the intended look.

Can I mix fits in one order?
Usually yes, and mixing (say) regular tees with a few oversized isn't unusual. Just remember each fit carries its own chart and its own mix decision. Ask your printer how it affects your particular order.

What about children's sizes?
Kids' garments run on separate size systems by age or height. Same principles apply: chart, don't guess, and for known groups (a junior team, a school event) collect actual sizes from parents.

What's next in the book?
Chapter 7 finishes Part 2 by looking beyond t-shirts entirely: hoodies, workwear, bags, hats and accessories, and what changes when you're sizing and choosing those.

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When to ask your printer

Sizing is the single topic where we most want you to ask before ordering. Bring your audience snapshot and your draft spread and say "does this look sensible for this crowd?" We see what sells and what comes back across hundreds of orders, and a two-minute sanity check now is far cheaper than a reprint later.

At The Inner Sanctum Group we help with product selection, artwork checking, mock-ups, print positions and full production: t-shirts, hoodies, workwear, bags, hats, posters and more.

Website: theinnersanctumgroup.co.uk | Email: printing@theinnersanctumgroup.co.uk | Tel: 07572 910764