In the on-demand printing industry, t-shirts are always the national best-seller, almost indispensable in any POD store. However, to create a truly attractive t-shirt, just having a beautiful design or good fabric is not enough. Color plays an extremely important role, especially when summer comes – the time when buyers often prioritize bright, airy, and trendy colors.
So, what are the leading t-shirt colors of summer 2025?
Let’s explore in today’s article how to choose the right color, a design that hits the right mood, and quickly turn your product into a hot item in this year’s hot season!
Top 10 Best Summer T-shirt Colors in 2025
Summer 2025 brings a gentle, warm, and full-of-personality look. Not too bright, not too quiet. This year’s summer colors are a sophisticated combination of soothing neutral tones and vibrant bright colors, creating a perfect balance. These easy-to-match, easy-to-wear colors flatter many skin tones and breathe new life into everyday outfits. This palette can easily meet your needs, whether you pursue a basic, vintage, or unconventional streetwear style.
If you are looking for the t-shirt color on the rise in summer 2025, think of transitional colors: gentle but sharp, familiar but still new enough to create a unique highlight for the wearer.
1. White & Off white
A classic white t-shirt is always a timeless item, appearing in every wardrobe. Even with pure white or soft ivory colors, this shirt is easy to coordinate with any style, enhancing designs from simple to bold.
In addition, a white shirt creates the perfect backdrop for any design, from small logos to impressive prints. Meanwhile, ivory brings a warm, classic feeling, suitable for an elegant, casual style.
If you are looking for a perfect print-on-demand t-shirt with high-quality and competitive base cost, then Merchize has you covered. Most of our best-selling custom t-shirts come in standard white. However, you should consider material, fabric weight, and style to choose the right t-shirt type.
We highly recommend the Gildan 5000 T-shirt is one of our best-selling products. It is made from 100% ring-spun cotton, lightweight, breathable, and durable, which is ideal for summer. If you value comfort, this is the best choice for you.
Additionally, this shirt has both white and ivory tones with a vintage feel, which is also a popular choice, especially in modern fashion, where the nostalgic style is increasingly popular.
2. Icy Blue
This summer, blue takes on a colder look, both literally and in spirit. No longer the familiar light blue, the modern ice blue version brings the feeling of a cool breath from the frozen lake shores. This color evokes peace, refreshment, and clarity like clear water under the sunlight.
Compared to traditional blue tones, ice blue is sharper but more pleasing to the eye, making it a prominent color in the 2025 summer T-shirt color palette. This is the perfect choice for those who love cold tones but still want to maintain the fresh, gentle spirit typical of summer.
In terms of color coordination, ice blue is highly applicable:
- When combined with pink, white, light green, or pastel tones, it creates a gentle, relaxing overall look.
- When combined with heather black, dark gray, or other dark tones, ice blue becomes a sophisticated highlight.
And of course, Merchize is no exception to this striking color trend. We bring the Bella Canvas 3001 t-shirt with a soft blue tone, extremely suitable for summer, both comfortable to wear and easy to coordinate with many different fashion styles. This shirt is made from cool, light, and soft material, combined with a modern unisex form, sure to conquer even the most demanding customers.
3. Pastel Pink
Pastel pink brings the feel gentle, bright, and sophisticated feel. This color is one of the most popular colors this summer. Besides, pastel pink is not only beautiful but also reflects light well, keeps you cool, and creates a light, airy feel on hot days. This color is both feminine and modern, easy to apply in many fashion styles: from minimalist, vintage to everyday dynamic. This is a smart and stylish choice for a bright yet comfortable summer.
When it comes to custom printed t-shirts in pastel pink, we have to mention the Gildan 8000 available at Merchize. This shirt is made from moisture-wicking dryblend fabric, which keeps you cool and dry by wicking away sweat, making it perfect for active days or layering. The mix of polyester and cotton makes the fabric breathable yet durable. This shirt is definitely a must-have in your summer t-shirt collection.
4. Sage Green
This summer marks a shift from bold green tones like kelly green to softer, more soothing shades, typically pistachio and sage green. These pastel greens are not only easy to wear and coordinate, but also have a strong natural inspiration, making them very popular in summer t-shirts. With high applicability, pistachio and sage green can be easily combined with colors like navy blue, mustard yellow, or lavender to create a harmonious and modern color palette.
For the print-on-demand (POD) industry, this is a great opportunity to be creative with designs inspired by nature, flowers, or organic styles, especially on all-over print t-shirts. These full-body designs not only highlight the gentle green but also provide a space to fully express the brand’s personality, from front to back, from sleeves to collar. If you’re looking to create a trendy yet unique look this summer, these all-over printed t-shirts in pastel blue tones are definitely worth considering.
5. Butter Yellow
Butter yellow – a gentle and attractive butter yellow is becoming a popular color highlight in the summer of 2025. Not too bright or too pale, this pastel color brings a warm, gentle feeling like the early morning sunlight, suitable for both minimalist designs and complex patterns. With the ability to coordinate well with other pastel tones such as pink, mint green, light gray, or lavender, butter yellow opens up many unique color combination ideas in the on-demand printing industry.
If you want to find a t-shirt with this color, you should consider the classic unisex t-shirt from Merchize. It’s made from 100% Ring Spun US cotton for a superior quality and brings a comfortable feeling for wearers.
6. Cherry Red
Cherry red is appearing on a lot of fashion collections this summer, and it’s more than just a passing trend. From the office to the streets, this vibrant hue is lighting up 2025 with energy, confidence, and bold expressions in outfits, makeup, and accessories.
