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Indochino Review: An Indochino Summer Outfit

2013-05-17T23:46:00.001-07:00

A while ago I ordered a few items from the Indochino Spring Collection 2013. In my opinion, the better Summer Collection, as it featured nice Linen & Wool Suits (still available, see the lineup, from $429) perfect for the summer month.

The Spring Collection had also introduced a great new option that somehow didn't get enough coverage: half-lining for blazers. Furthermore, shirts can now be further customised with a couple of new options. Overall, quite a few new things to test and review.

I was basically undecided between two general options for a while:

Option 1) light pants, dark blazer

Option 2) dark pants, light blazer

I went for Option 2) this time and purchased the following items:

$329 The Ultimate Sand Linen & Wool Blazer | Buy Here
$99 La Boca Navy Chinos | Buy Here
$99 The Supima Blue Oxford Shirt | Buy Here
$39 The Ultimate Navy Linen Tie | Buy Here
$39 The Ultimate Red Silk Lapel Pin | Buy Here

Indochino Contrast Cuff - Available on all Indochino Shirts ($79 - $169)

By now, Indochino offers a lot of customisation options, both for shirts and suits and it's sometimes hard not to lose track. Personally, I have a set of options I choose every time. One new option allows you to choose a different fabric for inside the cuffs and the collar of the shirt. The collar option is (much like the contrast collar felt on the suits) nice to have, but you can't really do much with it. The cuff option is more interesting, especially if you use it together with working cuffs on your summer suit.

Indochino offers a number of different fabric choices, from simple solid colours to different ginghams. I went for the blue gingham on my shirt. The fit on the shirt is perfect, as usual. One small detail: on my last shirt, the last button was sewn horizontally - this time it's an ordinary button again. As Indochino says on their shirt landing page, "it's the last button that counts", but it's a very minor complaint.

Half Lined Jacket

An Indochino half-lined jacket - the perfect solution for the summer
Check all Indochino Blazers right here - from $299

Unlike a fully lined jacket, half-lined jackets have most of the back area unlined - there is just the suit fabric left, in this case a linen/wool mix. This makes the jacket much more breathable and suitable for use in hotter climates. It's also more work for the tailors, so thank you Indochino for offering this option for free.

At the moment, you can only select it for blazers, but Indochino is planning on introducing the option for suit jackets as well, if their experience with the new option is positive. I can definitely say it works well.

I'm pretty happy with the fit on the jacket overall. I decreased the length by 0.5" as I see the blazer as a more informal piece.

To observe the effects on the much discussed button stance, I also went with a one button suit. Compared to my last Indochino 2-button suit with standard button stance, the button on my new blazer is around 2" lower.

This would be my preferred option for a 2-button suit and looking at the proportions, I don't see why this wouldn't work with a second button below. Actually, for a one button suit the stance should be even a bit lower in my opinion. Let's see if Indochino will come up with a solution sooner or later.

Options chosen:

Two vents - looks just my flattering, at least in my case
Peak Lapels - gives the Blazer a little kick
Lining - it's a rather informal blazer, so I chose a more colourful one
Patch Pockets
Working Buttonholes
Contrast Buttonholes
Half-Lining

The Indochino Flower Pin: for the special occasions. Buy here for $29
Also: use the fabric inside the chest pocket as a pocket square!

The Tie

The Indochino Blue Linen Tie - A Summer Essential ($39)
Discover more Indochino Ties - from $39

The La Boca Navy Chinos

I had bought some navy blue slim fit chinos from GAP a while ago and thought they fit really well. My Indochino suit pants have a considerably higher rise are are not as slim fitting, but for the Boca Chinos I wanted something more fitted. I measured the GAP pants and compared the result to my Indochino measurement profile. I adjusted a few measurements - mainly the rise - accordingly and was hoping for the best.

The pants came out very tight and I busted the button on the first try. Admittedly, I caused this myself by tinkering with the measurements, but it also shows how difficult it is to change your measurement from formal to informal wear. Also, I somehow need to get back to my dress pants measurements for later purchases. I'll feature them in a review later, once the fit is fine.

Perhaps Indochino could introduce a second set of measurements for casual pants.

Other than the fit issues, the Chinos are pretty cool. The fabric is nice and soft and the colour is a very nice dark navy blue. Nothing to complain about other than the fit issue and I basically caused that myself. Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. I needed a versatile, light half-lined blazer and together with the blue linen tie and the shirt it works really well.

Indochino Sand Linen Blazer & Navy Blue Boca Chinost Reviewed by Lorenz Loidl. Rated: 9/ 10 (Excellent) A great half-lined blazer, perfect for the summer months.

Friday Happy Hour: Burgundy Linen Suit 20% off

2013-05-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

For the second week in a row, Indochino is discounting an interesting suit for their Friday Happy Hour. This time, it's the Burgundy Linen & Wool Suit. In general, don't expect to get the obvious big-sellers discounted, but if you had your eyes on something special like this unusual burgundy suit, you may get lucky.

Fabric Composition: 52% Wool, 48% Linen

Fabric Weight (g/m): 265

Use coupon code HHDEALMAY16 at checkout with the item in the cart to get the discount. There are also a couple of other items listed at the Happy Hour page, but that may be a glitch in the system.

The suit is now discounted from $429 to $339, a discount of $90 or more than 20%. The deal is valid online only until May 20th. See you next week at hopefully another Happy Hour.

Indochino Deal Alert: Get 20% off the Olive Wool & Cotton Suit

2013-05-10T19:57:00.002-07:00

After a long time without proper deals and coupons, Indochino is now back with one of their Friday Happy Hour Sales. These sales are often used to give a little boost to items from prior collections. This time, it is the Ultimate Olive Wool & Cotton Suit, a transitional suit with the following specifics:

Fabric Composition: 65% Wool, 35% Cotton, 1/1 Weave

Fabric Weight: 200 g/m

Use coupon code HHDEALMAY10 at checkout with the item in the cart to get the discount. There are also a couple of other items listed at the Happy Hour page, but that may be a glitch in the system.

The suit is now discounted from $429 to $339, a discount of $90 or more than 20%. Here is hope for more happy our deals in the future, I will definitely keep you updated. The deal is valid until May 12th.

