Good, Better, Best: Apparel Picks
A comprehensive list of our favorite garments to wear & print.
Unsure on where to start on selecting a garment for your next project? No problem, you're in the right place!
With 15+ years of apparel experience, we laid out all of our favorite tees, long sleeves, crewnecks, hoodies, headwear, and tote bags. Sorted by price, weight, material, and fit.
Key things to know:
- Main differences in cuts for tees or other styles are "slim fit"vs "boxy fit". You'll also hear "lightweight" vs "heavyweight" in describing thickness or weight of fabric.
- There are also fabric treatmentsor blends, where fabric is pigment dyed(a vintage, washed feel) or fabric blends are heathered CVC (poly/cotton) or triblend (poly/cotton/rayon), which are often applied to lighter fabrics and provide a texture and ultra soft feel. (our guide does not dive into blended tees).
Want more? Explore our distributor catalogs to see all of our offerings:
Catalog 1 | Catolog 2 | Catalog 3
These catalog links show a variety of items, brands, and styles that we can source. If there's something specific that you find, let us know so we can check pricing and availability.
If you're interested in promotional products such as printed drinkware, lanyards, writing instruments, tech or office items, explore our Promo Catalog.
We've been in the promo and sourcing business for 15+ years. If there's an idea for a product, let us know so we can find you a solution for your branded product.
HDPC's Quick Picks
Our Good, Better, Best Ordering Guide will give you a comprehensive look at the most popular offerings our customers love. Cutting down on how many times we repeat ourselves helps us, and helps you, too!
We can't count how many times we've written in an email or explained over the phone how the 2000 Gildan Ultra Cotton Tee is a great budget, boxy style tee? ... or if you're interested in something a little more elevated that has a more contoured fit, you can step up to the super soft and light weight 3001 Bella+Canvas Tee? ... or if you're wanting to stay with a boxy/basic fit, but want something better than your budget option, how about the #1 go-to favorite, the 1717 Comfort Color Pigment Dyed Tee? We use this blank for most of our Island View Outfitters retail tees because the pigment wash effect gives it a vintage look and feel.
In case you're looking for something more simple, we've pulled our quick picks from our Ordering Guide just in case you wanted to keep things even more simple than what you'll see in our catalog.
Quick Picks: Short Sleeve Tees
We get it, there's just too many to choose from. You may not me a shirt pro, you may not have the time, or you just want to leave it up to the professionals.
These are our top three tees we sell. We'll explain why:
2000 Gildan Ultra Cotton Tee
The basic, boxy, 6.0 oz cotton tee. The most well known tee, we're sure you have had one before. Solid if you're on a budget.
Companions
2000B Youth Tee
2000L Ladies Tee
Other Facts
- Port and Co, Hanes, Jerzees have mirror styles to the Gildan.
3001 Bella+Canvas Fashion Fit Tee
Bella+Canvas is the leading fashion-forward brand with a large range of styles. The 3001 is their most popular tee; super soft, slim fitting at a great price.
Companions
3001Y Youth Tee
6400 Ladies Relaxed Tee
Other Facts
- Mirror brands like Next Level, American Apparel
1717 Comfort Colors Pigment Dyed Tee
A pigment dyed, vintage looking tee, boxy, and softer after every wash. Our fave. Boxy fit, well accompanied with a vintage-type screen print.
Companions
9018 Youth Tee
Other Facts
Not a 'unisex' tee, but it's often worn oversized. There isn't a comparable women's cut.
Quick Picks: Crewnecks
The current trends for a selected crewneck lean towards oversized and relaxed. This is often referred to as a 'basic fit' and generally people liket to size up a size or two to really make it feel oversized.
Another way we try to explain it is these fits are similar to the sweatshirts you'd find at a thrift or vintage store... or a hand me down college crewneck from your parents or grandparents.
PC90 Port and Co Crewneck
The most basic crew, 9 oz, heavier weight. It may be a budget option, but it will use it over and over and is a great
Companions
PC90Y Youth Crewneck
Other Facts
- Lots of colors and complimentary styles (tees, hoodies). Great for schools, sports teams, etc. Gildan mirror.
S600 Champion Crewneck
Fits like a PC90, but is a little more elevated and has the Champion logo on the sleeve. Great options for a basic fitting crewneck.
Other Facts
- Stylishly worn oversized for ladies.
- Same colors available in hoodies.
IND3000C Ind. Heavyweight Crew
Retail grade crew, thick 10 oz soft fabric. We use this blank for our IVO crewnecks. Generous fit.
