However, he said that he already has many female customers coming in to shop, too. “I feel like people can have their own expression with clothing.”īeyond shifting to provide more accesible sizing, an expansion into womenswear is potentially on Miller’s radar, too. Miller said that his draw to clothing has in part always been about self-presentation. He said that at first he was nervous about being open about his sexuality, but was able to find a comfortable niche in the Birmingham market. So, it’s styles and fits for everybody to make everybody feel beautiful and comfortable.”īeing an openly gay business owner himself, Miller pointed to the fact that inclusivity of all kinds is important to him. “So, in fall, we have all bigger sizes coming in a lot of these brands. “When I first opened, I didn’t have as much of a size range and I’ve gotten a lot of requests for bigger sizes, because people want to look fashionable even though they have to wear say like an extra, extra, large or something,” Miller said. Asked about any changes coming up with the store’s impending anniversary, Miller said he’s looking to expand the style options available, and he’s starting with sizing. I thought, ‘If they’re not getting paid, then I’m not going to get paid.
“… I worked in the Ralph Lauren department, and the people from Ralph Lauren were literally coming in and pulling merchandise off of the shelves because they hadn’t been paid in months. “I’ve always worked in retail and the department store I worked at went out of business and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and they shut down all of their stores nationwide,” he said.
Having opened its doors barely a year ago, Miller said he got the idea for the shop while at work at one of his former retail jobs several years ago. In keeping with that theme, shoppers looking to attend a business casual work meeting could comfortably choose from Untied’s array of clothing alongside someone going to a concert. I used to work at a lot of department stores where we were forced to wear suits and ties, and I hated all that,” said owner Erik Miller.īut being easygoing certainly doesn’t mean sloppy Miller is adamant that “dressing nice” doesn’t mean forsaking stylish options. “It’s called Untied because you’re taking your tie off to wear casual clothing. A mix of denim, leather goods, swimwear and boldly printed tops, Untied on Woodward is a menswear boutique that encourages shoppers to ditch the formalities and embrace a sleeker take on the laid-back look.