When a shirt is more than just a shirt...

A lot of people underestimate the ability for clothing to create connections. However, there are plenty of times when a shirt means something to both the wearer and the person who sees it — think of a popular band shirt bringing people together, or a team's shirt announcing the wearer's love for a sport (or when you see a coworker wearing something for the hit musical Hamilton and think to yourself, "Yeah, this person is awesome," and spend some time going over your favorite songs from the show, only to learn they might not value "The Room Where It Happens" as much as you do).

In short, shirts can bring people together. And that's not even talking about custom tees.

The Power of Custom Shirts

When it comes to creating connections or delivering a message, perhaps nothing works quite like custom apparel. There's something magical in being able to put your design on a shirt, especially when you choose just anything to go on it.

Celebrating somebody's sweet 16? You can buy a shirt for that. Their sweet 70? You can also buy a shirt for that.

Is your extended family getting together for a huge family reunion? You can buy a shirt for that. (Or custom aprons, if you're having a cookout — and remember, buying a whole bunch (at least one for each of your family's chefs) will help everybody remember the event for years to come.)

Trying to promote a small business or charity? Shirt.

Work uniform? Definitely a shirt — possibly a printed or embroidered polo. Unless your team members work outdoors, then maybe some custom workwear like Carhartt.

In short, a custom shirt is great for lots of things. Group shirts can create a sense of comradery (after all, you're all wearing the same thing), uniforms can provide identity, other shirts can announce big events, and some shirts just look really cool (and those can be great if you ever want to start a t-shirt line).

Logo Shirts are Part of Our Culture

Have a favorite band? You might own a shirt with their logo. Do you love a sports team? Not only might you have a team logo shirt, you could even have a team jersey.

As social creatures, humans crave connections -- particularly to the stuff we love. Sometimes that's movie logo shirts (like the three Jurassic Park shirts I own -- including the Funko variant, which I totally recommend), sometimes that's tv show logos, sometimes it's comic logos (like, say, ALL of the various Batman logo shirts I've picked up over the years), or just about anything else.

The cool thing about a lot of logo shirts is that people -- especially fans -- will often pay for them, meaning you're not just getting free advertising, but it's a revenue stream, too. Of course, this can depend on what the logo represents. Anything to do with entertainment tends to be popular. Certain kinds of businesses like gyms, spas, and bars have shirts people might pay for. And that's certainly the case for sports, too! Anything else might vary, but even if you're giving shirts away, it's good exposure. And people love cool-looking logos, buying things even when they don't know what they represent (which is how certain pro wrestling tees have been sold).

So, if you have a cool logo, maybe it's time to create a logo shirt. Especially since even if you're the only one wearing one, people will still see your brand.

Customize Shirts for Less

Need custom shirts? You can save with Bolt Printing — we have some of the lowest prices around.

Need custom clothing in a hurry? We offer next-day turnaround on custom t-shirts (up to 500 prints on most styles) and a two-day turnaround on other kinds of clothing (including embroidered polos; up to 100 items) when you select a paid shipping option during checkout.

No hurry on your order? Save by choosing free shipping. You'll still have your order pretty quick.

Need advice on how to customize shirts? Check out our complete guide or visit our blog (which also discusses custom hats, beanies, hoodies, and more).

(Note: Parts of this article was previously posted on our Livejournal.)