When to Order Custom Company Apparel for Holiday Delivery
The Short Answer
Today is September 9. The custom clock has not forced anything yet. October 17 is the first date that matters. That is the day full custom apparel has to start if you want it in hand by December 1.
If the December 1 date is soft and you can live with December 12, you have until October 28. If you only need it before the office closes on December 19, you have until November 4. Logo embroidery on stock PILLAR polos runs on a much shorter clock, about 14 days, and does not force a decision until the middle of November.
Two products, two clocks
Corporate apparel is not one lead time. It is two, and confusing them is how a program lands in January.
Logo embroidery on stock PILLAR polos runs about 14 days. That covers artwork approval, digitizing, embroidery and packing. The shirt already exists. You are adding a mark to it. Whenever the target date is inside six weeks, this is the answer.
Full custom, built from the fabric up, runs about 45 days door to door. Custom fabric, print, trim, private label, finishing and freight. Production alone is 30 to 35 days. Artwork rounds sit in front of production, and that is the part you control. Sea freight is standard and air freight is available. Fabric can be ordered ahead of final artwork approval to pull time off the front of the schedule.
Both numbers below assume artwork is ready and carry no holiday freight buffer of their own. Treat them as estimates, then decide how much cushion your own calendar needs.
The dates
| In Hand By | Full Custom, Start By | Embroidered, Order By |
|---|---|---|
| December 1 | October 17 | November 17 |
| December 12 | October 28 | November 28 |
| December 19 | November 4 | December 5 |
Estimates. Both lead times assume artwork is approved and ready, and neither includes a holiday freight buffer.
Pick your row by the date the boxes have to be open, not the date of the party. Client gifts that ship out again need the earlier row. A December 19 kickoff hand out can live on the last one.
The shirt has to survive past the event
Most branded apparel budgets get spent on something worn once. The logo is fine. The shirt is not. It is stiff, it holds sweat, the collar folds over by the second wear and the whole thing reads as a giveaway rather than a gift.
A polo that performs is a different object. Four way stretch means it moves with a shoulder instead of pulling against it. Sweat wicking means it looks the same at hour six of a conference as it did at hour one. A firm collar means it still stands up after a wash cycle. Those are the properties that decide whether your logo is on someone's back in March or in a donation bag by January.
Start with the shirt. The mark comes second.
The Solid
David Polo, Navy
$76.00
Navy is the safe corporate answer that is not boring. It reads clean under a jacket, it takes tonal and metallic marks well, and it does not fight a company color the way a bright ground does.
84% nylon, 16% spandex. Four way stretch, sweat wicking, classic athletic fit, firm collar, U cut hem, pre shrunk.
Gifts people keep versus shirts people wear once
Decide which one you are buying before you decide what to order. They are not the same purchase.
An event shirt has a job for one day. Volume matters, the mark should be visible from across a room, and nobody expects it to enter the rotation afterward. A gift is the opposite. It gets unwrapped in front of a spouse, it gets tried on, and it either gets worn or it does not. Subtle marks win here. A small tonal chest crest, a sleeve hit, a private label neck tag instead of a billboard across the chest.
White is the harder gift and the better one. It is what a man reaches for when he wants to look put together, and it is the color most people will not buy for themselves in a technical fabric because they assume it will not hold up. Give it as the gift and you have solved a problem they did not know they had. Our athleisure crossover guide covers why the same shirt has to clear a golf course and a gym before it clears an office.
The Gift
David Polo, White
$76.00
The year end gift that gets worn in April. Tonal white on white embroidery keeps it a shirt rather than a uniform, and a private label neck tag puts the company name where only the wearer sees it.
84% nylon, 16% spandex. Four way stretch, sweat wicking, classic athletic fit, firm collar, U cut hem, pre shrunk.
The shirt outlives the party. Buy for the second wearing, not the first.
Print or solid for a one day event
Solid is correct for anything that has to look like company property. Client gifts, sales teams, anything worn next to a name badge.
