Sherway Gardens untucks it

By Sarah Larke

Skedline.com

Two months after American clothing company UNTUCKit expanded to Toronto, those in the community have expressed positive feedback.

“Since we began opening stores in the U.S., having a space in Canada has always been a goal of ours—we couldn’t think of a more fitting place than fashion-centric Toronto for our first location,” UNTUCKit founder Chris Riccobono said in a September news release.

The New York-based clothing brand, established in 2011 by Riccobono and Aaron Sanandres, lists 41 American locations on their site. In September, the company created its first Canadian store at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke. Adding to the Canadian feel, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has teamed up with UNTUCKit as a new partner and the website has a list of his top picks.

UNTUCKit designs shirts meant to be worn untucked, and its website says the company’s 50-plus fits all create the “perfect untucked length” to look smooth instead of sloppy. Riccobono came up with the idea in 2010 after surveying hundreds of people and realizing he was not the only one who struggled to make an untucked shirt look good.

UNTUCKit store manager at Sherway Gardens Jeff Wahl said the first two months of business have been very promising for the brand, and he thinks most Canadian visitors are already familiar with the company through online shopping.

“A good portion of our customers have ordered from us online or already been to stores in the U.S.,” he said.

As for choosing Sherway Gardens as Canada’s first location, Wahl said Yorkdale Shopping Centre, the Toronto Eaton Centre and Square One Shopping Centre were also possibilities for the Toronto area.

“We wanted it to be a marquee destination type of mall and Sherway is one of them, and the timing was right,” he said.

Most commonly known as a men’s clothing brand, UNTUCKit has a line of women’s clothes as well. Etobicoke resident Moses Lall said Sherway Gardens is the perfect location for the store because he thinks people in the area welcome new ideas and urban trends.

“The thing is that in places like Lakeshore, there’s a rise in all these markets where you’ve got a lot of young people who want to live and move from places on the countryside, come here and experience the downtown feel,” Lall said.

Lall said he has not been to the store yet but hearing about it has intrigued him enough to think about making a trip there.

“I would consider it when I see it because I already normally frequent Sherway Gardens,” he said.

UNTUCKit at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke.