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How Patriotic Apparel Can Help Re-Unite After Quarantine

Summer is right around the corner. For many, that means cookouts, fireworks, and celebrations throughout the summer.

This is a longstanding American tradition, which you could say is mostly is rooted in 3 patriotic holidays back-to-back-to-back in May, June, and July; Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day.

On Memorial Day, we honor and remember all those who have died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally called Decoration Day, it was common for people to decorate graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags.

Flag Day commemorates the official adoption of the U.S. flag in 1777. On Flag Day, we celebrate the history and meaning of the flag, while also remembering those who fight to protect what it stands for.

Independence Day, July 4^th, is the day that the Continental Congress declared independence for the 13 American colonies from Great Britain’s rule with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In a letter to his wife, John Adams, second president of the United States and one of the Founding Fathers, wrote about Independence Day:

“It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

To this day, we still celebrate in this fashion.

We also wear apparel that aids in our display of our American spirit and pride.

While the parades and festivals may be at a minimum this year due to the Coronavirus, that doesn’t mean that our celebrating has to be diminished.

Actually, patriotic apparel can be something to help re-unite all of us with a common spirit that will bring us all back together.

Help your customers celebrate within their own yards or within smaller group settings.

We have plenty of ideas to help you get your creative juices flowing.

 

Patriotic T-Shirts

The t-shirts this year may not be for large groups, but you can still print and sell patriotic tees. Maybe they will be more “retail” style than custom printed for groups.

What we mean by retail style is a design that is general enough that can be bought by any number of people, instead of a design customized for a particular group. They don’t have an event name or a group name within the design.

Retail styles are the types of shirts you see in stores, such as these.

 

 

If your customers are still gathering in small groups for cookouts or a particular event, you can always add on a family name to make it custom.

People like to show their American spirit. You’ll see these types of patriotic shirts all summer long.

You can even use patriotic t-shirts as a fundraiser for your community. You keep part of the sales and donate a portion to a cause in your community.

Partner with other businesses as they are in the re-opening process. Many businesses will still be struggling and you can be there to help them out.

 

Patriotic Face Masks

Face masks are the new t-shirts. The CDC is recommending that everybody wear a face covering of some sort. And this will likely continue on for months.

If your customers are gathering in any amounts of a group setting, encourage them to get some patriotic face masks to make sure everyone is taking precaution.

We have face masks that are 2-ply, 100% ringspun cotton, and easy to lay flat to heat press on.

 

 

Face masks need to be breathable, so keep the designs to a minimum. Smaller designs off to the side are great, or add a lot of show-through areas in larger designs. This will also keep them from feeling too heavy while wearing them, too.

Since face masks are smaller, you can fit lots of designs on one transfer sheet. Fill in the space in your orders with extra smaller designs that you can have ready to make extra face masks.

 

 

If you get a t-shirt order, fill in the extra space on your sheet with a small face mask design. You can even use it as an upsell opportunity to the same buyer.

Again, you can make retail style patriotic designs that would appeal to any buyer and not necessarily part of a particular group. So even if someone is buying custom shirts for the “Smith Family 4^th of July Picnic”, you can still add on a general small face mask design for your next customer.

 

 

Patriotic Banners

Outdoor vinyl banners are perfect to use as yard signs.

They don’t have to be custom either. Use the same retail-like designs that you are using for t-shirts and sell them as yard banners, too.

With social distancing measures still in place, communities and neighbors can unite in solidarity by displaying yard banners with a common patriotic theme.

Smaller sizes such as 3’ x 2’ would be great to put in front of houses. The banners are durable for limited outdoor use, such as for the duration of the summer.

 

 

Decorating Ideas

If you look online, shirts and designs that sell well are mostly simple phrases in script fonts. Use this style to create your patriotic shirt, mask, and banner designs.

You can easily create these in Easy View®, the online design center. There are plenty of pre-made layouts to customize with your own text and lots of script fonts to choose from.

If you don’t already have an account with us, you can sign up here for free.

Create an online store with your designs from Easy View using Stahls’ Spirit Sale. This makes selling online easy. You can sell to specific groups or sell your retail style designs to anybody who wants to buy a shirt, mask, or banner.

Here are some popular patriotic phrases to get you started:

• America the Beautiful
• Land of the free
• Home of the brave
• Land of the free because of the brave
• Land that I love
• Red, white, and blue
• I bleed red, white and blue
• Stars and stripes
• Stronger together
• United we stand
• Together in country
• Together in heart

Add any of these to a layout in Easy View in just seconds. Don’t forget to fill up your sheet. Since these designs are not customized for a particular event, you can add these to t-shirts, tote bags, caps, masks, shorts, etc. at any time for any future customer.

 

 

If you have a store front, print some of your extra images as samples and hang them in the window.

Post them on social media letting people know you have them for sale.

Here are a few of our patriotic layouts. Customize it as much as you would like with your own text, clip art, fonts, colors, etc.

For a full color design, use the Stretch Litho™ Matte transfer type. It is also now available in images instead of sheets.

 

 

 

The nice thing about these types of designs is that they are always in style. Unlike shirts for custom events, these designs are not one and done once the event is over.

People will be wearing patriotic apparel all summer long.

It’s part of the celebrating tradition and the spirit of the American people.

Patriotic apparel is also something that can re-unite all of us as we exit lockdown mode. This is perfect timing since summer is a natural time for us to wear our patriotism because of the holidays.