Indochino Premium Suit Sweepstakes & Philly Traveling Tailor

2013-05-07T21:57:00.002-07:00

Win a premium Indochino suit at the Indochino Sweepstakes

Indochino Traveling Tailor Philadelphia

Not missing a bit, the Indochino Traveling Tailor is rolling into the next town, this time visiting Philadelphia from May 10 to May 27. If you book an appointment in advance, you get a free shirt and a free gift set (if you end up buying a suit). You can book your appointment right here.

As usual, you have the benefit of being measured by a dedicated specialist and see and fell all the fabrics and options in person.

For some reviews on the Traveling Tailor, check these posts:

Ryan Burwinkel's experience Part 1 & Part 2

Report from Derrick Nguyen

Indochino celebrating 100.000 Facebook fans
Indochino celebrated their 100.000th Facebook fan the other day and decided to do one of their popular sweepstakes as a thank you to their customers. As long as your are on Facebook, you can easily participate by starting at their Facebook status message (like & share) and then following the instructions. You can win a premium 2-piece suit worth $599. The sweepstake ends on May 10th, 2013.

Upcoming Indochino Review

I should receive my order from the 2013 Spring Collection soon and while the collection is of course not the most recent anymore, I had ordered a couple of items that will still be interesting for everyone to see. Amongst others, I have chosen a half-lined blazer and finally ordered a pair of their Boca Chinos.

The Indochino Ultimate Summer Collection 2013

2013-04-26T02:34:00.000-07:00

Indochino is quickening their pace and barely waited 4 weeks after their Spring Collection to introduce their new 2013 Summer Collection, named the Ultimate Summer Collection.

Similar to the Summer Collection 2012, the new collection introduces light-weight seersucker suits and blazers, a suit and a couple of blazes of medium-weight fabrics good for all seasons, some new colourful additions to their Boca Chinos line and a couple of new trench coats (see a quick review of their older version here). There are also yet more shirts and perhaps more interestingly, new belts. The old ones very really narrow and I was asked if I am using my girlfriend's belt at work. The new ones have an acceptable width of 2.8cm - the previous ones (still up for sale) measure around 1.9cm.

As for the suits, there are the two seersucker suits, grey and blue - see the blue one below. Both styles are available as blazers as well. I checked for the main differences to last year and interestingly, the 2013 seersuckers have a completely different fabric composition.

2012: 100% Cotton

2013: 79% Wool, 20% Cotton, 1% Lycra

Would be interesting to compare the breathability of both. Surely, the 2013 seersuckers will wrinkle less, but somehow a 100% cotton suit does have its advantages as well, especially in the really hot regions. It's a pity the half-lining option is still only available for blazers. I have an order waiting to be finished from the Spring Collection and can't wait to see how this option will turn out.

Indochino Blue Seersucker Suit - $429

Again, there are a couple daring blazers. I remember last year Sabir from Men's Style Pro did a review on one of those and really rocked the double-breasted look. A similar style, The Premium Plaid Blazer, is available with this year's collection as well but the price skyrocketed from just $199 to a whopping $429 - an increase of more than 53%, mainly because this time the fabric is sourced from Reda. Still a cool looking blazer, even if I think the shirt on the model is a bit too busy in combination with that pattern.

Left: Sabir Peele from Men's Style Pro, photo copyright www.mensstylepro.com. Right: the Indochino Model

Trench Coats - $329

A word about prices and coupons

In 2012, Indochino had released a very similar collection around the same time. One big difference to 2012 is the price point. Seersucker suits went for $299 in 2012 and now sell for $429. That's a steep increase of 30%. By comparison, the more affordable blazers increased more than 33% from an affordable $199 to $299. Furthermore, just like in 2012, no coupons are around. Reasons for the hike in prices includes higher commodity prices, a switch to to higher quality components and of course, the establishment of Indochino as a more premium brand than before. Perhaps there is also a certain expectations from investors to break even, I can of course only speculate about that or Indochino's profit situation in general.

What is your opinion on the Summer Collection?

Does Indochino Suit the Portly Crowd? Part II

2013-04-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Burwinkel

All pictures and text by Ryan Burwinkel.

As you may remember, I posed a question a few weeks back, and I’m… well, not exactly happy to report back with an answer.

I’m also not exactly unhappy, to be fair. The results, in my opinion, are pretty middling. The fabric is really nice looking, and they got all the customized detailing right (were it up to me, I’d have chosen a different felt under the collar -they went with brown- but that’s really a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things) The fit is where the problems are, really. And fit is king.

Have a look for yourself:

(Suit by Inodchino - gray alternate, shirt by Joseph A. Bank, tie by Charles Tyrwhitt, shoes by Rockport)

Facing front, coat and vest on

Facing back, coat and vest on:

Facing sideways, coat & vest on:

Front, vest on, coat off

Sideways, vest on, coat off

Back, vest on, coat off

Front, vest & coat off – here, I transitioned to the Indochino shirt for some of the pictures

(Shirt by Indochino, tie by The Knottery, cufflinks by The Greatest Land on God’s Green Earth)

Back, vest & coat off

And, for those who are curious, the shirt cuffs, with the suit coat on:

A few things stick out, besides the hundred pounds I could really do without.

I have chicken legs (only exaggerated by my tendency to lock my knees) and sloping shoulders, which this suit isn’t addressing properly.

I’m not sure if the shoulders are just suffering from Indochino’s minimal shoulder padding, or if the shoulders are too wide, or both. I suspect the last of the three, but I’m still inclined to ask them to bring in the shoulders, just to see if that helps.

The length of the coat is too short, and I’d extend it by about an inch if I could.

I’d also bring the sleeves down a bit more, as a little too much cuff is showing for my comfort (especially when paired with the Indochino shirt, which is really much too long in the sleeves, and much too short in the tails.) Their width, on the other hand, seems just fine.

While we’re on the shirt, I feel like the collar might actually be a bit too big. I’m inclined to have it brought in an extra half-inch.

The lapels aren’t as skinny looking on me as I feared, but I’d still prefer them a bit wider if I had the choice. The button stance, while a tad high, isn’t actually as high as I had feared, either.

The vest is a tad too short, due, I suspect, to its measurements modeling after the jacket.

There’s also a bit of an issue with the arm holes of the vest – they don’t lay right, and excess fabric end up pooling underneath my arms when I have them down, and blousing out when I have them raised.

The pants are too snug in the waist, hips, and thighs- especially when I sit down.

