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The start of the academic year is when the student union asks the question that comes back every year: “Are we doing class hoodies?” Everyone says yes. Then someone has to collect the sizes, choose the design, front the money and place the order. This guide is for that person: the one ordering forty, not one.
Sweatshirt, hoodie or t-shirt: which one for a class?
The choice depends mostly on when and how it will be worn.
- The hoodie ($50.00, Gildan 18500): the class classic, the one people keep for years after graduating. Ideal for winter, badly heated lecture halls and group photos.
- The crewneck sweatshirt ($45.00, Gildan 18000): a little cheaper, more understated, easier to wear under a jacket for an internship or an interview.
- The t-shirt ($23.00, Gildan 64000 Softstyle): the right choice for a freshers' weekend, a sports gala or an inter-school tournament, where everyone must be recognisable at a glance without blowing the budget.
All three come unisex from S to 2XL, in nine colours: white, black, heather grey, navy, burgundy, red, forest green, sand and pale pink. Pick the school's or the society's colour: that is what makes the class recognisable in a photo taken from a distance.
The design: a group photo, a logo, a year
On a class hoodie, three elements are enough: the name of the class or society, the year, and an image. The image can be the society's logo, a drawing by a student, or a real group photo.
If you start from a group photo, a few simple rules:
- Use the original, not the compressed version that went through a messaging app. Ask the person who took it for the file.
- Avoid dark party photos: on fabric, black areas fill in and faces disappear.
- A plain background (sky, light wall, lawn) works better than a busy setting.
- Try it on a dark and a light garment in the studio: a bright photo can lose all its contrast on white.
For file quality, our guide on photo resolution for printing explains in two minutes what works and what does not. For fabric specifically, see which photos work on a t-shirt.
Collecting sizes without spending the week on it
This is the step that drags out every group order. A method that works:
- One form (a group poll or a shared spreadsheet) with three columns: name, size, colour if you offer several.
- A firm deadline, one week at most. After that, the order goes without the latecomers.
- Payment before ordering, not after. That is the rule that saves the treasurer from chasing transfers until June.
- The size guide in the message: Gildan cuts are unisex and many students hesitate. Send our size guide straight away — real measurements in cm and inches.
What a whole class costs
Shipping is included in every price, even for a single item. And from ten items in the basket, an automatic quantity discount applies: −10% from 10 items, −15% from 25. No code to enter — it appears in the basket on its own. Sizes and colours can be mixed: ten sweatshirts in four different sizes count as ten.
A few worked examples:
- 20 crewneck sweatshirts: $810.00 instead of $900.00.
- 40 hoodies: $1,700.00 instead of $2,000.00.
- 40 t-shirts for the freshers' weekend: $782.00 instead of $920.00.
Mugs, tote bags, postcards and calendars also get the discount and count towards the threshold. All the details are on the page on personalised items in quantity.
When to order
Every piece is made to order at the production site closest to the delivery address; nothing is stocked. Allow 5 to 10 working days in the UK, Europe and the US, up to 15 elsewhere. Add the week for collecting sizes and a safety margin: for a gala or a freshers' weekend, launch the poll a month ahead.
Two useful points before confirming:
- The shop delivers to France, the EU, the UK, Switzerland and the United States. Have it delivered to a committee member's address or to the school.
- A personalised item is exempt from the standard European right of withdrawal: check the spelling of the class name and the year before paying. Any printing, manufacturing or transport defect, however, is replaced or refunded.
Where to start
Open the online studio, upload the logo or the group photo, place it on the personalised hoodie and look at it in two or three colours. Get the design approved by the committee, launch the size poll, and the class will have its hoodies before the first exams. For a sports club or a society, our article on custom t-shirts for a club completes this one.
