Referee Shirts Buying Guide - Basketball
OVERVIEW
Referee shirts these days are more than just black and white stripes made out of polyester fabric. For basketball, you'll find more differences than similarities - different colors, stripe styles, cuts for men and women, fabrics and prices. Don't let the referee shirt differences scare you. Most people still wear the standard 1" black and 1" white alternating stripe referee shirts and simply choose whether to save money on a basic fabric or upgrade to a nicer fabric. If you want to understand all the differences, read below.
DIFFERENT COLORS AND STRIPES
 In the referee field, there is usually a drive to set oneself or group apart from others. One way to do that is to wear different referee shirts for different levels or associations. For example, some groups require their officials to wear a grey referee shirt with pinstripes, a style similar to the solid gray shirts worn by NBA officials.
 In another example, NCAA officials and now some high school groups are required to wear a black and white referee shirt with a 3" stripe or side panel down each side of the shirt. If you belong to any officials' group, you likely already know what you need. If you don't, find out which referee shirt you are required to wear. We provide 2 fabric choices for grey referee shirts and 2 fabric choices for those with side panels.
DIFFERENT CUTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
 Because God made men and women different physically, referee shirts are made differently for the best fit for each sex. As men are normally taller, men's referee shirts are typically longer. No one likes an untucked referee shirt. Because women normally have smaller and shorter arms, women's referee shirts have smaller sleeves so that their entire arms are not swallowed. Men's shirts are larger in the shoulders to accommodate typically larger shoulders while women's are larger in the chest.
All that being said, if you are a female there is nothing to say you can't wear a men's referee shirt. Depending on your dimensions, you may find than a men's shirt fits you better. You may also find what you're looking for in a women's cut is not available. If either is the case, it is a best practice to wear one size down your normal women's size in a men's size. For example, if you wear a size Medium in women's, a Small men's will likely provide the best possible fit.
MULTIPLE FABRIC CHOICES
As with most things in life, "you get what you pay for". Referee shirts are no exception. The better the fabric and more comfortable the shirt, the more it costs the manufacturer to make, retailers like us to re-sell and you to ultimately pay.
Our basic fabric choices for standard black and white stripe styles follow good in polyester from Majestic, better in ComfortTech mesh from Smitty and best in Ultimate Referee Shirts. Not only do the better and best shirts provide more breathability and moisture management properties, they also have extra fabric in the tail to help your shirt stay tucked.
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