The rise of the pants is much too low. The front isn’t actually all that bad. The back, on the other hand, is simply unworkable. As much as I was worried about having visible plumbers crack during the fitting, the final product has me much, much more worried about visible wedgies. I think this is where some of the stylistic choices that Indochino makes in their patterns really comes into play – this base size 16 is too high of a drop, and the rise on the pants is too low. I wonder if they can’t swap these out for the suit pants from another suit size (say, a 17 or 18?) like you would with separates?

There’s some sort of issue with the cloth pinching between my thighs. I’m not sure if this is a product of the cloth not fitting, my having a less than ideal stance, or both. Again, I’m leaning towards the third of those options.

I think the break looks just fine, and the opening of the pant legs looks ok. Over all, I do worry that the slimness of the pant opening only exaggerates the different widths of my thighs and calves.

So, on the whole, I’m not horribly surprised by my results – it seems my skepticism was more or less well founded. That being said, I do understand that this is the first draft of what should hopefully be a masterful final product. To that end, most of the suit issues seem like they should be fixable, with the possible exception of the shoulders being brought in or padding added (I can’t imagine any circumstance under which they’ll add padding). The pants are what are truly problematic. If they can’t be altered significantly, I’m probably going to have to throw in the towel. I suspect I’ll have to go in for a remake, since I want the coat and sleeves lengthened, and the pants more than likely redone entirely.

Well, those are my thoughts. I’m very curious as to everyone else’s. What do you think (besides obviously agreeing that I need to make friends with my local gym) ?

(EXPIRED) Deal Alert: 10% off, 1 free shirt, 1 free accessory

2013-04-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Essential Gray Suit: now $341 instead of $379 plus 1 free shirt & 1 free accessory

UPDATE: Indochino deactivated the coupon already, hope some of you got their orders through.

The deal is only valid for suits, shirts and accessories from the Wedding Collection, but there are actually a number of interesting items even if you don't need it for a wedding. 10% off may not sound a lot, but here is the important part: this is one of the very few occasions where you can actually get a discount on an Essential Suit.

Take the Essential Gray Suit (review here) or the Essential Navy Suit, normally priced at $379 would now be $341 plus you get a free shirt (from the Refined Shirts, e.g. worth max. $99) and a free accessory.

Overall, this is a great deal if you need a complete outfit for a very good price - and believe me, the Essential Suits are hardly ever discounted, at least not in their usual seasonal sales or friday happy hour promos. I recommend to be quick if you want to use this coupon, Indochino might not have designed this promo to spread, so they may deactivate the coupon soon.

Selected Items - The Indochino Ultimate Spring Collection

2013-04-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

I had been thinking quite a lot of what I should order from the recent Spring Collection. I have plenty of suits ready for the warmer weather, but I wanted a combination that can be used for more casual settings as well.

Instead of the classic blue blazer & light chinos combo I went for the light blazer and navy pants version. Indochino has been offering their Boca Chinos for quite a while and keeps restocking them with new items, I decided it was time to give them a try. I just got a really nice slim fit Navy Blue one from GAP, let's see how they compare.

Measurement Changes:

I will change my measurements around a bit as I want a slimmer fit on the chinos compared to my suit pants and perhaps the jacket 0.5 inch shorter than usual. Of course I went for the half-lined version of the jacket and I'm really curious to see how that will turn out. Other than that I kept it pretty basic with a solid blue shirt (with contrast inside cuffs), a blue linen tie, a pocket square and one of the new lapel pins. I find many of the patterns Indochino offers a bit overwhelming - not necessarily bad, just a bit too garish for my personal taste.

Did anyone else order some Spring Collection items? What did you go for?

Indochino is also running a sweepstake again, you can win a $400 voucher here.

Indochino's Ultimate Spring Collection 2013 - An Overview

2013-03-27T23:39:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for spring? Indochino is and just released their second big collection of 2013 (first being the Ultimate Tech Collection at the beginning of January) called the Ultimate Spring Collection. While the last collection focused on special fabrics (nanotech) and gadgets (storm flap) at a premium price, the new collection is focused on wool/linen and wool/cotton blends for spring with a number of premium fabric suits mixed in.

A closer look at the new suits.

There are 4 new linen/wool suits, instead of the usual khaki and navy Indochino went for something a bit different and released a Tonal Slate and Sand Linen suit, a grey one (not a fan of grey linen myself) and a Burgundy one - Indochino refers to the latter as "surprisingly wearable".

Linen/Wool suits from $429

In addition, there are also 3 wool/cotton blends, better suitable for transitional weather and available in a number of colours as well. These are not as lightweight as the linen suits, but a great suit for those countries with actually springs and temperatures around 15°C-20°C.

Cotton/Wool suits from $429

The blazer selection basically mirrors the new suits, there are also 10 new shirts (quite a few of them premium shirts priced at $169) and a host of new accessories incl. linen ties and for the first time ever, lapel pins. A couple of new bow ties and inspired by The Tie Bar, small solid coloured tie bars in black and pink.

That's not all, I believe the really good news are in the details.

Half-lined Blazers now available.

Blazers can be ordered half-lined. This is definitely a great option for summer and something that was badly missed in the last years. Half-lined jackets are more breathable than fully lined jackets and have a somewhat more casual appearance. They also require more work from the tailor, great that Indochino is not charging extra for this feature.

The half-lining options is currently only available on blazers to but will be extended to suits as well if the feedback is positive and Indochino feels it works out well. Furthermore, as you can see it the screenshot below, the buttonhole colour and the collar felt colour can now individually be chosen.

The Button Stance Question.

Indochino responds to the loudly voiced critizism on their high button stance and the unability to customise this by showing a number of suits today with one button only. Indochino's customer service had been suggesting one button suits as an alternative Clearly, the button stance for this version is much lower. It's however not always an alternative to a two button suit, as one button suits are much more casual.

Double-breasted pics.

Another bonus point to Indochino for showing a suit in the double-breasted version. I've heard people say the only place to see how it looks is from my review a while ago, now Indochino has some pictures of their own for the new collection. Could somehow look better on the photos, though.

I'll be following up on this post with a collection of the items I like specifically, I'm definitely getting at least a half-lined blazer for the heat and will of course review it.

Initial reactions on Indochino's Facebook wall cover the whole spectrum from very negative to enthusiastic and I'm curious to hear what you think about the Ultimate Spring Collection and the new customisation options. You can also join the ongoing discussion on the Forum.

