Ordering School & Team Apparel? Youth Sizing Isn't Standardized

Ordering shirts for a school, team, or club usually means sizing a whole roster of kids at once, and it's easy to assume a Youth Medium means the same thing no matter which brand you order it in. It doesn't. Youth sizing is less standardized than adult sizing, and the gap between brands is exactly the kind of thing that causes a stack of shirts to come back with half the kids in the wrong fit.

Youth Sizing Isn't One Standard

Pull the size charts on two different youth tees and you'll see the gap directly. The Port & Company PC54Y lists its XS as age 4–5 with a 22–24 inch chest. A Gildan youth tee in the same XS lists it as just age 4, with no chest measurement given on the chart at all. Same size label, different age range, and one brand doesn't even give you the chest number the other does. Multiply that gap across a school or team order spanning several styles and brands, and it's easy to end up with a real fit problem that has nothing to do with the kids themselves.

Why This Causes Real Problems for Bulk Orders

Sizing by age or grade alone is riskier with kids than it is with adults, since growth varies far more between two eight-year-olds than between two thirty-year-olds. The safer approach for any order covering more than a handful of kids is to size by chest measurement where the chart provides it, and to check the specific chart for each style rather than assuming a Medium behaves the same way it did on the last order — especially if you're mixing brands within one order.

Durability Matters More for Youth Apparel

Kids are harder on clothes than adults are — recess, gym class, and a full school year of daily wear put more real abrasion on a garment than typical adult use. It's worth looking for details built for that: the Jerzees 996Y uses a pill-resistant fleece blend specifically so it doesn't ball up and look worn after a season of washing, and double-needle coverseaming at the stress points that see the most movement.

The Drawcord Detail Nobody Checks

One spec worth actually reading before ordering hoodies for younger kids: whether the hood has a drawcord. Many schools and daycares specifically require drawstring-free hoods for younger students, following long-standing safety guidance around strangulation and entanglement risk on playground equipment. The Jerzees 996Y is built with no drawcord at the hood for exactly this reason — it's a small line on a spec sheet that can matter a lot depending on your school's dress code policy.

Ordering Tips for a Full Roster

• Size by chest measurement when it's listed, not by age or grade alone.
• Order one sample in a middle size before committing to a full bulk order, especially across a new brand or style.
• If a student is between two sizes, sizing up tends to serve better over a school year of continued growth than sizing down.
• Check hood and drawstring policies before ordering fleece for younger age groups.

Common Questions

Is youth sizing consistent within the same brand across different styles?

Mostly, but not perfectly — it's still worth checking the specific chart on each style rather than assuming a tee and a hoodie from the same brand size identically.

Should I order true to size or size up for a school year?

For younger kids in particular, sizing up slightly is usually the safer call, since a school year is long enough for a real growth spurt to happen mid-order.

Why do some youth hoodies have drawcords and others don't?

It comes down to the intended market and safety guidance — styles aimed at younger children more often skip the drawcord, while those aimed at teens or general youth sizing may include one. Always check before ordering for a school setting with a strict dress code.

Shop Youth Apparel

Browse the full Youth T-Shirts and Youth Sweatshirts collections, and check the size chart on each style before placing a bulk order.