Origins #28 — Becoming untuck’d
An even stronger proposition for convenience and style

We are in the final stretch of our product development cycle. With two sample batches already done and a product that has been generally well-received by our testers, we are focussing on the final polishing touches.
With the exception of one or two minor things to adjust to the model, we were able to think of additional details that will make the shirt an even more valuable addition to one’s wardrobe. One of the ideas worth exploring is to make a shirt model that is convenient and stylish to wear both tucked in and untucked. While this is hardly a viable option for traditional cotton shirts, which need to be made longer to stay tucked in, we have a fabric that has a four-way stretch property and allows for freedom of movement without untucking itself. So, theoretically, we can make a shirt with slightly shorter front and back parts, allowing for a great, utilitarian style when worn both tucked in or untucked.
I like to look around at what other people are wearing. Since starting DULO, this has become an even stronger habit, up to a point of an obsession for noticing every minor detail, particularly when it comes to dress shirts. On my way to work this past July (we are currently in the year 2017 if you are reading this in the future) it struck me that a lot of people were wearing a dress shirt untucked. Noticing this, I immediately looked at my own behaviour, almost immediately realising that I often prefer to have my shirt untucked — especially on warmer summer days.
So, almost immediately after this, I shared my thoughts with Julian and we quickly decided that it is worth exploring to test a shirt model that allows for both tucked in and untucked use. We are in the business of time, convenience and style, so it made perfect sense to pursue this idea further.
There were two ways to try out the modification: talk to our manufacturer and make samples with these specifications or work on the existing samples ourselves for a quick minimum viable product (MVP). In the interest of speed, we decided to choose the second option first, so we can validate the worth of the idea and share our feedback with the manufacturer. Then, we would send him some images and measurements, so he can produce a couple of samples, according to the new specs. That was an exciting opportunity to play designer and do some prototyping ourselves, albeit a very primitive one.
After a quick trip to the department store to buy pins, we took one of the samples from the first batch and started to play around with the height of the shirt’s front and back. Following a few adjustments, we were satisfied with the result and set some measurements to send to our partner.
We are now expecting a few samples with these modifications to test in the field. If we are happy with the results and are sure that there are no drawbacks to this approach, we will adjust accordingly and implement the specifications to the final models that will go in our first collection.
If you would like to see what I’ve been talking about, check out the vlog we made:
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