Announcement: Winner of the Joe Button Coupon

2013-03-22T00:36:00.001-07:00

I randomly selected a winner from the comments, thank you everyone for participating! The winner is Zach Weldon. Congratulations Zach, please write me an email and I will send you the coupon code!

Indochino secures $13M in fresh funding

2013-03-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

Indochino has secured another round of fresh funding, this time $13M were raised. Existing investors such as Jeff Mallett and Madrona Venture Group participated again, this time joined by new investor Highland Customer Fund. According to a reports on on geekwire.com and venturebeat.com the investment will be mainly used for marketing, product development and development of Indochino's website. According to earlier reports Indochino has yet to break even, but has been showing significant growth over the past few years and lately expanded their business to include pop-up stores in major US and Canadian cities.

What is your opinion? What do you think Indochino will do with the $13M and more importantly, what do you think they should do?

Giveaway: A $100 voucher for Joe Button (custom shirts)

2013-03-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone likes giveaways and this one comes in form of a $100 voucher for Joe Button, as a small thank you to you, the readers of this blog. What had started as a very small blog in 2010 is now a bit bigger with an average of 500 unique visitors a day, up to 1.000 if there are big news. I think that's quite good for a niche blog. The important part: if you want to win the voucher, leave a comment on this post and I will randomly determine the winner. Post until Thursday, 21st of March for a chance to win.

How you can help indochino-review.com:

Every blog is greatly influenced by its Google search ranking. And the Google ranking is more and more influenced by how often a website is shared, liked and followed on the various social media channels. So if you want to, follow me on Google+, Twitter or Facebook and sometimes share my articles - there are sharing buttons on the bottom of each post. Thank you!

Furthermore, if you have interesting content and you would like to share it, I'm always more than happy to publish it here. There have been some great examples recently. A fantastic suit review by J.Z. Bales, a report on the Traveling Tailor by Derrick Nguyen and another report with focus on Indochino for portly gentlemen by Ryan Burwinkel. If I happen to have a coupon or a giveaway, I'm always happy to give it to you in exchange.

Disclaimer:

Sometimes I post referral links, mostly for deal websites e.g. The Daily Hookup. If you purchase following these links, I get store credit. It is my policy to use this store credit only for giveaways for the blog, I won't ever use it for myself. Today's coupon for Joe Button is no exception.

CottonWork Custom Shirt Review

2013-03-16T23:58:00.002-07:00

Looking for the perfect dress shirt is a bit like looking for the perfect suit - it takes time and knowledge. I remember my first OTR shirts I bought for work. I hated how I looked in them, they were all far too wide and too short. Constantly I had to tuck my shirt and I never felt like I looked good in them. Only later did I realise that OTR sizes just won't do it for me. My first online MTM experience was with Indochino and I knew custom shirts are really the only way to go for me. Since then, I've always been on the lookout for more online MTM tailors to choose from.

There are plenty of possibilities and the market must have become pretty competitive. I've heard some good things about CottonWork and wanted to give them a try. I was also especially interested in their premium fabrics, as the price point is very comparable to Indochino's premium shirts. Just as a disclaimer, I received the shirt for free for this review.

CottonWork has a plethora of fabrics to choose from. 3895 fabrics, actually. There is probably nothing you can't find. Luckily, you can also filter the fabrics, select on those with solid colour, only the blue ones, etc. That of course helps a great deal. Prices start very affordably at $65 and then go up $220 for super fine Italian fabrics.

As I'm still in Asia (and will be for a while), light and breathable fabrics are a priority for me. I went for a fabric from the Thomas Mason collection, a solid blue, medium weight fabric with a thread count of 120-140. The fabric is excellent, smooth and thin.

Next you can configure your shirt. Where Indochino keeps it rather basic, there is an abundance of options to select from at CottonWork - and quite a few of those are really great. It would take to long to list them all, but everything from fit to placket, collar stiffness, buttons, threads and much more can be selected. I imagine it can be a bit overwhelming for someone just looking for a great fit, but I found it very enjoyable to play with.

Sometimes it would be nice to have a little more info on what the option actually does, e.g. when selecting the back details. What's the difference between "Box" and "Two side" and how does it affect the fit?

What makes this shirt different from my Indochino shirts are probably these options:

Collar height: high collar (I have a long neck, loved having this option)
Armholes: slim
Back Details: two side
Button: thick MOP

Other than that I went for a button-down collar, making the shirt more casual yet versatile. As for the measurements, you can either measure your body, adapt a standard size, use an existing shirt and measure it or you can send a well fitting shirt for them to copy. I went with the first option and remeasured my body (I didn't take the Indochino measurements, as they are tweaked).

The Fit and the quality

Overall, I'm very happy. I did mess up the sleeve measurements as I was a bit confused by the "measure to you thumb knuckle" and it came out a few cm too long (will have that fixed by a tailor). Other than that, it's pretty much spot on. It's a bit less slim fitting than my Indochino shirts but that's not a bad thing, especially here in this heat.

Quality seems great with no loose threads, buttons sewn tight and what appears to be a very high number of stitches per inch. Nothing to complain here. Buttons are of great quality as well and sewn very carefully.

One of the essentials for me, when it comes to online MTM is a perfect fit guarantee, meaning you should be able to return your shirt for a free remake or for a refund. CottonWork is very flexible here, you even get a 60-day return window compared to 14 days for Indochino. They also mention free alterations, but I'm not sure if you'd have to send back the shirt for the alterations or if they reimburse you.

Special Deal: get 5% off with the coupon code NyQBR7pk

CottonWork Custom Shirt Reviewed by Lorenz Loidl. Rated: 9/ 10 (Excellent) A great online MTM shirt maker that doesn't disappoint.

Indochino Traveling Tailor - Next Stop: Boston

2013-03-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Indochino is not losing any time this year and their Traveling Tailor event is relocating from Washington DC to Boston this month. From March 22 - April 15 everyone in Boston has the chance to see the fabrics first hand and get measured by a specialist. As usual you can get a free shirt when booking an appointment and buying a suit. Go to the Traveling Tailor page to book an appointment.

Indochino Traveling Tailor

234 Clarendon St.

Boston, MA

March 22 - April 15

Mon - Fri: 11am to 8pm

Sat - Sun: 10am to 7pm

Closed Easter Sunday

In other news, you can still win a $500 voucher from Indochino. They are giving it away for the best monogram - submit your photo here: http://bestindochinomonogram.strutta.com

Does Indochino Suit the Portly Crowd? Part I

2013-03-12T10:09:00.004-07:00

Text and photos by Ryan Burwinkel, except where noted otherwise.

