Back in 2011, Chris Riccobono had a simple problem. He needed a shorter shirt. A medical sales rep at the time, he'd had a dress shirt tailored down to fit and found himself in New York City's Fashion District trying to get it made right. What started as a personal fix turned into a business idea and a hunch he wasn't the only guy dealing with it.
He brought the concept to Aaron Sanandres, a friend from Columbia Business School. Most of Chris's business ideas had been met with a polite "no." This one, Aaron didn't even let him finish pitching before saying yes. Raising money proved harder. Even his father's friends were skeptical. A shorter shirt didn't sound like a business venture. But Chris had done his homework, and nearly every man he'd surveyed had the same issue with shirt length; they just didn't talk about it.
The early years were humbling. The product wasn't quite right yet; buttons fell off, fit was inconsistent. It took nearly three years to perfect what became UNTUCKit's signature silhouette, the same fit the brand sells today. The first store opened in Soho in 2015, and by 2019 the brand had grown to more than 90 stores nationwide, becoming one of the fastest-growing men's brands in the country.
Along the way came moments Chris still can't quite believe, like the week Leonardo DiCaprio stopped by the Soho store three times. Matthew McConaughey and Warren Buffett are fans, too. It's moments like these that remind you just how far a product can reach.
Among UNTUCKit's 90-plus store locations nationwide, the Short Hills Mall location stands out above the rest. Every year, it's the brand's top-performing store in the country. For Chris, it's a full-circle moment. The Franklin Lakes native now lives in Madison, just minutes from the Short Hills store that outperforms every other UNTUCKit location in the country.
The success isn't an accident. UNTUCKit's entire identity is built around consistency. Every garment undergoes rigorous quality control at the factory, where it's measured, inspected, and shrink-tested every step of the way. The payoff is a shirt that fits the same way every single time you buy it, in sizes ranging up to 4X and covering 97% of men.
That obsession with fit has carried well beyond button-downs. UNTUCKit now offers pants, polos, T-shirts, sweaters, and womenswear, along with the performance shirt line the brand is especially known for. Chris isn't stopping there. He recently co-founded Greatness Wins, an athletic and golf apparel brand with Derek Jeter, already sold at nearby courses including Baltusrol and Somerset Hills. The first Greatness Wins retail store is set to open in Berkeley Heights, inside The Park, a new development off Route 78.
From a too-big shirt in the Fashion District to a national brand with a devoted following, Chris Riccobono's story is a reminder that the best ideas often start with solving your own problem. And for local shoppers, there's a little extra pride in knowing the very best UNTUCKit store in the country is right in our backyard.