The Evolution of the Polo Shirt

The polo shirt has been one of the best selling garments in history and we thought we would give you a trip into the past to see how this short-sleeved, casual garment is a true wardrobe staple and why it works perfectly to any uniform.

Polo-shirts and its name are quite recent in their creation compared to other items in your wardrobe. Their story takes us back to the 19th Century in India when the British soldiers decided to watch a polo match. As the sport grew in popularity and the British Military became avid fans and players of the sport they found that the traditional Polo attire of the time was not up to the job and they decided to add buttons to the collars to stop them flapping all over the place while they were playing.

As the 19th Century drew to a close, a gentleman called John E Brooks (grandson of the founder of the Brooks Brothers company based in America) came over to Britain on a European buying trip. While he was there he decided to watch a polo match and noticed the button-down collars the players were wearing.

John was so impressed he took the idea back home to America and Brooks Brothers proceed to apply button-down collars to dress shirts.

This shirt was then introduced in 1896 and became the iconic Button-Down formal shirt. In turn, changing the face of menswear. The shirt is said to be the most imitated item in the whole of the fashion industry and Brooks Brothers still call their shirts the original polo-shirt.

The next evolution of this famous shirt took place on the Tennis court. A gentleman by the name of Rene Lacoste found his tennis attire was rather uncomfortable, it was made more for fashion and looks rather than sporty function. He proceeded to redesign the clothing to make it easier to move in and perform so, in turn, took inspiration from the Polo players.

Lacoste developed a new use for the polo-shirt ad also, in turn, created a new fabric. He designed a short-sleeved white, loose-knit pique cotton shirt with an unstarched, flat collar with a buttoned placket and a shirt-tail longer in the back than in the front.

The aspects that were changed from the original tennis polo-shirt garment to the new design are factors that make it a great all-round item to wear both for work and leisure.

• The soft collar could be loosened easily by unbuttoning the placket.
• The short, cuffed sleeves solved the tendency of long sleeves to roll down.
• The pique collar could be worn upturned to protect the neck from the sun.
• The “tennis tail” prevented the shirt from pulling out of the wearer’s trousers or shorts.
• The jersey knit pique cotton breathed and was more durable.

Other sportsmen took heed and then replaced their current sporting outfits and swapped over to the Lacoste Poloshirt, the polo-shirt then became its own identity and with the economic boom and more relaxed popular culture, the shirt began to move more into everyday wear.

The last step cemented its place in every wardrobe (when it comes to every occasion) was when Ralph Lauren wanted to give his new fashion line a name. He took great inspiration from the royals and the wealthy and the result was Polo.

Since then the polo-shirt has spread across all elements of society – from the everyday hardworking labourer to the smart outfits to be worn at black tie events across the globe.

Logos 4 Clothes have a huge range of Polo-shirts on offer. For more information please visit our website or call 01400 230 180 or email us at info@logos4clothes.com.

What is the best workwear for pub staff?

It is really important to strike a balance between clothes that look the part and workwear that helps get the job done!

When it comes to deciding on your staff’s workwear, comfort levels, cost and style are priorities likely to spring to mind first. You may also want to think about whether sustainability is a priority for you and consider that when looking at different suppliers.

For multi-site operators, a set uniform across sites can consolidate your pub brand in the eyes of customers, especially when it incorporates branded elements like logos.

However, a less formal workwear code may prove to be the more affordable way to go. Operators say it depends on your pub’s selling point and atmosphere as well as what is practical.

Individual style is what’s required!

Allowing staff members to show off their style can sometimes work better than everyone kitted out in the same clothes. This will give staff the individual freedom to be quirky and allow them to express themselves. It leads to a more carefree look and feels. Some pubs encourage smart-casual but something that at the end of the day is still practical and more to the point comfortable to wear for many hours working behind a busy bar.

Some say don’t have too many hard and fast rules and embrace the different fashions that staff members can wear. Some places even encourage staff to wear more ‘party style’ clothing on Friday and Saturday nights and go with the more upbeat feeling of the evening.

Outfits must be presentable and shoes must be comfortable but also sensible too. Tatty and dirty clothes simply won’t cut it!

Open toe shoes and sandals can also pose a problem due to risk of cuts (because of glasses and bottles etc) or bruising and as you would expect high heels are just too dangerous to wear in a working environment where you are constantly on your feet.