Background:

Here’s the thing: I’m a big guy. I’m also… how to put this… not ideally shaped. I’ve got hips. I’ve also got this gut I keep telling myself I’m going to do something about, but never live up to that promise as much as I should. At the same time, I pride myself on trying to be well dressed, and aim to have a closet one day that’d make Gatsby blush.

When it comes to suits, I’m usually stuck straddling somewhere between the Regular and Portly sections at BigNameSuitDepots. As a result, I don’t invest heavily in suits that won’t fit right, and end up wearing a sub-par suit that looks off just enough to annoy, but not quite enough to return. In short, I don’t quite like the way I look - no matter how many times the scruffy looking guy on the TV might guarantee it.

Given this background, I was intrigued by Indochino’s Traveling Tailor here in DC. Really, I wanted to test out their “customers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages” claim in person. Indochino’s website is full of sculpted Adonises in perfectly tailored slim-fitting suits. What about round, pudgy, oddly shaped me? Could Indochino really make a perfect suit for the portly crowd, too?

The Location:

I signed up for an appointment at 1:30 on Sunday, the last day they were in town. I figured that, even if I didn’t buy a suit, it’d be a fun experience to get fitted. They’re set up in LivingSocial’s space on F Street, which is a great venue for pop-ups like this.

There are plenty of other posts, including on this site, that have some pretty all-encompassing shots of the interior, so I didn’t worry too much about snapping pictures. For those who haven’t seen the space, I’d describe the look and feel of the place as being in the Genius Bar for men’s fashion. I’m sure the giant LCD screen and plethora of Apple products didn’t hurt that impression, either.

Traveling Tailor: the Genius Bar for men’s fashion nerds.

After about 20 minutes of sipping coffee in an Indochino-branded cup while I listened to a mix of what sounded like Glee covers and the latest Mumford albums, a stylist came down the stairs to meet me.

The Fitting:

I was brought upstairs into the fitting areas, and that was where both the fun and pain began. I paired up with Cas, both my tailor and my stylist for the day who seemed like a local consultant they hired instead of a company man.

He took my age, weight, and height, and after a couple measurements, came back with a size 16 suit. It’s worth noting the brilliance of Indochino’s sizing here, because if the size had read anywhere in my usual 48-54 range, I’d be second-guessing him from the start.

The size 16 suit’s shoulders were almost comically too large – I’d guess the equivalent of somewhere around 56 for other retailers. This was my first real concern. The sleeves were long and would need to be taken in, too. The jacket length was ok - just needed to be shortened a bit. The armholes were far too low, as well. My main concern coming into the fitting was that Indochino’s waist suppression would simply be too much to handle (or, rather, that I’d be too much for it to handle). Surprisingly, it was a bit snug, but not nearly the corset-like fit I had expected.

Basically what I think of when I see the words “waist suppression”. Thankfully, the reality didn’t quite match. (Image via WolfBlog)

The pants were the real problem. The actual waistline was only a bit tight, but the rise was much too low. I was almost afraid to go back out at first, for fear of visible plumber’s crack. (Let me be clear: I have textbook chicken legs.) The thighs were too tight, the pockets billowed out from my hips, and the lower half of the pant leg was almost near bell-bottom territory. Sheepishly, I drew back the curtain and let him go to work.

Right away, he started bunching up the shoulders and taking notes on the iPhone hanging around his neck. I started to feel better. I’ve always been told that tailors can’t do a thing about oversized shoulders (thus, my hesitation with tailoring OTR suits to match me more perfectly). Maybe Indochino (and, by extension, M2M) was different?

I fought back a bit on how high the jacket was brought up, remembering reviews I read about the jackets being cut short (not a great look for me, either). The sleeves were taken in and shortened. He noted the watch on my left wrist, then we talked about the waist.

Cas’ solution caught me off-guard: do nothing. Raising the armholes up to fit more closely, he explained, would create enough room to make it breathable. I took him at his word, making a mental note to pay special attention to the final product. The back was adjusted for wrinkling and that always-annoying collar roll.

The pants were next, and Cas shared my concerns. His solution was to drop the crotch down an inch to give me a higher rise. I was willing to give it a shot, seeing as otherwise it would be an unworkable suit. We brought the hips in a touch to try to let the pockets lie flat, and let the thighs out to give more breathing room when I sat down. We also brought the pant leg in either an inch or an inch and a half (I can’t remember which) at the bottom. I asked for a medium break, and we were done with the pants.

The Styling

I came into the session having done my homework, and knowing that I was in the market for a three-piece navy suit, from probably either their Essentials or the new Premium Italian line. The only navy suit I own, originally bought back in college, is on its way out the door. A slick, three piece navy suit seemed perfect for dressing up for big occasions and meetings at work or dressing down for happy-hour networking.

When Cas confirmed that we didn’t need to take additional measurements for a vest, I was ready to start making my choices. As we walked, Timberlake’s new single, “Suit and Tie” came on. For a brief moment, everything felt right in the world.

I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that the Premium Italian fabric was the way to go. It felt higher quality, and the color was more obviously navy. The Essentials navy fabric really is almost black. I thought sharkskin too Vegas-y, and just didn’t like the look of the Nanotech fabric. The only remaining choice -Premium Italian- was going to hurt my wallet, but I hoped it would be worth it.

The Premium Italian Navy suit. Will it look as good on me? Only one way to find out… (Image from Indochino.)

After looking at the suits on the models, I remembered the other question I had about Indochino’s customization: lapel widths.

While most of the modern men’s fashion world might think that those 90’s-era 3.5 inch lapels are atrocious, they actually work pretty well for someone with my frame. I’d certainly never opt for the slip lapel befitting a fictional ‘60’s ad-man, or all his hyper-obsessed modern day followers. At the same time, I worry that Indochino’s standard 3-inch lapel might still be a tad too slim for me, and make the suit look off.

So, I asked if we could alter the lapel width, bringing it to proportions that were a little more me-sized. Cas wasn’t sure, so he asked one of his coworkers (who I assumed was a company guy). He said it was a possibility - we’d just have to make a note of the special request downstairs when we checked out. Feeling better, I continued on with the process.

