Barbershop and Salon Branded Clothing: Aprons, Tees and Merch
By The Velocity Wear Team
Barbershops and salons typically need embroidered aprons and staff tees, plus a small retail merch line for customers. Velocity Wear produces both from a 20-piece minimum with mixed sizes, using embroidery for aprons and staff kit and screen printing or DTF for retail tees and hoodies, delivered on a tracked UK service.
The Apron Is the Brand
In a barbershop, the apron is the most visible branded object in the room. It sits in every mirror, appears in every photograph posted to social media, and is worn by the person the customer is looking at for half an hour. That makes it worth specifying properly: a substantial fabric, a well-placed embroidered mark, and a colour that works against your interior rather than fighting it.
Building a Small Range
Most shops need less than they think, but need it to be consistent.
- Embroidered aprons for every chair, plus spares — they take the most wear and are the cheapest piece to replace.
- Staff tees or polos in a fixed colour, embroidered or printed left-chest, so the team reads as a team in photographs.
- A retail tee and hoodie for customers, designed to be worn out of the shop rather than as advertising.
- Caps or beanies, which sell unusually well in barbershops and carry branding at minimal cost.
Merch Customers Will Actually Buy
Barbershop merch succeeds or fails on restraint. A customer buys a shop's hoodie because it looks good and because it signals they belong to something, not because they want to advertise a haircut. A small embroidered mark on a heavyweight hoodie sells; a large shop-front logo with a phone number does not. Neutral colourways outsell brand colours consistently, even where the shop's palette is strong.
“"Nobody buys a hoodie to advertise their barber. They buy it because it is a good hoodie from a place they like."”
Starting Small
The 20-piece minimum with mixed sizes suits an independent shop testing merch for the first time — a first run across a full size range tells you what sells before you commit to volume. DTF avoids screen setup charges on detailed designs at that quantity. Once a design proves itself, bulk discounts up to around 40% make a consolidated reorder substantially cheaper per piece. Model both in the free instant price calculator.
Lead Times
Embroidery and screen printing typically take around 10–15 working days from artwork approval, plus 2–5 working days tracked UK delivery. For an opening, an anniversary or a seasonal drop, brief several weeks ahead and approve the proof promptly.
Artwork
Barbershop logos often use fine script, thin line work or intricate detail that does not stitch cleanly and needs simplifying for embroidery. Supply vector artwork, confirm exact colours rather than describing them, and check the mark at actual size — what reads well on a shopfront can become illegible at 7cm on a chest. Preview placement in the free Design Studio before ordering.