Uniform Advantage

I served a 12-year Catholic school stint, complete with strict nuns and strict rules. The principal of Queen of Peace High School even sentenced innocent little me to Saturday detention, which included going to the convent to peel tons of vegetables for the senior picnic. I can’t remember the dear sister’s name, but we seniors called her Grendel (the horrible monster in Beowulf). My crime: wearing the wrong color sweater.

That’s right – you couldn’t mess with the dress code. And from the plaid to the polyester, my array of uniforms over the years presented a plethora of pathetic excuses for clothing, except for my cheerleading uniform.  I liked that one.

My experience with bad uniforms didn’t end with Catholic school. Shortly after getting married and moving to PA, thereby leaving my publishing job in NJ, I took a job as a hostess at Casa Lupita for a little spending money. This was pending my search for another publishing job. I had to wear a long, off-the-shoulder Mexican gown. It was ridiculous and I came home smelling like a taco every night. Thankfully, that job didn’t last very long and obviously, I found my way back into publishing. My career has come a long way since taco town.

Thankfully for you and your clients, uniforms have come a long way too. Distributor reps are having tons of success with uniform programs for clients in a wide variety of industries, like bars and restaurants, health care, education, teams, hotels and more. Senior Writer Chris Ruvo points to our sister publication Wearables magazine’s finding that about 95% of distributors and screen printers believe uniform program sales will remain steady or increase this year.

Chris notes: “Fast, accurate delivery of quality apparel is essential in uniform programs. You need good partners to provide these things. Talk to trusted suppliers about their options for supporting uniform programs. Many already provide elements that help reps put programs together, including inventory housing, order fulfillment, product design, custom website development and more.“ That’s only one of the many excellent tips our cover story provides. Be sure to read “Uniform Appeal” for many more strategies to spur success with uniform programs.

And Let This Be a Lesson To You

In other news, as the editor of a trade magazine about the ad specialty industry, I’m always noticing ad specialties … and mistakes. The morning news shows drive me nuts because there are always typos in the crawls at the bottom of the screen. Yes, I speak out loud to the TV: “Really? You don’t have a proofreader?”

Anyway, I was recently at my salon, Hair Fantasy (yes, that’s the name) and I noticed their newest ad specialty hanging there. It was a nice 2015 calendar with lovely photos. And it was imprinted, as it should be. But here’s the rub: It read “Compliments of Hair Fanatsy.” There’s no way I could hang that calendar and look at that glaring error for 12 months. And if it was you, dear reader, who sold that calendar I say, really? You don’t have a proofreader?