Senior Class Shirts Built to Keep, Not Just Wear on Grad Night

A senior shirt isn't spirit wear you wear once and forget. It's the shirt that ends up folded in a drawer for twenty years, pulled out for the ten-year reunion, borrowed by a younger sibling. This page is about the part nobody warns you about: organizing it. Part of Spirit Wear for Schools and Teams.

If you're still choosing what the shirt says, start with senior shirt ideas - it collects slogans, layouts and class-year design concepts. Come back here when you know roughly what you want and need to get it onto everyone in the class on time.

Who usually runs the senior shirt order

There are three common setups, and each changes how the order works:

• The class officers with an advisor. Students pick the design and spread the word; the advisor or the front office handles payment, often with a school card or a purchase order.
• A parent committee. Common for grad night and senior week. A parent volunteer collects sizes and money, places one order and hands out shirts.
• Each family on its own. The class shares the design through a storefront, and every family orders and pays for their own senior's shirt (plus any for themselves).

Decide this first. It determines whether you need to collect money at all, who the shipping address is, and whether the school's purchasing rules apply. If the order runs through the school office, a quote PDF and PO number from the cart make the paperwork straightforward, and tax-exempt schools can send a certificate to have the sales tax refunded.

Collecting sizes without a spreadsheet

The hardest part of a class order is getting a size from every senior. Paper forms come back half-filled; a better route is a link. A sizes link asks each person for a size and who it's for, takes up to 300 answers, and nobody needs an account to respond. When the deadline passes, one button adds every answer to the order. If each senior's own name prints on the shirt, use a names link instead: it collects what prints and the size together, up to 80 answers, and names print exactly as typed - so tell seniors to check spelling and capitalization before they submit.

A few habits that save trouble:

• Size by fit, not by habit. Gildan tees and hoodies run true to size with a little room in the body. The long sleeve runs smaller than usual, so suggest sizing up. Link the size guide in the message.
• Set a hard close date at least a week before you plan to order, and post a reminder two days before it.
• Add a small buffer of the middle sizes - two or three each of M and L - for the senior who transfers in, the teacher who wants one, or the shirt that gets lost in a locker.

Collecting money

If the class or a parent committee is buying, you need the money in before you check out. Most schools collect through the school's own online payment system or the front office; keep the shirt price simple and round so nobody hunts for change. Remember that a back print beside a printed front adds an extra surface, so price the class's shirt after the design is final, not before.

If you'd rather not handle money at all, a free storefront lets each family order directly at listed prices and have it shipped home. When an organization runs the storefront - usually the PTA or booster club, which has an EIN, a W-9 and a bank account - it earns 10% of storefront sales as standard. Bulk prices don't apply to storefront orders, so compare both ways using the spirit wear fundraiser guide.

Families, siblings and the people in the stands

Seniors aren't the only ones who want the shirt. Parents, grandparents and younger siblings often want a matching version for graduation day, senior night or the last home game. Two easy ways to handle it:

• One design, two wordings. Keep the class design and swap the line: the senior's shirt says the class year, the family's shirt says "Proud Family of a 2027 Grad" or "Senior Mom." Remi can produce both from the same artwork.
• Different garments for different people. A hoodie for seniors, tees for family, a polo for the advisor and class sponsors.

Youth and adult sizes and different items all go in one cart, so a younger brother in a Youth M and a grandfather in a 2XL can be on the same order. If relatives live elsewhere, one order can ship to up to 10 addresses with one payment; the first address ships free, and each additional address shows its postage in the cart.

What to order it on

Most senior classes pick one main garment for the class and let families choose from the rest:

Each price includes one printed surface; each extra surface adds $8.99 to $10.99 depending on the product. Front, back and both sleeves print on the Adult Tee and Adult Hoodie, so a common senior layout is the class year on the front, the class motto or the names of every senior on the back, and the school initials on a sleeve. The polo prints on the front, back or left chest, and it is printed, not stitched.

Garment colors for the tee, hoodie and crewneck are Navy, Red, Royal, Black, White, Sport Gray, Forest Green, Gold, Maroon, Purple, Orange, Carolina Blue and Kelly Green. The polo comes in Navy, Red, Royal, Black, White and Athletic Heather, and the Youth Tee has no Gold, Orange or Carolina Blue. More on matching school colors is in the color guide.

Bulk prices for a bigger class

Bulk prices apply automatically in the cart, counted on each item's own pieces across any colors and sizes:

The Adult Hoodie drops to $25.64 from 12, and the Adult Crewneck to $21.96 from 24. A small senior class of 18, a club's graduating members, or a team's outgoing seniors can each order with no minimum. For a larger class ordering 24 or more of one design on one item, Remi may suggest screen printing when it costs less than full color; screen-printed items ship to one address in their own parcel.

Timing it around senior events

Senior year has more dates than people expect: senior sunrise in August or September, homecoming, senior night for each fall and spring sport, senior picture day, prom, senior skip day, grad night and graduation. The shirt usually needs to be ready for the first one the class cares about, not the last.

Production typically runs up to 10 business days after checkout, plus transit, and the cart shows the expected delivery dates before you pay. There's no rush printing and no guaranteed delivery date, so count back:

If you're ordering in spring for graduation, start before spring break - the weeks between prom and graduation go fast. Faster shipping can be added at checkout for most orders to the 48 contiguous states. More on deadlines is in ordering deadlines and timing.

Ordering with Remi

Remi is the chat designer at /design. Describe the shirt in plain English - "Class of 2027 in varsity block letters on Maroon, senior names on the back in white" - or upload a sketch a senior drew in class. Ask for changes in chat until it's right, see it on the garment and color, add the sizes from your link, and pay at checkout. Designing is free. A first-time order can use WELCOME10, and a returning one REORDER10 (one code per order, not on polos; a code doesn't stack with a bulk price, and the order gets whichever takes more off).

Questions about senior class shirts

Can every senior's name go on the back?

Yes, two ways. A list of every senior's name can be part of the back design. Or each shirt can carry its own senior's name, which is free with the names and numbers feature; either way, a back print beside a printed front is one extra surface.

Is there a minimum order for a senior class?

No. One shirt is a real order at the listed price, and there's no upcharge for a 2XL. A class of 12 or a class of 300 orders the same way.

What if a senior orders the wrong size?

Custom prints can't be returned for a size ordered wrong or a change of mind, which is why linking the size guide on your sizes link matters. If a shirt arrives misprinted or defective, send a photo within 30 days of delivery for a reprint or refund.

Can we cancel after paying?

Within 12 hours of paying, if printing hasn't started, use Cancel order on the order page. After that the shirts are in production.

Where do I find slogans and design ideas?

On senior shirt ideas, with more pictures in the senior class idea gallery.

Related pages

• Senior shirt ideas and slogans
• Graduation party shirts and prom shirts
• Homecoming shirts
• Spirit wear for schools

Design your class shirt now →