A teardrop is a simple thing to buy badly. Four decisions separate a flag that works from one that lives in a cupboard.

Pick the shape for the air, not the look

A teardrop holds its outline in still air because the closed curve keeps the fabric under tension.

Indoors that is decisive. Outdoors in reliable wind, other shapes are competitive again.

Have the artwork drawn to the arc

The curve eats the corners of anything laid out in a rectangle, and narrows toward the point.

Ask for the proof on the real cut line. If your type has been shrunk into the tip, it was placed rather than drawn.

Buy the base for the surface

Cross base indoors. Ground spike on grass. Stated mass on tarmac or paving.

The base is where a cheap kit saves its money, and you find out on the first windy afternoon.

Decide whether the back matters

Two panels plus a blockout liner if the flag is seen from both sides.

Against a wall, single ply is fine and the money is better spent on the base.

Check the venue height limit first

Most halls have one, and it is the commonest reason a flag arrives unusable.

One email to the organiser, before you approve artwork.