One thing (some) old coots (like me) have in common with young bucks, is we often don\u2019t tuck in our shirts. Why? A lot of reasons: It\u2019s too hard to reach around and tuck in the back – It helps disguise the size of our beer bellies. – We simply forget. – It hides that we belt our pants at the bottom of our rib cage. – It\u2019s easier to hide the ketchup, mustard and sugar packets we take home from restaurants. But, despite all these benefits, some old coots go the other way; they tuck in everything, their undershirts into their boxer shorts, sweaters and sweatshirts into their pants, pants into their socks, but this article isn\u2019t about them. I\u2019ll leave them out and let them go about their tucking business as well as their habit of triple securing their pants with belts, suspenders and elastic waistbands. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the fashion industry noticed us \u201cchic\u201d old coots, but more so, the young bucks that go around with their shirts untucked. They are coming after us, in an attempt to clean up our image, and of course, cash in on it. A new line of shirts, designed to wear untucked, has been introduced to the market place. \u201cUntuckit\u201d is one of the companies wading into the untucked, untapped market. They say they started the business because, \u201cPeople have trouble finding shirts that look good untucked, that it\u2019s a deceptively difficult look to get right.\u201d (Yea right; it\u2019s difficult; don\u2019t tuck in your shirt and walk out the door!)<\/p>\n
So what did they do? They squared off the bottom of their shirts and launched a sales campaign to sell what they call, a casual shirt, fit for comfort, not convention, and designed to fall at the perfect length. They extol potential untuckers to, \u201cGo ahead and untuck it!\u201d (Untuckit stores have opened in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. Their shirts are also available on line.) <\/p>\n
You get a $20 shirt, minus some fabric at the bottom for, $78, $88 or $98 – enabling you to project a neat, untucked image. (Not that of a lazy slob – like me). You\u2019ve got to love free enterprise. My problem? MY gripe? I didn\u2019t think of it first, and now I have to rethink my fashion statement. One thing for sure, I\u2019m not going to buy a $98 Untuckit shirt, nor am I going to cut the tails off my shirts to achieve a politically correct, untuck look. What is happening to my world? First, the Duluth Trading Company comes out with a long-tailed T-shirt aimed at the plumber butt-crack problem and now Untuckit is going the other way with a short tail shirt. The fashion dilemma imposed on old coots by modern society never ends. <\/p>\n