The idea was simple: a button-down shirt with a shorter, more tailored appearance when untucked.
“If a guy buys five shirts in large, they all fit differently. It really was a huge problem in men’s fashion,” says Chris Riccobono, founder/CEO of UNTUCKit. “I liked wearing my shirts out, but they were too long and too big.”
Franklin Lakes native Chris Riccobono grew his idea for a better-fitting casual shirt into a national brand with 85 stores in the U.S., Canada and London. Courtesy of UNTUCKit
So, in 2015, Riccobono launched UNTUCKit with a classmate from Columbia University. “We had to totally redesign the shirt and be exactly on spec for each one,” says Riccobono, who lives in Madison with his family.
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In an era when retail is giving way to e-commerce, Riccobono knew brick-and-mortar was necessary. “Men wanted to try our shirts on before they purchased them. Height and waistline change the fit,” he says. “They also wanted to feel the product.”
UNTUCKit offers 170 shirts in varied fabrics (performance material, wrinkle free, etc.) and in styles from denim and prints to pink gingham and flannel. “If you have a favorite look, we want to have a shirt for you,” says Riccobono.
UNTUCKit now has 85 stores (three in New Jersey), a burgeoning online business, and a celebrity following that includes billionaire Warren Buffet, actor Matthew McConaughey and ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.