These Best-Selling T-shirts will Fly off the Shelves!

Posted on July 23, 2014 by mark

Often times we’re asked what our top selling t-shirts are. Baseball Raglans top the list, season after season.

Here at Blankstyle, it’s an undeniable truth that our baseball raglans are the cat’s meow. From infant and toddler sizes to adult, heathered variations, full color blocked versions and even cropped styles, this tee sells and sells and sells! We sell thousands of these shirts year after year to our big and small business customers, and they all just can’t get enough.

A raglan sleeve does not specifically refer to the 3/4-sleeved two-toned baseball tee that we know and love. A raglan sleeve is actually one that begins at the neck, rather than at the edge of the shoulder. There are many variations of the raglan sleeve, but the two-toned ‘baseball-style’ version, often with 3/4 sleeves, might be the best recognized. The 3/4 sleeve length is an ideal choice for many, giving more coverage than a regular tee shirt, but long sleeves and even cap sleeves now all come in this style for those who plan to workout, lounge, go to work or even play baseball in style.

After a few seasons gaining momentum, the baseball raglan has now completely and utterly exploded in popularity–with many different brands now trying their hand at the style. The results are great, with more diversity and more options to choose from than ever. Whether you’re looking for something to spice up your clothing line, printing for a sports team, dressing up your employees, or just find a comfortable, good-looking shirt something to value, we’ve got a huge selection here.

What better place to start than with American Apparel—who has 3/4-sleeve raglans to fit the entire family. The BB453 is American Apparel’s Unisex Poly-Cotton 3/4 Sleeve Raglan Shirt. It boasts perhaps the broadest range of two-toned color combination shirts on the market. American Apparel even named the BB453 its February Staff Pick. Since American Apparel’s 50% polyester 50% cotton blend is prepared using combed cotton, you can expect these shirts to be very soft and very lightweight. The BB453 is also available in Youth Sizes (BB253) as featured in Emma Magazine’s summer issue, Kids Sizes (BB153), and even infant sizes (BB053)!

Bella/Canvas is also making waves in the baseball raglan pool. The 3200 Unisex 3/4-Sleeve Blended Baseball Tee is available as the standard poly-cotton blend; however, Bella/Canvas goes one step further with their baseball tees. The C3200 is available in the tri-blend variety, as well! Rather than adhering to a strictly color-block style (two solid colors-poly/cotton), Canvas offers several color combinations based on a tri-blend heather grey body with solid sleeves. Besides the standard 3/4-sleeve baseball raglan, Bella also offers the 2000—a 100% baby-ribbed cotton version for the ladies.

If you are looking for a more traditional baseball raglan, you may want to direct your attention to the Augusta Sportswear 420 Adult Baseball Jersey and the Augusta Sportswear 421 Youth Baseball Jersey. These styles are ideal for sports teams and are available in several standard color combinations. They feature a fishtail long bottom for a very relaxed fit. Similar to the Augusta Sportswear model is the Sport-Tek Colorblock Raglan Jersey (T200). Rather than a 50% polyester/50% cotton blend, the T200 is 100% ring-spun cotton. The Anvil 2184 Adult Cotton Baseball Tee is made with Anvil 100% heavyweight cotton and is the most durable of the ¾-sleeve raglan group.

The Alternative Apparel AA2089 Men’s Baseball T-shirt takes an ordinary baseball raglan and shatters the mold. The AA2089 offers exciting color-ways, such as the patriotic ‘Stars’ (a tri-blend white body with a red collar, blue arms, and white stars from the shoulder to the sleeve cuffs), ‘Bandana’ (tri-blend heather grey with red paisley sleeves), and ‘Camo’ (tri-blend brown body with an orange collar and camo sleeves). Besides these unique color combinations, the AA2089 is also available in more traditional combinations of white body and colored sleeves. Alternative Apparel also offers the AA1989 ¾-Sleeve Raglan Henley. Complete with the standard Henley neck buttons, the AA1989 is another example of Alternative Apparel being…well…alternative.

Anvil’s 2184 ¾-Sleeve Raglan Tee revisits the traditional baseball raglan look with a price point ideal for the recreational softball team. The Anvil 2184 boasts a 100% cotton heavy weight make up. at 6.1oz this garment is tough enough to steal home in.