The rest of the choices went pretty smoothly. I knew upfront that I was looking for a ticket pocket, functioning buttonholes and boutonnière on the coat. I opted out of pick stitching for the first suit, since I’ve read middling reviews of their execution elsewhere. I also opted for a smart pocket (“literally, they’re discontinuing them tomorrow – I’m telling everyone to grab it while you can!”) and pen pocket on the coat, as well.

For the vest, a straight v seemed the best way to go. I chose the beige lining after a little waffling and some gentle prodding: “This is where we figure out who you are, my man,” Cas told me, “It’s a chance to make a statement.”

Beige Bemberg lining. (Photo from Indochino)

To better compliment my more conservative taste and heavier frame, I chose pleats and cuffs for the pants, with belt loops but no suspender buttons, or side-tabs. After getting “this suit custom tailored for Ryan Burwinkel” monogrammed, my suit choices were complete.

Bonus Shirt Round!

I’ve never had much luck with French cuff dress shirts (the sleeve openings are too wide, and the cufflinks end up pulling the cuff too far down my thumb). So, I took the free shirt that came with my new suit as an opportunity to give them another shot. Besides, I feel like the brassiness of a three-piece suit kind of calls for a smart pair of cufflinks.

I chose a plain white shirt in their higher thread count with a spread collar. I like to wear a half-windsor knot, a holdover from my days on the Hill, surrounded by big-knot, big-ego staffers. After getting my initials monogrammed on the cuff, I was almost done with the first leg of my inaugural M2M experience.

Paying, and some complications.

Cas brought me back down to the front office for what I was openly calling the “painful” part. Before I paid up, I had to ask about the lapels getting widened first. To my surprise, contrary to what I had been told, lapel widths were one of the things that weren’t customizable.

“You’re certainly not the first one to ask this”, the woman at the front desk told me. I don’t suspect I’ll be the last, either. She said she’d make a note of the request, and that maybe in future suits they could make wider lapel widths an option company-wide. After a moment’s thought, I decided to move forward anyway with the order and give it a shot.

My credit card company initially declined the order. This didn’t come as a surprise, given that I had read elsewhere that this might happen since they’re based out of Canada. After a quick call, the transaction went through, and I got a Utility Kit to boot! The extra gift was given as an apology for the “inconvenience”, which hardly felt like one. Still, I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Custom is king, but does it come king-sized?

$700 poorer, but five weeks away from being a pair of shoes shy from a head-to-toe custom-made outfit, I left to bask in the gorgeous weather of DC on an early Spring afternoon for a little while before meeting back up with some friends who were in town for the weekend. All in all, the experience took about an hour from start to finish.

Reflections

On the whole, I can certainly see what all of you guys are so crazy about. The M2M experience has me hooked. Given just how much tailoring was required (and some of the strategic choices behind those alterations) I’m convinced that the final product will be infinitely better than what I’d have gotten had I simply taken my own measurements at home.

This is where the genius of the Traveling Tailor really shines through. If these pop-up shops are actually a pilot for true brick and mortar stores (in the vein of, say, SuitSupply, which has a DC location), I’d highly encourage Indochino to consider placing one in DC. There’s certainly a great client base to be had in a city that maintains an almost comically bad reputation for men in ill-fitting suits.

All of that being said, I’m still heavily skeptical of how the final product will turn out. After some research, I see that Indochino says their lapels vary slightly depending on the width of the customer. How much is “slightly”, exactly? Will the tailoring decisions that Cas made pay off in the final product? I know that for a lot of guys, the execution of the final product can vary significantly from what they first thought they were getting.

On the whole, the greater question behind all of this also still remains open: can Indochino actually make suits for bigger guys like me? My confirmation e-mail says I should get the first shot at answering that question by mid-April. I’ll let you know what I find out.

To be continued…

Report from Traveling Tailor Washington, DC - by Derrick Nguyen

2013-03-07T02:17:00.000-08:00

Photos and write-up by Derrick Nguyen

I made an appointment for 8:00am on Wednesday initially, but with the fear of the incoming snow, I made another appointment for Tuesday at 8:15am. I was about fifteen minutes late as the DC Metro is probably the worst public transit system in the world, and therefore you can never count on it. Anyways, I showed up and they asked me for my name to check me in. I had to wait about 10 minutes before I was taken upstairs. While I was waiting they had coffee and other pastries along with some custom cups with "INDOCHINO" written on them. I forgot to snap a picture.

As I'm waiting, Nicole asks me a couple questions. She's a world traveler type but she's been with the company since December. She lives in Shanghai, where I think their second office was opened along with the manufacturing side. We're discussing suits and she asks me about the flap that showed up on some of the latest pictures for their "Storm" line of suits. I told her that I didn't like the addition, nor did I see its function. She asks me how many suits I have from their company and I surprise her, along with everyone when I tell them "7," including the "Performance" line. I was ordering Indochino suits when I was still wearing an ETA based watch! I digress.

I go upstairs and Shayla(sp?) takes my initial measurements. She's from the Dominican Republic, where I'll be traveling to this Thursday, so we immediately start making small talk. She doesn't work for Indochino, she's a local consultant that they've hired for their Traveling Tailor. So she fits me for an initial jacket so we can make further adjustments. Chris is the "master tailor" in the house. He's a younger guy that's really tall. He comes over and introduces himself to me. He tells me he works out of the Vancouver main office and of course he's dressed in a Vincero suit. The suit on him looks perfect so immediately he gains credibility when talking to me about fit. I peak down at his timepiece and shockingly he's wearing a Guess watch.

I figure I'll take his advice when it comes to fit but will closely monitor his style suggestions. He makes the additional adjustments and confirms Shayla's measurements. He asks things like, do you sit down a lot, do you wear a watch and so on. It's a great experience and he tells me that I have the "prototypical" body of how a suit is envisioned. I smirk because little did he know I did 100 pull-ups that morning. I'm now done with the measuring portion of my visit and I meet with Jabrari(sp?). He basically runs through the different types of suits and fabrics they have, but I stop him somewhat short. I know I want one of the new Nanotech suits, and I know I want charcoal with pinstripes. I see the sample they have hanging up and it's perfect (http://www.indochino.com/product/the-gray-indigo-pinstripe-suit). The pinstripes are really subtle and it's just what I'm looking for in a new suit. From the selection of the suit, we go onto the customizations. At this point, you're basically going through the same process that you do online. I ask Jabrari's opinions on some things and try to pull in anyone I can see. I'm not that flashy of a guy, so I stick to mostly basics. One thing to note is that for everyone that made an appointment got a free shirt with a suit purchase. This isn't the best deal, but it's something. I'm just glad I get a chance to get fitted by one of their tailors.