Create the perfect atmosphere

At the end of the day, you need to create a welcoming atmosphere at your pub and what your staff wear can also play a part with this. Jeans are great to show your not too fussy, with maybe an apron that holds what you need i.e. a pen and pad. Wearing white shirts shows you are serious about your work and also clean and smart too. Some staff could wear a brewery shirt (if it’s going to be a long customer-facing day), the shirt would match the beers they have on sale that day for example.

If for example your pub is based in the highlands of Scotland, for example, you might like your staff to wear tartan pockets on their aprons because you are proud to be Scottish and go with the theme of the pub!

Be careful with the legislation!

Be careful! Some pubs have been faced with big fines from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after docking staff’s wages to cover the expense of uniform costs when this results in their pay being lower than the minimum wage.

Employers have a legal duty to issue their staff with protective clothing if needed and they cannot be charged for their uniforms if the result is that they receive less than minimum wage.

The dress codes can fall under (what is classed as a uniform) so please make sure that your staff aren’t charged or expected to pay for their workwear!

Changes in the seasons

As businesses look to planning summer offers and promotions, many will be hoping for a return of the scorching temperatures of last year. However, it is also important to consider if any seasonal changes needed to be made to uniforms or dress codes updated.

Lighter materials can help keep your staff looking professional in the sweltering temperatures. Ideally, you need to find the right balance of style, comfort and affordability that will ensure your staff enjoy their role more. You want to make sure that your staff are comfortable during their working shift – with no tight waistcoats or high heels… and remember a happy waitress/waiter makes for a happy pub guest and it starts and ends with comfort!

For more information on how to get the best out of your staff’s uniforms talk to Logos 4 Clothes on 01400 230 180 or email us at info@logos4clothes.com.

5 tips for creating your logo

We all know the importance of a company logo. It could be the first thing a potential customer sees and it needs to be right! A logo can make your business instantly recognisable just by a stylish, simple design. Here are five tips that should help you on the way to creating your own new powerful company logo.

Establish your brand personality

Before setting off designing a logo, think about what you would like your logo to look like. Think about your company brand personality and how you would like it to be portrayed. What does your brand stand for? What are the aims and what image do you want to create in the minds of your customers. These questions will put you in good stead before designing your logo.

Research, research, research!

You need your logo to stand out from the competition. With this in mind, it doesn’t want to look too similar to anyone in your industry. Ensure you take a good look at the competition, small or big before you start designing.

Draw it out!

Back away from the computer now! Before designing your logo digitally, it’s a good idea to draw the logo on paper first. This is very important, especially if you are going to use the services of a graphic designer. Give them a clear, concise picture of what you would like – this will avoid miscommunication and constant design revisions.

Colour can be powerful

Making your logo stand out is vital. Colour can help to do this. Colours can evoke different meanings to a wide variety of people – If you think of green for example, people often think about the environment and eco-friendly ideas – when people think of red people usually think of love, strength, action and leadership.

Finally, how will your logo be used?

Before starting this whole project you need to think about the end game – where you logo will be used? Will it be embroidered onto your corporate wear? Where do you want your logo to be seen? You need to also create different variations of your logo that can be rolled out to multiple areas such as shop signage, billboards, websites, t-shirts and so on.

For all your corporate clothing and workwear requirements look no further than Logos 4 Clothes. Call us on 01400 230 180 or email info@logos4clothes.com. 

Your Spring Workwear Refresh

So, Spring is finally here and there’s never a better time to take a good look at your clothes and have a refresh. With the weather getting warmer, it’s a great idea to get some new lightweight layers to your workwear. Here are a few of our spring recommendations for you.

General benefits of wearing cooler clothes in Spring

The main benefit of wearing lightweight clothing in hotter weather is the coolness they provide. The lighter breathable fabrics allow more airflow over your body . Employees will feel fresh, cooler and more comfortable, as well as being able to perform their duties more efficiently, work harder for longer.

Lightweight Jackets

Whether you opt for either an embroidered or printed logo, personalised jackets will make your brand stand out from the crowd. Being lightweight your employees will feel cooler and more relaxed whilst working or representing your company. They also look very smart and fresh for Spring. Why not check out our great range of Spring 2020 Lightweight Jackets.