Some other ¾-sleeve baseball raglans include the pigment-dyed colors of the Chouinard 7066, the recognizable Champion T137, the 100% moisture-management-fabric Badger 4133 (Youth: 2133), and the LA T 6930 Vintage Baseball Tee (Youth 6130). Don’t forget to check out some of our other Champion apparel and clothing options.

As you can see, 3/4-Sleeve Baseball Raglans have grown up over the years. While traditional styles still exist, the genre has become one chock full of interesting options. When considering your new product line, perhaps you may want to give the baseball raglan a second glance. What was once one particular style has evolved into an entire category of styles. After all, if you can’t decide on short sleeves or long sleeves this summer, there’s always a compromise—the 3/4 sleeve baseball raglan.

Alternative Apparel Brand Bio

Posted on May 29, 2014 by mark

After getting fired from job working for pizza restaurant, Greg Alterman racked his brain to think of a way to make money. He was still in college, so he needed something that wouldn’t take too much time away from studies. He had an idea for an alternative version of the smiley face T-shirt–one with long hair, sunglasses, peace signs. Greg printed 72 of these shirts and sold all of them in one day. His shirt business was an instant success. He printed more t-shirts and began selling them around campus. After a minor fine or two, Greg quickly figured out the business and got the necessary license to begin producing a line of University of Florida products. By the time he graduated from college, he had a full-fledged business with eight employees.

Post-college, Greg moved home to Atlanta and began manufacturing t-shirts for corporations using Ha nes or Fruit of the Loom T-shirts. Unfortunately, Greg wished he could find a product with a fit similar to the thin, worn out ’70s shirts that filled his closet. When he couldn’t find those blanks on the market, he started manufacturing his own. He initially went to China, and through trial and error, found a factory that could make the kind of tee he was looking for. By the time, the 1996 Olympics came to Atlanta, Alterman was selling printed T-shirts and hats of his own designs. Other printers soon wanted in on his vintage-inspired t-shirts, and suddenly a new business opportunity presented its self. In 1996, Greg founded Alternative Apparel as a distribution company that would stock only high quality blank T-shirts.

It was a slow start–Alterman says that on some days, the phone wouldn’t even ring. But by continuing to increase its offerings with thermals, hoodies, tank tops and even women’s dress styles, Alternative’s costumer base grew from simply selling blanks to embellishers, to catching the eye of retailers who wanted to stock their blanks for retail sale. Now, they even manufacture a popular blank hat line including styles such as the baseball cap, Fidel Cap and beanie.

Today, Alternative’s design studio and flagship stores are in Los Angeles, California while the corporate headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. While the company continues to expanding into the retail market, they still offer that perfectly fitted blank T-shirt for custom printi 3110_fl ng. In addition to this, they have many trendy variations that demonstrate that the Alternative brand will continue to push the fashion boundaries of the blank T-shirt industry–including the Burnout Baseball T, the Marathon Pullover, and the Destroyed-T.

In 2007, the company launched an eco-friendly lined called Alternative Earth. This line has the same vintage softness and fit that Alternative is known for but is manufactured using organic cotton, recycled polymers and low-impact dyes and softeners. A portion of the sales are even donated to a variety of environmental organizations. Some of the popular shirts include the EConscious heathered tees (styles EC3800 and EC1080) which are made from 60% organic cotton, and the AA1932 Boss V-neck tees made with low-impact dyes

Blankstyle.com sells a wide selection of Alternative Apparel and has the best price on the web! Going the extra mile to provide the highest quality in production and design for premium blank t-shirts is what has set Alternative Apparel apart from the rest!

L.A.T An Industry Innovator

Posted on May 14, 2014 by mark

LAT Sportswear has been in the blank apparel business for over thirty years. During this time the company has gone from being the innovator and pioneer of Rabbit Skins the original imprintable infant clothing line, to cutting edge with their recently released trendy GREY line for Youth and Men.

The line showcases a light weight fashionable Tee, and overall has a fashion forward feel. Trending towards a youthful hip market has been popular as of late in the blank apparel business. LAT has done an excellent job of creating garments inline with the demands of todays fashion conscious consumer while keeping prices inline with the wholesale markets demands.

