Uniforms for opticians

The right uniform is smart enough for a fashion purchase and clinical enough for a health check. Getting that balance right helps customers trust both the eye test and the frame advice.

Close to the customer's face

Fitting glasses and performing tests means leaning in close to customers. Clean, fresh, crease-free clothing matters more here than in most jobs. Easy-care shirts and blouses hold their shape through a day of sitting and standing, and short sleeves suit hand hygiene before touching a patient's face.

Avoid chunky embroidery or badges that could catch on equipment such as slit lamps.

Clinical or retail look

Some practices put optometrists in tunics to signal the clinical side, with dispensing and retail staff in shirts or blouses. Others put the whole team in smart shirts and knitwear for a boutique feel. Think about how your practice presents itself: an independent selling designer frames reads differently to a busy high-street clinic.

Matching the uniform to your frame displays and shop fit makes the space feel coherent.

Domiciliary eye care

Practices that test eyes at home or in care homes carry heavy kit cases. A branded softshell or fleece identifies staff on arrival, and a smart polo underneath is practical for testing in a resident's room. A branded kit bag finishes the look on arrival.

• Optometrists: tunic or smart shirt
• Dispensing and retail: blouse, Oxford shirt, knitwear
• Domiciliary teams: polo plus softshell

Neat details close up

Opticians work inches from a customer's face, so small details matter. Choose fabrics that do not crease easily, avoid bulky logos on the chest and keep the embroidery neat and simple. Many practices use a smart shirt or blouse for the shop floor and a tunic for the testing room, with the same logo on both.

Where to put your logo

Keep the logo small and refined. A neat embroidered logo on the left chest in a thread that matches your shop sign looks right on shirts, blouses and knitwear. Names can go on a separate badge or embroidered on the right chest. Avoid large prints; customers buying glasses expect a polished, boutique feel. On domiciliary kit, a logo on the chest of softshells is enough. Every design is proofed first.

Ordering for opticians

Most opticians start with poplin and easy-care shirts, women's blouses and healthcare tunics. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.