Besides, different from the rich burgundy tones of the last seasons, cherry red is vibrant and bold. A high-contrast red t-shirt will instantly elevate any look. It pairs well with neutrals like white, off-white, and light gray, but also stands out when paired with contrasting colors such as navy.
For this color, we suggest one of our evergreen trending t-shirts – a unisex short-sleeved tee. This t-shirt is made from lightweight, stretchy fabric and is sweat-absorbent. It also has a competitive base cost and vibrant red color options.
7. Orange
While pastel tones create a gentle, calm feeling, bright orange brings explosive energy, represents the vibrant summer spirit. This color reminds one of summer parties, bustling music, and bright sunshine. It’s ideal to create a bold highlight for your summer t-shirt collection.
In addition, orange is effective when combined with bold colors such as navy blue, olive green, or light blue, creating unique and attractive color combinations. With the on-demand printing industry, Gildan 5000L t-shirts at Merchize are the perfect choice when owning many outstanding orange shades. Whether you pursue a minimalist or creative style, orange is sure to bring spontaneous and different inspiration to the summer designs of 2025.
8. Mocha Brown
The next color in this list is mocha. It’s radially becoming a highlight in this year’s summer fashion color palette. Mocha is inspired by the world of coffee with a gentle brown color like smooth espresso or rich latte, bringing a feeling of both warmth and sophistication. This is not only a pleasant color for the eyes but also a new neutral color that is popular in the field of design and printing.
With its gentle and elegant characteristics, mocha is easy to combine with many POD design styles:
- Combine with black or navy to create a modern contrast.
- Combine with pastel or light tones to soften the overall look.
- Use as a background for typography designs, hand-drawn images, or vintage style.
This color is the perfect choice for sellers who are looking for a color that is not too safe but still easy to sell, suitable for many customers from minimalist, casual to retro, aesthetic styles.
You can find brown tones in our Gildan 6400 or Bella Canvas 3001 t-shirts, then mix with unique designs. These shirts are made from premium fabric and are suitable for keeping the printed image durable after a long time use.
9. Tan
Not as bright as orange, nor as pale as white, tan (light brown) brings a warm, natural, and sophisticated feeling. This is the perfect neutral color for summer – easy to wear, creating a gentle, relaxing feeling like a leisurely afternoon in the sun. Tan evokes the image of fine sand, light wood, or a glass of iced milk coffee – familiar but not boring. This color flatters the skin, suitable for many color tones and design styles, from minimalist to boho, from vintage to modern. In particular, when combined with colors such as ivory, olive green, denim blue, burnt orange, or butter yellow, tan becomes quietly outstanding but attractive.
Alternatively, tan is an ideal background for gentle designs such as hand-drawn images, flowers, and soft typography. For those who love minimalism but still want to keep their style, tan is a safe but smart color to experiment with this summer.
At Merchize, you can find tan tones in t-shirt lines like Gildan 8000, with Moisture-Wicking DryBlend fabric and stable colors – ideal for DTG printing. This shirt promises to be a best-selling product in the t-shirt catalog this summer.
10. Grey
The fashion world is always changing, but grey always holds a special place: quiet, flexible, and never out of fashion. Grey also conquers the wearer with its simplicity and ability to suit all styles, from elegant, modern to dusty, individual.
The grey of summer 2025 is not cold or monotonous. In contrast, it has a surprisingly soft and pleasant look, like a thin layer of mist covering the wardrobe on a sunny day. Besides, grey is easy to combine with all colors, from warm tones like burnt orange, earthy yellow, to cool colors like navy blue, lavender purple, or ice blue. Thanks to that, it becomes the ideal background color for all print-on-demand designs, from minimalist designs to complex graphics.
For POD sellers, grey opens up many design directions, such as a unique monochrome style, outstanding typography, or a streetwear concept. Other grey versions (heather grey) also offer a natural grain effect, adding depth to the shirt without too much detail.
If you’re looking for a reliable option to showcase this versatile tone, the Gildan 5000 Unisex T-shirt from Merchize is a top pick. This shirt is made from durable yet breathable cotton; it offers the perfect base for high-quality prints and works well with gray tones across various design styles.
FAQs
1. What color t-shirts are best for summer?
Summer is the perfect time to wear bright and pleasant colors. Colors like white, light pastels (pink, light green, butter yellow), or bright neutrals like ivory, tan, not only help you feel cool but are also extremely fashionable and easy to coordinate. These are also the most popular T-shirt colors in the summer because they are versatile, trendy, and suitable for many skin tones – ideal for both minimalist styles and bold prints.
2. Which t-shirt color is best for hot weather?
When it’s hot, bright colors are always the best choice. Colors like white, light pastels (butter yellow, ice blue, pink, light green) have the ability to reflect sunlight better, helping to keep the body cooler than dark colors like black or navy blue, which absorb more heat.
3. Should you choose neutral or bold colors for summer t-shirts?
Both are suitable. Neutral colors such as gray, mocha, tan are easy to coordinate and stay trendy. Bold colors such as orange, ice blue, pastel pink create highlights and attract young customers.
4. Why should you choose a seasonal t-shirt color?
Color greatly affects visual perception and purchasing decisions. Choosing the right color for the season helps products stay trendy, sell better, and inspire designs.
5. Does the color of the shirt affect the print quality?
Yes. Some light or pastel colors, such as butter yellow, ice blue, help the printed design stand out more, especially with a minimalist style. With dark colors, it is necessary to choose the right ink or printing technique to ensure sharpness.