Jabrari walks me downstairs to their cashier which is the area I was originally greeted. I had some issues with my credit card accepting the charge because of the Canadian point of sale, but they wait while I call my card carrier and get it sorted out. While I'm on the phone with my credit card one of the associates hands me a utility kit with a tie(black), tie bar, measuring tape, cufflinks and a white pocket square. It's a nice gesture, and I don't tell them that I have three of these sitting in my closet at home. I'm not sure if all the visitors got one or just me. I'd like to think I was special but I highly doubt it. All in all it was a great experience. It took a little longer than I expected, about an hour, but it was well worth it.

Indochino introduces 4 new, solid coloured premium suits

2013-03-05T20:47:00.001-08:00

Indochino introduced 4 new suits yesterday - it was one of those rather silent additions, not yet the big new Spring 2013 collection, but interesting nonetheless. We all know the Vincero line, made from superior Italian Reda Fabrics. The Vincero Collection consists of a number of suits, often new ones are added. Most of them are pinstripes, windowpanes and other patterns. What was really lacking so far were a couple of solid coloured suits in a superior fabric - only choice were the Essential suits.

Well, this is changed now. The four new suits are all solid coloured Reda suits, priced at $599. There is a Navy, a Light Gray, a Charcoal and a Black suit. If you can afford them, they are definitely worth the premium compared to the Essential suits. Now, my only complaint would be about how the new suits look on the model. The shoulders are great, but the waist suppression is too much (=female) for me, the jackets are too short (of course, this will be done according to your measurements) but most of all that button stance is just too high! Not sure if I'm in the minority here, but I personally feel the option for a lower button stance would really be a great addition.

Call for reports: Indochino Traveling Tailor DC

2013-03-02T22:14:00.002-08:00

Hello everyone in Washington DC - are you attending the Indochino Traveling Tailor? If yes, I'd need your help. I'm looking for a report and some photos from the event to be published on indochino-review.com. As a reward, I will be giving out a $80 coupon for www.hemingwaystyle.com - enough for a nice watch or tie bars. Shoot me an email at lorenz@indochino-review.com and we will figure out the rest. Thank you!

Indochino Ups Their Shirt Game - Premium Shirts worth it?

2013-03-02T04:06:00.002-08:00

There was a time when Indochino basically only sold their shirts when they gave them away for free with a coupon - those early times are certainly over and Indochino moved on as a brand and probably also caters towards a slightly different customer group now. We have seen the introduction of premium shirts, using fabrics from famous mills such as Thomas Mason, Supima cotton ("World's Finest Cottons") or other well-known Italian mills.

Of course, this development came at a price. Indochino's shirts are normally priced between $79-$99, that's already priced considerably above many other online shirt makers.

The premium shirts cost as much as $169 and while a higher price also raises the perceived quality, many customers ask themselves if it is worth it.

I got one of the premium shirts with my last suits, it's a Thomas Mason Typhoon Gray White & Indigo Striped Shirt. The fit is great, but not different from my normal Indochino shirts - because they fit great as well.

The fabric does feel much nicer. Softer, more luxurious - simply better. But is that enough to justify $169? Is it worth that much to have the brand "Indochino" on your shirt?

Some recent news give us some more insights on where Indochino is going with their shirts. Remember last year suits got updated with better components and more attention to detail. Shirts now got the same treatment - a host of new options combined with quality improvements. Let's have a look at the new options and improvements:

Contrast collars and sleeve cuffs (inside colours)

Opinion: an interesting feature, previously already available from many other shirt makers

18 stitches per inch

Opinion: I don't know how many they used before, but yeah, this sounds like a right thing to do

Longer back

Opinion: I'm a big fan of this one, but would actually be nice to have a choice for e.g. casual shirts

Last button placed horizontally

Opinion: definitely a positive development, small detail but big effect

No placket option

Opinion: nice addition to the customisation options, always good to have choice

Freudenberg interlinings

Opinion: same company they use for suits, seems to be of high quality - I have to confess, I wasn't aware of shirts having interlinings at all

Streamlined collar selection

Opinion: Indochino was missing a cutaway collar for a long time but seemed to have tons of medium point collar styles - much simpler now and everything essential is there

Of course, these points above are true for all shirts, standard and premium. Again, this leaves the premium shirts with only one real advantage: fabric. At the end, it's up to every individual to decide if that justifies to spend more than double as much. I just received a shirt from CottonWork a few days ago that is priced similarly to Indochino's Premium Shirts - let's see how they compare in a review next week.

Indochino La Boca Chinos - New Arrivals

2013-02-27T08:48:00.001-08:00

Chinos and their effects

Pretty much a year after their first introduction, Indochino is now expanding their La Boca Chinos line. Priced at $99, Indochino goes casual with a number of colours to choose from (a pretty nice blue, a weird mustard and a daring salmon pink). I'll be ordering a pair of chinos soon, will probably tweak my measurements a bit. After all, a chino should fit a bit differently from a pair of suit pants. Did anyone order a pair of those and wants to share some insights?

Special Report from Asia: Ho Chi Minh City Part 2

2013-02-16T06:13:00.001-08:00

I had planned on publishing the second part of my report from Asia much sooner, but the fact is, the first tailor simply didn't work out as planned. I wanted to get a casual, short-sleeved linen shirt, roughly based on a design available on mrporter.com.

Well, I did get 2m navy blue linen fabric from a local market (around $9.5) and showed the desired design to the tailor (see photo on the left) on my iPhone. He seemed very understanding, took notes and I got measured - I actually had a good feeling.

I picked up the shirt 2 days later for a first fitting and unfortunately it was horrible. I don't actually know why he bothered to take measurements and look at my design wishes.

It was just a thing generally resembling a shirt, but it's far too wide around the torso, the shoulders are too wide, armholes too low, lose sleeves, horrible collar, lose threads, etc. - just nothing fit and it didn't look anything like I wanted it to.

I discussed the changes with him and then waited another 2 days. The final product is still basically unwearable. I decided not to make a fuss and paid the agreed 200.000 VND ($9.5). So, all in all, my first try cost me $19 (fabric + tailor) and I learned a few things.

