Booth shirts for a small team. From 15 pieces.
A booth team is four to ten people. Six of them over two show days need 15 shirts, spares included, and many suppliers will ask you to buy 50. We start at 15, at the list price, with a capsule designed to be read from the aisle.
Show days set the size of the order
Start from the show days. Allow one shirt per person per show day, plus a spare for every two people. For a six-person booth over two days that comes to 15, which is exactly our minimum.
| Booth team | Two show days | Three show days |
|---|---|---|
| 4 people | 8 + 2 spares = 10, round up to 15 | 12 + 2 spares = 14, round up to 15 |
| 6 people | 12 + 3 spares = 15 | 18 + 3 spares = 21 |
| 8 people | 16 + 4 spares = 20 | 24 + 4 spares = 28 |
| 10 people | 20 + 5 spares = 25 | 30 + 5 spares = 35 |
A four-person team lands below 15 on either schedule. You can round up and keep the extras for the next show, or tick the fewer-than-15 box on the quote form and tell us what you have in mind.
Hot halls change the rule. The booth apparel guide argues for two tops a day where the hall runs warm, and by that count a six-person booth over two days is 24 tops plus spares. Keep the spares on either count, because somebody spills coffee on day one.
A capsule for a six-person booth
These are four pieces from our eight, chosen for a 30-foot aisle and a cold hall, each priced with one print. Fifteen printed polos for six people over two days come to $302.70 at list, and that includes the design and the name on each sleeve. A stitched mark instead is priced in one business day.
Polos take thread or print. If you want a tee for build day and a zip hoodie for the morning on top of the polos, put the mix on the quote form and we'll price the capsule as one order.
Design the capsule in the Studio →
Working back from the show date
Give yourself 8 to 10 weeks before the show. The first two or so go to design and approval at your pace, and the rest is fixed: production, shipping within the US and a week of buffer, as the example shows. Add two more weeks if you want a paid sample set in hand before you approve.
Design is the only stage you control, which makes the approval date the one to put in your calendar. The lead-time planner turns a show date into that day.
Match the color, vary the piece.
Put demo staff in the polo, the people building the booth in the tee, and the lead in a button-up with the mark on the cuff. As long as the color and the pattern stay the same, the silhouettes can differ. The role-by-role guide goes through each job on the floor, and the booth staff apparel page covers the products and decoration.
One design across three expos
Poly9 runs a 10-person booth team across three fall expos on one July design sprint. The purple-to-pink gradient tee and the tonal polo stay on file, and each show after the first is a quantity and a date.
Everything else we've written for exhibitors starts at trade show apparel.
Questions booth teams ask.
How many shirts does a six-person booth need?
A six-person booth needs 15 for a two-day show. One shirt per person per day is 12, plus three spares for spills and the colleague who turns up unannounced. That's exactly our minimum. With one print on each, it comes to $302.70 in polos or $255.30 in tees, with the design and the name on the sleeve included.
Our booth team is four people. Can we still order?
Yes. Four people over two days is 10 shirts by our rule, and orders start at 15 pieces. Round up and bank the extras for the next show, or tick the fewer-than-15 box on the quote form and we'll say whether we can do the smaller run.
When does the design need to be approved?
Approve six weeks before the show at the latest, and eight is comfortable. Three weeks of production start the day you approve, two weeks of shipping follow, and a week of buffer sits before the show. The lead-time planner turns your show date into the exact day.
Can each show get its own colorway?
Yes. We keep your design between shows along with its colorways and size history, which leaves the second show needing only a quantity and a date. Send the quantity and we'll price it, and production starts again from the day you approve the new colorway.