Other Facts
- Independent Trading is our most used premium sweatshirt brand. They offer a variety of styles and weights. This is just our favorite heavyweight. (there's more!)
-SS3000 for the midweight
-SS1000 for the lightweight
Quick Picks: Hoodies
As we've mentioned that the trends have been leaning towards standard fits or oversized fits, slim fitting sweatshirts (crewneck and hoodies) are less requested than they were years back. Most of Bella+Canvas's fleece collection are more of a fitted style, but they are still extremely soft and great quality.
Bella+Canvas does offer some standard fit styles, so it's still worth checking out.
PC90H Port and Co Hoodie
The most basic hoodie, 9 oz, heavier weight. A budget option that customers love and we print daily. T-shirt nerds like us have these in our closets.
Companions
PC90YH Youth Hoodie
Other Facts
- Lots of colors and complimentary styles (tees, crews). Great for schools, sports teams, etc. Gildan mirror.
S700 Champion Hoodie
Similar fit as the Port and Company (standard) the Champion brand is a little more elevated. Added Champion mark on the sleeve.
Other Facts
- Stylishly worn oversized for ladies.
- Same colors available in crewnecks.
IND4000 Ind. Heavyweight Hoodie
Retail grade crew, thick 10 oz soft fabric. We use this blank for our IVO hoodies. Generous fit, quality, and prints really well.
Other Facts
- Independent Trading is our most used premium sweatshirt brand. They offer a variety of styles and weights. This is just our favorite heavyweight. (there's more!)
-SS4500 for the midweight
-SS1000 for the lightweight
Long Sleeve Tees
You'll find similarities in our go-to long sleeves and short sleeves. Most tee brands have a matching long sleeve, so when you either need to mix and match or just pick a favorite long sleeve for your next order, check it out:
2400 Gildan Ultra Cotton Long Sleeve
The basic, boxy, 6.0 oz cotton long sleeve. The most well known tee, we're sure you have had one before. Solid if you're on a budget.
Companions
5400B Youth Heavy Cotton
Other Facts
- Port and Co, Hanes, Jerzees have mirror styles to the Gildan.
3501 Bella+Canvas Fashion Fit LS Tee
This has a comparable slimmer fit like their 3001 short sleeve counterpart. 4.3 oz, it's considered a lightweight tee.
Companion
3501Y Youth Long Sleeve
Other Facts
- Mirror brands like Next Level, American Apparel
6014 Comfort Colors Pigment Dyed LS Tee
A pigment dyed, vintage wash, boxy. Heavyweight 6.0 oz fabric. Our fave long sleeve.
Mirror Styles
GDH200 Hanes Comfortwash LS
PC099 Port and Co Pigment LS
Other Facts
- Mirror brands have different color offerings
- There are no youth options
Quick Picks: Popular Hats
World peace would be solved if there was only one hat to choose from. Until then, we can find the closest path to peace by defining the most standard requests people want:
6606 YP Classics Mesh Trucker
6 Panel, structured, low profile
Known as "the Classics", "Flexfit", "Yupoong"... this hat you'll see in a lot of retail, surf shops, skate shops, a lot of shops. Quality and a common go-to for us.
112 Richardson Trucker Cap
6 Panel, structured, low profile
The "Richardson 112" seems to be the most requested trucker hat nowadays. It's become a common household name, but often deals with out of stock issues.
VC300A Valucal Classic Dad Hat
6 Panel, relaxed, low profile
A 'good' version for a standard, relaxed, 6 panel dad hat. The term 'dad hat' was coined for this classic and relaxed look because, you know, every dad wears one.
6245CM YP Classics Dad Hat
6 Panel, structured, low profile
Known as "the Classics", "Flexfit", "Yupoong"... this hat you'll see in a lot of retail, surf shops, skate shops, a lot of shops. Quality and a common go-to for us.
CP84 Port & Co Washed Dad Hat
6 Panel, structured, low profile
The "Richardson 112" seems to be the most requested trucker hat nowadays. It's become a common household name, but often deals with out of stock issues.
6502 YP Classics 5 Panel Snapback
5 Panel, light structure, mid profile
Flat brim snapback with a mid crown. Often used in many skate/surf/retail environments. People like this distinct style and fit.
1114 AS Colour Surf Cap
5 Panel, unstructured, mid profile
Lightweight 100% recycled nylon. Mid profile, unstrucured snapback with a ton of color offerings. This is a top stylized hat trend.