Sweatshirts and Hoodies

Sweatshirts and Hoodies are perfect for wearing all year round. They can either be worn layered up with body warmers or jackets or just simply on their own. Hoodies are a real favourite amongst our customers – they also come in a large variety of colours, so finding one to match your corporate colourway is no sweat! Sweatshirts are also a great inclusion to your spring workwear range. Both provide a great professional look whilst remaining comfortable and soft to touch. Why not check out our great range of Spring 2020 Sweatshirts and Hoodies.

What about a Gilet?

When it starts to get a little colder (and living in Britain we all know about this!) you might want to consider a gilet. They can make all the difference. Consider wearing them layered on top of a hoodie, jacket or even a sweatshirt. Opting for a gilet might eliminate the need for an additional thick coat. Check out our superb range of gilets – all of which can be personalised with your logo and don’t forget we have them in a vast variety of colours to match your corporate colourways. We also have a great range of padded body warmers too.

Finally, the essential: Polo Shirts

Good base layers are so important for a uniform. They need to be lightweight and comfortable. Polo Shirts always fit the bill and are extremely popular with our customers. They provide style and comfort in all seasons and are cost-effective too. They too, come in a wide variety of different styles and colours to suit your individual requirements.

So if you feel it’s time your workwear had a refresh, why not get in touch with Logos 4 Clothes on 01400 230180 or email info@logos4clothes.com.

School Leavers Hoody Ideas

Becoming more and more popular with school students and available in a wide variety of colours and styles. Theses hoodies can be personalised in many ways, a particularly popular choice is having all of the names of individuals from a particular class or school year which makes them great mementoes for school leavers.

Great Value Hoodies, with Great Quality

The design of the hoody can be tracked back in time to the middle ages; however, the concept of the school leaver hoodie has only been a recent one that occurred in the last 10-20 years or so. It’s commonplace to have the Badge or name of the school printed on the front of the hoodie and the back left to accommodate the personalisation side of things.

Situations and ceremonies that are more popular choices for having a leaver hoodie are times such as graduation from school, college, or university or an annually held activity group such as a camp or dance troupe. A lot of these moments will be an important time in a young person’s life when they are setting off on their journey into adulthood. This could mean leaving that way of life or certain people because of this and a leaver hoodie is a great way to create something that will be able to honour that for time to come.

The actual design of the hoodie isn’t customisable but the design of everything you want on it is. There are a few concepts that are generally used for this type of thing.

One idea is to have either your surname or preferred nickname and the year of the event that is being honoured, similar to team shirts used by professional sports teams. Another popular choice depending on the size of the class/group is to have everyone’s names that are involved on the same top with the year above, these tend to be more popular as you have records of everyone and not just yourself. A take on that idea is to have a large number on the back denoting the year for example 19 for 2019 and then to have the number made up of all of the appropriate names and titles required meaning at a closure look you can see the names but from further away it will appear as just a number.

Those are just a few ideas for creating a custom leavers hoodie, if you have any other ideas don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs.

How Your Logo Will Help You Build A Strong Brand Identity

To build a strong core for your brand, your logo is essential and making sure yours is an attractive, unique and memorable one is crucial. Otherwise, you can potentially push customers away, no matter how good the services and products you offer may be.
This puts a heavy burden on your logo and the process of choosing yours should not be rushed.
Unfortunately, when it comes to making a good logo, there isn’t a definitive answer. Many factors will need to consider, of course, there are the aforementioned uniqueness and memorability to be taken in to account. To do this you will need to think about the colours, fonts, shape(s) and what you want to convey to your target audience.
As you are aware, colours come in many varieties and each tends to convey a range of feeling and emotions. Make sure you choose an appropriate one to represent your business, green for example is often used in industries associated with nature or ethics while orange is often used to signify communication and adventure.
Different shapes also have the ability to convey a variety of emotions, squares can represent balance and professionalism, circles community and unity and triangles for power and stability. Looking into the psychology behind different shapes can help you determine which would best suit your needs.
Be careful though, striving to be unique can lead to the temptation to overcrowd a logo with lots of colours and shapes. Be wary of this a logo needs to easily and quickly convey your business and being too busy can hinder it a lot. There is a famous saying ‘Less is More’ and this case it’s very true.
At the end of the day designing a good logo is no easy feat but if achieved it will benefit your business significantly. A good logo means more potential to pick up new customers and in turn more sales helping you on the way to creating a strong trustworthy brand.

