Most of us end up putting a surprising amount of time and energy into what we wear. Whether for work or for our personal lives, the clothing we choose to go out wearing is one of the most important ways of expressing our identity, and there are plenty of ways of choosing to go about doing that.
One of those choices is often going to be between wearing branded or blank clothing. Here, we go through some of the strengths and weaknesses of each, in various different settings, to help you make your own mind up about which is best.
Communicating a message
If you’re looking to communicate a strong message, then you will likely have to go with some kind of branded clothing. To achieve this kind of goal with a piece of clothing, you’ll ideally need a larger graphic, potentially screen printed onto a t-shirt, gilet or hoodie.
Blanks, even if they have a small logo embroidered onto them, just don’t have the same effect. Whether you’re wearing them in a personal or professional capacity, blanks exist to let other things do the talking, whether that’s you yourself or another piece of clothing.
Everyday wear
For everyday wear, blanks tend to be a better option. Whether you’re wearing them at the workplace or at home, blank clothing is incredibly versatile, and subtle enough that you can wear the same item literally every day of the year and most people won’t even notice.
Branded clothing, especially loudly branded clothing, is a lot more particular. Even employees probably won’t want to wear something that’s too loudly branded, unless it’s at a trade show or other setting where they’re trying to clearly represent their business and brand.
Workwear
For workwear, it will really depend on the kind of context you find yourself working in. However, in most cases you’ll want to go with something subtle, whether that’s a blank from Screen Textiles or a branded piece of workwear.
Even if you do go with a branded piece of clothing, it’s typically more effective to have a small logo sewn into the chest, rather than a huge name splattered across the back – less, as is so often the case, is more in these kinds of contexts.
DIY customisation
If you’re going to embark on a personal customisation journey – perhaps by embroidering a nice piece of clothing – then you’ll probably want to choose a blank.
Starting with a – quite literally – blank canvas allows you to put your own personal touches on without having to conform to any other pre-existing patterns or ideas. It will often be easier to let your own personal creativity shine through, and the end result will be purely your creation.
Choosing between branded and blank clothing can seem difficult, but you’ll rarely purely have one or the other. By combining things like blank t-shirts with subtly branded hoodies or jackets, you can create effective emphases that highlight certain components while leaving others in the background. It’s not one or the other, but how you combine the two that matters.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.