Sizing a team without measuring everyone
Nobody wants to walk round a site with a tape measure, and asking grown adults their chest size over WhatsApp goes down about as well as you would expect. There is a better way, and it costs less than getting it wrong.
1 in 5
Orders where a size is wrong
£0
Cost of asking first
No returns
Once your logo is on it
★★★★★
Kitting out UK teams since 2019
Over 20,000 businesses, from one-man firms to multi-site contractors. Priced per head with the logo included, and nothing is made until you have approved a proof.
Free
UK delivery
7–10 days
Turnaround
No min.
Order size
Why this matters more than it sounds
An unbranded polo in the wrong size is an inconvenience. A polo with your logo stitched on the chest in the wrong size is a loss — personalised garments cannot be returned, because your logo makes them worthless to anybody else. That is not a policy we invented to be difficult; it is true of every decorator in the country.
So sizing is the one part of a workwear order where five minutes of effort up front is worth more than anything else you can do. Get the garment wrong and you can live with it. Get the size wrong and somebody works in something they hate, or you buy it twice.
The three ways to do it, best first
Order a size set
Plain, undecorated garments in a range of sizes, sent to you so the team can actually try them on. Ten minutes in the van at the end of a shift and you have a list. This is the only method that is not a guess, and it is why we offer it.
Best for: any team over about six people, or any team you have not kitted out before.
Request a size set →Ask, but ask properly
Not "what size are you?" — people answer with what they wore in 2015. Ask instead: "what size is the t-shirt you are wearing right now, and is it tight, right, or baggy?" You will get a usable answer because it is a question about an object, not about them.
Best for: small teams, or topping up an order where you already know most sizes.
Use a distribution
When you genuinely cannot ask — new starters, agency staff, a rush job — order to a spread rather than a guess. It will not be perfect, but it beats ten mediums.
Best for: buffer stock and anyone whose name you do not know yet.
A distribution that actually works
If you have to order blind, this is roughly how a mixed UK trade team falls out. It is a starting point to adjust, not a law — a scaffolding gang and a care home will not look the same.
| Size | Share of a team of 10 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | 1 | Order at least one. Skipping it is the most common mistake. |
| M | 2 | Under-ordered on site teams, over-ordered everywhere else. |
| L | 3 | The single most common size in UK workwear. |
| XL | 2 | Runs close behind L on manual trades. |
| 2XL | 1 | Always order one. Somebody needs it and nobody volunteers. |
| 3XL+ | 1 | Order to a named person rather than speculatively. |
Adjust up a size across the board for anything worn over a fleece or a mid-layer, and for hi-vis, which is generally worn over other clothing rather than against the skin.
The rules that save the most orders
Between sizes? Go up
Workwear is worn over other layers and washed hard. Nobody ever complained a work polo was slightly roomy; plenty have complained they cannot reach above their head in it.
Women's fits are not men's sizes
A women's 14 is not a men's M. Where a garment comes in a women's cut, order it — the difference in how it sits is obvious, and it is the single thing most often got wrong on mixed teams.
Check the brand, not the letter
An L in one brand is not an L in another. Every product page carries that brand's own measurements. If you are switching brand mid-reorder, re-check.
Trousers need a leg length
Waist alone is half the answer. Short, regular and long exist for a reason, and hemming a work trouser after the fact is nobody's favourite evening.
Order a spare in the common sizes
One extra L and one extra XL costs less than a second delivery when somebody starts in March.
Names on garments are permanent
If you embroider a first name, that garment cannot be handed to the next starter. Worth deciding before the order, not after.
Common questions
Can I send garments back if the size is wrong?+
Not once your logo is on them — personalised goods are non-returnable, here and everywhere else. That is exactly why a size set exists, and why we would rather you spent £0 checking than got it wrong.
What is a size set?+
Plain, undecorated garments in a spread of sizes, sent out so your team can try them on before you commit. They answer 'what size is everybody?'. If your question is instead 'is the quality and the logo right?', the £29.99 sample pack is the one you want.
Do you do women's fits?+
On most of the range, yes. Where a women's cut exists it is listed on the product page. On mixed teams it is worth ordering rather than sizing everyone from the men's chart.
Somebody is between sizes — which way?+
Up. Workwear goes over other layers, shrinks slightly on a hot wash, and needs to let people reach and bend. Sizing down is how a garment ends up unworn.
Can I order different sizes within one bundle?+
Yes, and nearly everybody does. Set the sizes per person at checkout; the per-head price does not change with size up to 4XL.
What if I get a size wrong anyway?+
Ring us before you order the replacement. We cannot take the decorated garment back, but we can often get one garment made and posted quickly rather than waiting for a full run.
Do sizes run the same across brands?+
No, and this catches people out on reorders. Each product page carries that brand's own measurements — check them if you are changing brand.
Not sure about sizes? Do this first.
A size set costs a fraction of getting a team order wrong, and personalised garments cannot come back. Ten minutes with the team beats a guess every time.
Kitting out a team you have not measured?
Send us the headcount and we will tell you what a sensible size spread looks like for your trade before you order a thing.