Comparable in fit and feel to both extremely popular industry favorites, the TULTEX 0202 and the Canvas 3001, the LAT 6901 boasts a light weight fit and feel. At only 4.5oz this 100% combed ringspun cotton T shirt is very soft to the touch with a comfortable tailored fit. With over twenty five colors to choose from, the 6901 is a great choice for any line. While this Jersey T could easily stand on its own it does not have to! LAT has counter parts to ensure your brand has a consistent finished look.

The 6901 pairs seamlessly with other garments in the line allowing you to screenprint your own small line with a big feel. From youth to infant, and from junior to Lady’s and back, the entire LAT line incorporates many of the same core colors allowing you to imprint your design on a wide range of garments regardless of your run size. Utilizing LAT, you can outfit almost any group with the same colors and fabric.

Innovation does not stop with fit feel and color consistency throughout the LAT line. In addition L.A.T has created one of the first full lines of sublimation friendly t-shirts in SubliVie. Sublimation is a process in which ink is super-heated. The super-heated ink turns into a gas which adheres to polyester. This process allows for extremely vibrant all over prints. Sublimation has been traditionally used in the creation of uniforms, think cycling Jerseys similar to those Lance Armstrong wore in competition. The creation of SubliVie is truly innovative because of its fit and feel. While the line incorporates 100% polyester garments necessary for sublimation, the feel unlike most polyester garments is almost cotton to the touch allowing for vibrant all over T-shirt printing as seen on the t-shirt to the left designed and sold by Thredya.

L.A.T sportswear is tirelessly committed to providing customers with innovative products for innovative needs at affordable prices.

This Week’s Product Spotlight: Canvas 3001 vs. American Apparel 2001

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Erica

As most of you know, the American Apparel 2001 Fine Jersey T-Shirt is one of the most highly-ranked, best-selling blanks out there today. Its tubular design and unmatched array of color options (51 to be exact) make it a top choice for both screen printers and their customers alike. This 100% ring spun combed cotton, unisex tee is also made in the U.S. (as all American Apparel garments are), which has been an increasingly important selling point here in the states. The American Apparel name practically sells itself, globally; its controversial advertisements and patriotic mantra are recognized everywhere today, and t-shirt enthusiasts can’t seem to get enough. However, many T-shirt connoisseurs have recently discovered a 2001 alternative—the Canvas 3001 Greenwich T-shirt.

The 4.2 oz Canvas 3001 is a unisex tee available in 35 colors (including 3 new heathered options) and 8 sizes (XS-4XL). Aside from its larger run of size options, Bella+Canvas prides itself on always using the finest combed and ring-spun cotton fabric to ensure a smooth knit consistency, and it shows in this t-shirt. The 3001 also has contoured side-seems and a double stitch sleeve and bottom hem. Although the 3001 is not advertised as made in the U.S., Canvas does offer a different version (3001U), which is manufactured here.

I can’t really say which T-shirt is best, because it’s more about finding which shirt is best for you and/or for your clients. Both shirts are a fashion-fit, ideal for screen printing, and are tailored for both men and women. The key points to keep in mind when deciding between them are as follows:

The 2001 does not have side seems, and the 3001 does.
The 3001 is available in sizes XS-4XL, and the 2001 sizes stop at 3XL.
The 2001 has a greater color selection, including 2 stripe patterns.
The 3001 prices at roughly 20% less than the 2001 for those on a tighter budget.

With that said, happy shopping!

Trends: How to Wear Camo

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Amy Azzarito

It’s no secret that we’re pretty huge fans of the T-shirt here at Blankstyle, but we know out there in the real world some folks might wonder if the T-shirt can actually be the centerpiece of a work appropriate or even a date night outfit. We decided to answer that question with fall favorite – the camouflage T-shirt. The camouflage trend is everywhere these days and you can’t flip through a magazine without photos of celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Rihanna to Julianne Moore sporting the trend. So the big question is: How to wear it?

