Shaka Wear wholesale: a buyer's guide

Buying Shaka Wear wholesale comes down to weight and fit: a 6 oz classic tee, a 7.5 oz oversized tee, or a heavy garment-dyed piece.

Shaka Wear makes thick blanks cut for a streetwear fit, and nearly every style here is 100% cotton. That keeps the decoration plan simple. What changes from one style to the next is the weight of the fabric, the cut, and whether the piece was dyed after it was sewn. This guide covers ten styles: tees, long sleeves, tall sizes, sweatpants and shorts.

What's in the Shaka Wear line?

• Shaka Wear SHMHSS Max Heavyweight Tee: 7.5 oz, 100% cotton, oversized with a slight drop shoulder. Sizes run S to 5XL, plus 7XL. Best for screen print, discharge and embroidery.
• Shaka Wear SHMHSST Tall Max Heavyweight Tee: the same tee cut long, in LT to 5XLT.
• Shaka Wear SHGD Max Heavyweight Garment-Dyed Tee: 7.5 oz, 100% cotton, slightly oversized, dyed for a retro vintage look. Best for a retail drop.
• Shaka Wear SHASS Active Tee: 6 oz, 100% cotton, classic fit, with a tear-away label. Best for event and team orders.
• Shaka Wear SHMHLS Max Heavyweight Long Sleeve: 7.5 oz cotton, oversized and relaxed, S to 5XL plus 7XL.
• Shaka Wear SHMHLST Tall Max Heavyweight Long Sleeve: the SHMHLS in XLT to 5XLT.
• Shaka Wear SHGDLS Garment-Dyed Long Sleeve: 7.5 oz, all cotton, washed-out color, oversized street fit.
• Shaka Wear SHALS Active Long Sleeve: 6 oz cotton, classic fit, tear-away label.
• Shaka Wear SHGDSSP Garment-Dyed Straight Leg Sweatpants: 13.5 oz, all cotton, thick drawcords and an elastic waistband.
• Shaka Wear SHSP Plaid Shorts: 5.6 oz, 60% cotton / 40% polyester, with flap cargo pockets and an elastic waistband.

Which Shaka Wear tee should I start with?

Start with the cut your customer wants, then let weight settle the rest.

For the oversized streetwear look, the SHMHSS is the core of the line. At 7.5 oz it's a thick tee, and the heavy fabric resists sag. The cut is oversized and relaxed, with a slight drop shoulder. Shaka Wear finishes it with a 1" stretch-proof collar and a little Lycra in the neck rib.

For a classic fit, go to the SHASS. It's lighter at 6 oz and cut closer to a standard tee. It also has a tear-away label. If you relabel blanks for a retail client, that saves a step at the press. The SHMHSS has a woven label instead.

For a vintage retail look, use the SHGD. It's the same 7.5 oz weight as the SHMHSS, but each piece is garment-dyed for a retro vintage look. Shaka Wear says it is densely knit for clean printing, and it has 3.5% Lycra in the ribbing.

How do the heavyweight tees take decoration?

Most colors are 100% cotton, so the full cotton toolkit is open. Screen print and discharge work well on the cotton colors of every tee here, and embroidery does too. DTG, DTF and vinyl all work. Sublimation needs a high-polyester surface, so it's off the table for these shirts.

The 7.5 oz weight matters most for stitching. Heavy fabric gives a dense logo a stable base and is less prone to puckering than a lighter tee, which makes the SHMHSS, SHGD and their long-sleeve versions strong picks for embroidery. For more stitch-ready styles beyond Shaka Wear, see the best blanks for embroidery.

Check the heathers before you plan a discharge run. On the SHMHSS, the SHMHLS and their tall versions, Heather Grey is 90% cotton / 10% polyester and Charcoal Grey Heather is 50/50. On the SHASS and SHALS, Charcoal Grey Heather and Safety Green are 50/50, Lime on the SHASS is too, and Heather Grey on the SHALS is 90/10. Discharge needs pure cotton, so keep it to the 100% cotton colors. Regular screen print still works on the heathers.

Do the tall sizes and long sleeves match the tees?

Yes. The SHMHSST is the SHMHSS cut tall, with the same 7.5 oz cotton, oversized cut and 1" stretch-proof collar. It comes in LT to 5XLT, so a crew with taller members can wear the same shirt as everyone else.

The long sleeves follow the same pattern. The SHMHLS is the 7.5 oz oversized long sleeve, and the SHMHLST is its tall version. The SHALS is the 6 oz classic-fit long sleeve to pair with the SHASS. If you're weighing long sleeves from other brands, the long-sleeve tees guide lines them up by weight and cut.

Can I build a matching garment-dyed set?

Yes, and the shared colors make it easy. The SHGD tee, the SHGDLS long sleeve and the SHGDSSP sweatpants all come in Black, Cream, Mocha and Shadow right now. That gives a retail client a tee, a long sleeve and a pant in the same color names. Order one of each in your color first to check the shades side by side.

The sweatpants are the heavy piece of the set at 13.5 oz, in 100% cotton. They take screen print, discharge and embroidery well, and a stitched hip logo is a natural fit on fabric that thick. Sizes run S to 2XL. For other sweatpants and joggers by weight and leg style, see the joggers and sweatpants guide.

Will Shaka Wear blanks shrink?

Shaka Wear describes the garment-dyed SHGDLS long sleeve as shrink-free. On the SHGD tee and the SHGDSSP sweatpants, wash and dry one sample and measure it before you lock sizes.

Where do the plaid shorts fit?

The SHSP shorts are the one blend in the line, at 60% cotton and 40% polyester. Screen print, DTG, DTF, vinyl and embroidery all work. Discharge needs pure cotton, so leave it off. On dark colors, a light ink can pick up dye from the polyester, and a low-bleed ink helps.

Worth knowing before you add a logo: each cargo flap already carries a woven Shaka Wear logo. Plan your placement around it, or pick another spot on the leg. For more shorts and pants, the bottoms buyer's guide covers the wider range.

Which Shaka Wear style for which job?

• Streetwear merch drop: SHMHSS
• Vintage-look retail line: SHGD, with the SHGDLS and SHGDSSP to build a set
• Event or team tee with a closer cut: SHASS
• Crew with tall members: SHMHSST and SHMHLST
• Cold-weather streetwear: SHMHLS
• Classic-fit long sleeve: SHALS
• Summer bottoms: SHSP

If we had to pick one Shaka Wear style, it would be the SHMHSS. It's 100% cotton outside the heathers, so screen print, discharge, DTG and DTF all work, and the 7.5 oz fabric holds a dense embroidered logo. Sizes run up to 7XL, with a tall version for longer fits. That covers most streetwear jobs from a single blank.