As workplace attire becomes less formal, and working from home is more commonplace in light of Covid-19, Chicago's Tie Bar is navigating an increasingly tie-less world.
Founded in 2004, Tie Bar became one of Chicago's early e-commerce success stories by selling stylish men's accessories such as neck ties, pocket squares, socks and, of course, tie bars, at affordable prices. The company, which was sold to a private equity group in 2013, has been a hit with celebrities like Dwyane Wade, Neil Patrick Harris and Kumail Nanjiani.
But as men's workplace fashion began to evolve, so did Tie Bar. The company first expanded beyond accessories and into apparel in 2016 when it launched dress shirts, and later expanded into pants, sweaters and flannel shirts.
This spring marks the company's largest expansion of casual shirts to date, CEO Allyson Lewis explained, as Tie Bar continues to morph into a men's lifestyle brand that keeps up with today's changing fashion trends.
"The workplace, even pre-Covid, was getting more and more causal," Lewis said. "As we started seeing the workplace getting more casual, we saw companies relaxing their dress codes. We wanted to make sure we kept up with that and delivered on what the customer needed."
Tie Bar was planning to expand its product line well before the coronavirus shut down offices and made companies rethink policies around remote work, Lewis said. But the timing appears fortuitous, as men eye comfortable workplace attire that doesn't skimp on fashion.
"We didn't want [our shirts] to be like your dad’s Hawaiian shirt," Lewis said. "We wanted it to be really modern, really cool and very tailored."
In 2016, Tie Bar offered 11 styles of shirts. Today, the company sells more than 100 different shirts, including short sleeve, polo shirts and other casual styles.
Lewis said the company has heard from customers who are especially interested in dressing up their look during work Zoom calls---at least on their top half.
"They may be wearing flannel pants on the bottom, but from the waist up they look amazing," she said.
Tie Bar, like most businesses, has not been immune to the impacts of the coronavirus. The company operates six brick-and-mortar shops across the country, all of which are currently closed due to stay-at-home orders. Lewis said the company's wedding business took an especially hard hit as couples began canceling their spring and summer nuptials.
"Right after the stay-at-home orders started, business was really tough," Lewis said. "Not having retail stores open, it's a financial hit for the business."
But Lewis said business has already started to rebound as states begin to relax Covid regulations. And customers are turning to Tie Bar to freshen up their looks and ditch their work-from-home sweatpants routine.
"We do think people at some point are going to tire of wearing sweatpants and want to feel normal again," Lewis said. "We’ve heard from our customer over and over again that their mood lifts when they pull themselves together ... Getting dressed helps you feel more normal and establish more of a routine."