Camouflage has a decidedly masculine look to it, so you’ll want to balance it out with more feminine pieces, so think about pairing something like this blank camouflage T-shirt with lace, sequins, gold jewelry or high heels. And don’t forget the makeup. Go for an ultra girly look with bright red lipstick.

Here are three looks that are all centered around this Blankstyle camouflage t-shirt.

Look 1
When sizing your shirt, you want to think about the entire look. Since the base of Look 1, is a stretch pant, you can get away with a baggier T-shirt. But don’t go too big. You don’t want your shirt to look like a dress, but a looser fit is fine.
1. camo T-shirt | 2. moto jacket | 3. screw cuff | 4. stretch pants with leather detailing | 5. red lipstick | 6. earrings | 7. booties

Look 2
When sizing your shirt for this look, you can go for either a looser fit or a tighter fit, depending on your preference. Although the skirt is fitted, the longer length and chunky heel of the shoes keeps it from looking too risqué.

Look 3
The key to this look is sizing your shirt down a size. You need a fitted T-shirt so that the baggier track pants (another fall trend!) don’t end up looking sloppy.

Tips and Techniques to Reverse Tie Dye T Shirts and More!

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Sheryl Perkins

In a past blog post I wrote a blog about Tie Dye, and recently I discovered a technique for decorating shirts that is refereed to as reverse tie dye. Now I do own clothing items that are reverse tie dyed but I never recognized as this technique nor how it was created. So after discovering this I decided I must write a blog post to share my discovery with the world!

What is Reverse Tie Dye?

When you tie dye you add color to create design, so in the reverse we are technically removing color to create an interesting pattern and design. In order to do this you use bleach of the not color safe variety. You can use this technique on many different things, from t shirts and socks to sheets and pillow cases.

What You Need

-The first thing you need is something to reverse tie dye. An item made of cotton would work best, and it also needs to be dark in color to get the full effect.

-You’ll also need bleach, at most a few cups depending on the technique you choose and the size of your selected item.

-Since bleach is involved I would also suggest using gloves, and perhaps wearing a poncho or ratty apron to make sure no bleach splashes on your clothes. You should probably also wear ratty clothing…just in case.

-Depending on the technique you choose you will need either a spray bottle or bucket to use in a bleach safe area.

-The last thing you’ll need is some rubber bands to shape the item before bleaching, just like in tie dye!

Techniques

While research I came across two different techniques you can use to apply the bleach. But before using bleach everyone has the same basic idea for set-up, with a few variations of course. Just like with normal tie dye you need to roll, fold, and twist the item, or items, into a desired or interesting shape using the rubber bands before applying the bleach. Just like with tie dye the shape you take and where and how you apply the bleach will create and affect the design that is created.

After rubber banding the item(s) into a shape, it’s time to apply the bleach! The first technique I saw was using a spay bottle to spray the bleach, or a bleach water mixture, onto what you are reverse tie dying. Just be sure to mark it or clean out the spray bottle throughly so you don’t accidentally spray bleach somewhere you’d rather not spray it. The other technique is taking a part of the item, not the whole thing and dipping it in some bleach. This technique happens fast and as soon as there is a color you like, immediately transfer to a tub of water and wash the bleach out! No matter which technique you choose be sure to thoroughly rinse the item to get all of the bleach out. If you throw it in the washer, be sure to wash it by itself to avoid bleaching something else.

I’ve seen posts that suggest using vinegar with the item in the wash as a way to stop the bleaching process, but other say bleach and vinegar should not be mixed as it creates a toxic reaction. So if you use vinegar be sure ALL of the bleach is out or skip this step entirely.

For some more information on reverse tie dye check out these pages:

Quick Reverse Tie-Dye

DIY Bleach Tie Dye

How To: Reverse Tie Dye

Until next time!

Introducing: DELTA APPAREL

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Loi

About Delta Apparel

Established in 1903, Delta Apparel is a top quality competitor in creating blank t-shirts for normal wear and screen printing. Specializing in 100% cotton fabrics, Delta features an extensive color palette for youth and adults. Apart of their commitment to global sustainability, they also offer products that are made from recycled polyester.

We here at Blankstyle, are proud to introduce Delta Apparel into our family of products because of their great fabrics, stylish design, and dedication to quality.

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