Print is correct when the event is the point. A December party, a golf outing, a retreat, a hospitality tent. A pattern reads as intentional at a distance and it photographs well, which matters more than most people admit when the photos end up on a company page for the next twelve months. Put the mark small on a print. Chest crest or sleeve. The fabric is already doing the talking.
If you want the pattern to be yours rather than ours, that is the full custom path. All over print from an original repeat is one of the reasons the 45 day clock exists. Read the longer breakdown in our guide to branded company apparel, or browse the full polo lineup to see what stock looks like before you commit to custom.
The Event Shirt
Steven Polo, Floral
$76.00
The event shirt. A print carries a party or an outing without needing a large logo to do the work, and the textured hand keeps it from reading like a costume.
88% polyester, 12% spandex. Textured feel, four way stretch, sweat wicking, classic athletic fit, U cut hem, pre shrunk.
What the 45 days actually buys
Full custom is not a bigger logo. It is a garment that did not exist before you asked for it.
- Custom fabric woven or knit to spec and dyed to an exact color.
- All over print developed from original repeat patterns.
- Embroidery including chest crests, sleeve hits, chenille and 3D puff.
- Applied graphics in reflective, tonal and metallic heat transfer.
- Private label neck tags, trim and detail work.
- Headwear to match the program.
- Packaging with branded insert cards and name level kitting.
Name level kitting is the quiet one. Every box arrives labeled with a person's name and their size already inside. Nobody stands at a folding table sorting shirts the morning of the party. That is worth planning around, and it is a reason to start earlier rather than later.
If your date is already tight
Three levers, in the order we would pull them.
First, move the artwork. Artwork rounds sit in front of production and they are the part you control. Send final files with the color values already decided and you take days off the schedule before anything is cut.
Second, order fabric ahead of final artwork approval. The fabric and the print do not have to be locked at the same moment, and starting the fabric early pulls time off the front of the build.
Third, switch products. Logo embroidery on stock PILLAR polos runs about 14 days. If the calendar has already eaten the custom window, this is not a downgrade. It is the correct product for the date you have.
Air freight is available on full custom when the back end is the problem rather than the front.
Questions we get every fall
When do we need to order company polos to have them by the holidays
For full custom built from the fabric up, start by October 17 for December 1, October 28 for December 12, and November 4 for December 19. For logo embroidery on stock PILLAR polos, order by November 17, November 28 and December 5 for those same dates. These are estimates that assume artwork is ready and include no holiday freight buffer.
How long does custom apparel take from start to finish
About 45 days door to door for full custom. That covers custom fabric, print, trim, private label, finishing and freight. Production alone is 30 to 35 days, and artwork rounds sit in front of production. Sea freight is standard and air freight is available.
What is the fastest we can get branded polos
Logo embroidery on stock PILLAR polos, about 14 days. That covers artwork approval, digitizing, embroidery and packing. Whenever the date is inside six weeks, this is the answer.
Our date is already tight, what are our options
Send final artwork with colors decided, because artwork rounds are the part you control. Fabric can be ordered ahead of final artwork approval to pull time off the front. Air freight is available on full custom. If the custom window has closed, embroidery on stock polos at about 14 days is the correct product for the date you have.
How do we size a group order when we do not know everyone's size
Send us the headcount and we will build the size curve with you. Sizes run Small through XXXL on the polos featured here, and packaging with branded insert cards and name level kitting means each box can arrive labeled with a person's name and their size already inside.
Can we do a small test order before a full program
Yes. Most programs start with embroidery on stock PILLAR polos so you can see the mark, the fabric and the fit on real people before committing to custom fabric and a 45 day build. Tell us the event, the headcount and the date and we will tell you which path fits.
Tell us the event, the headcount and the date
Those three things decide everything else. Send them over and we will tell you which lead time you are on, what is still possible for your date, and what the program should look like.
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