Have you heard of Untuckit? It’s a brand which tells you exactly what its purpose is in the name: Shirts cut short so you can wear them untucked. At the end of 2019, a Business of Fashion article about the explosive growth of Untuckit mentioned that one group driving the brand’s popularity are people who find J.Crew “too fancy.” In other words, Untuckit’s giving guys unpretentious, low-stakes shirts you don’t have to worry about wearing “correctly.”
This is the flip side of marketing, which projects an image for people to grab hold of—some people will resonate with that image, or aspire to it, and others will decide it’s not for them. Or that they don’t want to do the work to figure out how to wear it right.
I understand exactly how those guys feel! Not about J.Crew, specifically, but the general concept of having an image in my head of what a certain company or label is like, and determining it just isn’t for me—even if I haven’t tried it. Sometimes it can even feel like a step out on faith, or an act of courage to simply try out a new brand (or walk into its store).
For my own sake, and for yours, I encourage us all to not let those peculiar associations deter us from trying something different. First off, even if a company has a marketing image that’s a turn-off for you, that doesn’t inherently mean the clothes are bad and won’t work in your wardrobe, or even that you are supporting that message. Second, nobody has to know where you got it. Obviously if there’s a big logo on it that’s a giveaway but otherwise, you can keep your secret. Third, try to be less judgy about the types of people who wear “X.” That’s as much of a turn-off for people as a brand’s self-projected image.
I’m a menswear blogger so I tell people on this site where I buy things, even places that might be embarrassing in this regard—SuitSupply, Abercrombie, American Eagle, whoever—but for people I run into, they’re none the wiser. My biggest hang-up when considering a new brand is what its provenance, backstory and quality is. In part it’s because I don’t feel that I can trust that a given brand is actually made where it says it is; and also as a writer I know how copywriters punch things up in a way that makes them sound better than they are. For me, it’s about research to figure out whether a brand is worth what they’re charging.
Keeping an open mind and trying to expand your horizons is a worthwhile exercise, because you just might find a new avenue to explore in your own style. Maybe a different silhouette or fit that you hadn’t tried before that you realize is flattering; or sometimes you’ll discover new uses of pattern, color and fabric.
Does this mean I’ll be walking into an Untuckit store anytime soon and giving the untucked shirt lifestyle a shot? Likely not. But maybe I should.
(Help support this site! If you buy stuff through my links, your clicks and purchases earn me a commission from many of the retailers I feature, and it helps me sustain this site—as well as my menswear habit ;-) Thanks!)
If you’re just getting into tailored menswear and want a single helpful guide to building a trend-proof wardrobe, buy my eBook. It’s only $5 and covers wardrobe essentials for any guy who wants to look cool, feel cool and make a good impression. Formatted for your phone or computer/iPad so it’s not annoying to read, and it’s full of pretty pictures, not just boring prose. Buy it here.
