Bethesda Shark Tank winner with patent-pending dress shirts opens a selfie-friendly store in Rockville 

Justin Baer, an entrepreneur from Bethesda, Maryland, presents his luxury apparel line on ABC's Shark Tank. (Courtesy Justin Baer/ABC/Christopher Willard)

Bethesda, Maryland-based Collars & Co., a specialized apparel website and store that won a $1 million investment from Mark Cuban and Peter Jones on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2023, is opening its first hometown store, in Rockville, showcasing its unusual apparel in a unique showroom.

Collars & Co. makes various lines of men’s and women’s clothing, including shirts, blazers, sweaters and pullovers. Its signature shirts are short-sleeved polo-style shirts, many with crisp, dress collars that can be worn alone, or under sweaters and sports coats, disguising their comfortable short-sleeved design. Most shirts cost between $80 and $90. Blazers cost around $400.

It also makes a line of officially licensed shirts with college logos, including about three-dozen schools, as well as shorts and swim trunks.

Earlier this year, it announced a deal as the official licensee and performance dress shirt of Arrow McLaren IndyCar team.

Comfortable, casual dress shirts sell. The company had a reported $30 million in sales last year.

Collars & Co., founded in 2021, said its patent-pending Dress Collar Polo has become the go-to for athletes, celebrities and executives seeking all-day comfort without compromising style.

The Rockville store, at 1643 Rockville Pike in Congressional Plaza, will be a temporary pop-up. Collars & Co. has stores in Chicago, Boca Raton, Florida, and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

The Rockville store has selfie opportunities. There is a classic Porsche in the showroom, as well as a private plane replica for picture taking.

“Our new concept will be unlike anything in the D.C. area,” said Justin Baer, founder and CEO of Collars & Co. “It’s more than a store. It’s a destination where customers can step into a world of refined style, elevated performance, and the unmistakable spirit of Collars & Co.”

The 2,900-square-foot Congressional Plaza store will open sometime in October.

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Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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