Printed T-Shirt Ideas for Your Whole Family

Whether you’re a family taking the young ones out on holiday or for a day trip, or your organising a good old family reunion, there no better time than when you’re spending it with your family and loved ones. You can make it even more fun though with the addition of some customised t-shirts, they can provide a great souvenir of the occasion and can provide joy during and after it. And if it’s a busy location your heading out to like a theme park or a large park gathering for example then having your group wearing easily identifiable garments will make it much easier to find them in the crowd.

Hers some ideas on how you can create customised t-shirts for the whole family to enjoy.

Matching Colours

If your planning on getting the family to participate in some type of team game like football for example, then creating matching family t-shirts so everyone can split into teams is a great idea. For even larger gatherings each colour could even dictate different households, helping to increase competitive spirits.

Go for a Theme

Why not come up with a theme for your party or outing, maybe a summertime theme or a more festive one if it’s closer to winter.  When doing a theme, you can choose fonts, images and colours that all relate to each other to create something unique that also fits with the style of your event.

Think about Slogans

Create a slogan for your event to put on each shirt to help people remember where and what they were doing when they wore it. It could be a fun one or a sentimental one there are plenty of ways to liven up a custom t-shirt using a personalised message for the whole family to relish.

Get Winter Ready With Our Coats & Jackets!

Another year another winter, that’s right it’s that time of year again. Plunging temperatures and heavy rain are getting ready to arrive. The reality that cold, dark, wet and windy weather will be part of lives for the coming months starts to set in.

Its time to stop denying it, you’re going to need to fish your old winter coat out of storage. Only that’s it, your coat is just that, old. It may have served you well over the time you’ve been acquainted with it, but it sure to be a little worse for wear as the harsh weathers taken its toll on it.
So why not put your old coat into retirement and replace it with a wonderful new one this winter? That’s where we come in, fortunately for you, we have a marvellous range of Coats and Jackets. We have a large number of designs & styles to choose and were sure you can find the perfect new clothing partner allowing you to transition from old to new painlessly and seamlessly. That’s if you were attached to your old one, and if not, we’ve got you covered too.

From fashionable softshells and fleece jackets to hi-vis and heavyweight 3 in 1 coat. Logos 4 Clothes has got a vast range of jackets to pick from, all suitable for a variety of workplaces and work environments. As well as top brands like Craghoppers, Dickies, Fruit of the Loom, Nike and Reggata.

Were not only Coats & Jackets though, no we can provide much more than a great jacket that’s going to see you through the winter and further into the future. We can also provide a range of other clothing and workwear that you may need for the winter. Browse our Hoodies, Sweatshirts, Footwear and Trousers now.

Personalised gifts make a great present

Getting sick and tired of going out to buy a gift and all you can find are those generic samey presents that everybody’s gotten or will get at least once in their life, sounds like you need to consider getting a personalised gift.

We can provide your Sports clothing with sponsors logos

What a better way to say ‘I’ve put some thought into this and consider you to be worth some of my time’ than giving someone something that’s been personalised for them from you. Money can’t buy that sort of message, as they say ‘it’s the thought that counts’.

On top of that, a lot of people often find it hard to buy for people of a different gender, age or just someone they don’t know too well. With personalised gifts that restriction is removed. No more is this age-appropriate or is that something someone of the opposite gender would like? Whatever you might purchase your recipient they are sure to be happy with your gift if it’s got their name, a commemorative date or a special quote that means something to them or yourself on it, this makes much more personal and likely to be cherished and remembered.

If that’s not enough to go on, then how about the fact you won’t have to worry about anybody else gifting the same gift that you are. If this has ever happened to you, you will know this isn’t the nicest situation to be and it all could be avoided simply by buying a personalised gift.

Some examples are embroidered clothing or items such as hoodies, t-shirts, teddy bears, bags or scarves and here at Logos 4 Clothes we offer this service. Please view our website to see which personalised gift is best fro you to send.

What makes a good stag t-shirt?

When it comes to doing a stag and what makes them so memorable are not just the individuals you’re inviting, but the memorabilia the event holds when the partying is over.

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