I can’t remember when I started seeing ads for Untuckit — UNTUCKit (note the proper capitalization), if you’re in the know. It seems the company’s glossy full-page marketing has been in every travel, lifestyle, and men’s magazine for the last decade. The brand proposition is simple: Premium button-up shirts made to be worn untucked. Since most men’s dress shirts are designed to be tucked in, they often look long and sloppy when untucked. Untuckit promises to solve that problem with an entire catalog of no-tuck shirts.
To put it charitably, I initially thought the idea was silly. Why would anyone pay a premium — sometimes 200-300% more — just to wear a shorter shirt? Like the hot dog toaster before it, it seemed to me like a non-problem that didn’t need solving. I wasn’t alone. One needn’t peer far down the rabbit hole of Untuckit reviews to find a similar sentiment. Esquire skewered the brand with the headline “Don’t Waste Money on an ‘Untucked’ Shirt. Just Un-Tuck Your Damn Shirt.” The New Yorker likewise gave it the classic, snark-filled New Yorker treatment. The Wall Street Journal protested, though largely because it just hates the concepts of untucked shirts and business casual period. The list goes on.
In the age of trigger-finger social media rage, brands like this are an easy target for the jaded and fashion elitists. I’m willing to bet, however, that the majority of un-Untuckers deriding the brand have never tried the shirts on. I hadn’t, yet scoffed at its ads anyway. So, when Untuckit reached out to offer a sample shirt, I obliged. It seemed like the honest thing to do, and I was curious.
I’m willing to bet that the majority of un-Untuckers deriding the brand have never tried the shirts on.
Untuckit sent me its Heavyweight Wrinkle-Free Flannel Vigoroux Shirt in a dashing teal and navy plaid. My sample promised to be everything I look for in a versatile travel shirt. The 100% brushed cotton build is warm, soft, and stretchable with just the right amount of give. I opted for the slim fit, which offers a snugger hem that doesn’t feel like it’s suctioned to my torso. I’m 5’6”, average weight, and every part of the shirt fits me perfectly. Plus, sleeves down or rolled up, the style is casual enough for everyday wear, but can easily be dressed up for fancy date nights at Olive Garden.
Honestly, in the last three weeks, it’s been my go-to shirt. After a week in and around Las Vegas, it did everything I asked of it. I wore it on hikes, for the better part of a week while camping in the desert heat and cold, and to dinners at The Cosmopolitan on the Strip. It looked great, felt great, and kept me warm when I needed it to. Perhaps most importantly, I paired it with an Unbound Merino undershirt, and it stayed fresh and funk-free even after a handful of wears.
The heavyweight flannel is extra durable and perfect for extended travel and wear. Unlike fancier specialty travel shirts, Untuckit’s products thankfully don’t require dry-cleaning (a major headache while traveling). The material can be machine washed or hand washed in a hotel sink in a pinch, then tumble dried. In the week that I packed up my sample, unfolded it, wore it, and refolded it several times, it wrinkled only slightly. I chalk that up to my remarkably poor laundry-folding skills, however. Otherwise, I can attest to its wrinkle-free chops.
The bottom line: If you look past the “as seen on TV” branding and mostly caps logo that feels like it’s commanding customers to LIBERATE THEIR SHIRTS, DAMMIT!, it’s a solid, well-made product. Untuckit’s catalog now includes not only its signature untuckable button-ups, but polos, T-shirts, henleys, pants, alpaca scarves, socks, and more in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Untuckit is billed as premium menswear, and that means most of its catalog carries a premium price tag with some shirts running north of $100. But, I’m of the mind that it’s worth paying more for one great piece of clothing than one-third the price for three inferior alternatives. Plus, my girlfriend and my mother both approve, and that has to count for something, right?
For more travel-friendly men’s clothing — from activewear to sport coats to cargo pants — check out our roundup detailing how to build the perfect travel outfit for any occasion.
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