Be better prepared

Know exactly what you want, leaving no detail uncommented, provide print-outs or even better, a shirt you like that can be copied.
You get what you pay for

$20 just doesn't get you a great shirt, at least not in my experience.

Well, I am not giving up. I've got a few good recommendations and I will visit a couple of other tailors. I will also be in Bangkok next week and will try to see some tailors there as well. Any recommendations for Bangkok and generally, tailors in South-East Asia are very welcome!

In other news, there is also a great chance for winning an Indochino suit at the moment, head over to their Facebook page to find out more.

Indochino Traveling Tailor: Next Stop Washington, DC

2013-02-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

The popular Traveling Tailor event, popularised in 2011 and 2012, is having its first stop in 2013 in Washington, DC. During 8 days (much longer than last year), from March 2 until March 10, people will have a chance to get measured and see all the Indochino offerings in person. To receive a free shirt (the ones priced at $79) on purchase, don't forget to reserve an appointment before. Who's going?

Indochino Traveling Tailor

March 2-10, 2013

LivingSocial's 918 F St.

Washington, DC 20004

8:00 am to 8:00 pm

Suit Review: Indochino Essential Gray Herringbone by J.Z. Bales

2013-02-08T05:06:00.000-08:00

Indochino’s Essential Gray Herringbone Suit

When it comes to suits, it doesn’t get much more versatile than gray. When you’re feeling bold, a gray suit provides the solid foundation upon which you can make a statement with colorful shirts, ties, and pocket squares. When you’re just looking to ease your way through the workday, however, a gray suit also lets you tone things down. And when you head out for a night on the town, the jacket is equally at home with a dark shirt and jeans.

Despite gray’s versatility, I’ve always felt underwhelmed by various manufacturers’ offerings. One thing that has always turned me off of light gray suits is that the fabric is typically not uniformly gray throughout, like charcoal or navy fabric is. To me, this random variance creates the perception of roughness, even in suits that I know are made of quality material. Although I’m sure there are many men who like this about gray suits, it’s just a personal gripe of mine.

Indochino’s regular gray fabric (left) and gray herringbone fabric (right)

When I happened upon Indochino’s Essential Gray Herringbone suit, however, all of my qualms about color variance disappeared. My hand was forced when Indochino offered a rare 20% off coupon, and I pulled the trigger on it and the Gray Double Pinstripe suit (an excellent choice, by the way). On previous suits, I had gotten my measurements ever closer to my “perfect fit,” but I still felt there was room for improvement. I was feeling rather brave, so I shaved down a few of my dimensions, chose my options, and placed the order. It turns out that I was a bit too brave on the measurements, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Fast forward to five weeks later, and my suit arrived. Upon opening the box, I was immediately struck by the herringbone pattern: I really like it! In my opinion, the herringbone pattern adds a level of sophistication that plain gray suits lack, yet it is not overpowering and still plays well with patterned shirts and ties. Furthermore, unlike windowpanes, the herringbone is slightly slimming and contributes to the suit’s sleek appearance. I have a naturally slim build, so I don’t necessarily require a suit with slimming properties, but I imagine that this suit would complement larger men nicely. Despite being listed as only Super 100s, the fabric itself is quite smooth and soft, and has a nice drape. I looked at that Super 100s number with some trepidation, but I am very pleased with the fabric’s quality.

The blue Bemberg lining is a few shades darker than my royal blue tie

As for custom options, I chose a two-button jacket with regular notch lapels, two vents, functional sleeve buttons, a functional boutonniere, a pen pocket, and blue Bemberg lining. I ordered the suit right around the time that Indochino moved to offering only Bemberg linings, and I am pleased with the material. The Bemberg linings are not as shiny as Indochino’s older linings, and the color does not have a pearly appearance in the light.

One thing to note about the functional boutonniere is that it is not just an open hole on the lapel: On the underside of the lapel, there is a small loop that allows you to insert a fresh-cut flower and have it actually stay in place without a safety pin. Although I have never actually used it, I like knowing that I can. As for the functional sleeve buttons, this is purely a matter of personal preference. I have only needed to unbutton my sleeves once, but again, I like knowing that I can. Before you order functional sleeve buttons, however, make sure you have your sleeve measurements where you want them—alterations are no small feat.

Now, remember how I said I was overly brave when trimming my measurements? It turns out that the suit jacket is a bit too tight in the midsection. I should stress that this was no fault of Indochino, because the jacket’s measurements are exactly what I entered. It’s not too bad, however, and I haven’t felt compelled to have the suit altered in the two months that I’ve had it. Plus, if I stand just right, it looks like the kind of oh-so-perfectly-tailored fit that you see on the cover of GQ. In all seriousness, though, don’t be a hero—make sure you give yourself a little breathing room in the chest and midsection. I’ve already gone back in and adjusted my measurement profile accordingly. Despite the tight midsection, the jacket fits to my liking where it really counts—the shoulders, jacket length, and sleeves.

Doing my best to channel Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love.

As for the pants, they are just how I like them. The waist is perfect, I’ve got enough room in the crotch and backside, and the inseam leads down to a full break at my ankles. I opted for no pant cuffs, and I really think that this suit looks best without them. However, everyone has different tastes, so feel free to get cuffs if you really like them.

In the short time that I’ve owned this suit, it has already become my favorite. Even though I also own one of Indochino’s Vincero suits, which I absolutely love, I find myself pulling the Essential Gray Herringbone out of the closet more often due to its versatility. Although it looks exceedingly sharp with a crisp white shirt and power tie, I frequently pair it with shirts of almost every color and pattern. One of my favorite ensembles includes a solid light blue shirt and bright royal blue tie (pictured). It’s a safe combination that never fails to receive compliments.

For the bow tie aficionados like myself, however, just be sure that you don’t wear a red bow tie with this suit. I found out the hard way when I wore this combination to work and wound up as the butt of several Pee-wee Herman jokes.

Just in case you’re wondering, the pictured shirt is from Modern Tailor, and I definitely recommend checking them out. Don’t get me wrong, I like Indochino’s shirts, but Modern Tailor offers more fabrics and options at a slightly lower price point. The tie is from The Tie Bar, whose ties are absolutely amazing. I don’t know about other men, but I’ve always had a hard time justifying $40+ ties. The Tie Bar’s products are on par with the best ties I’ve ever encountered, yet they’re just $15. Seriously, check them out.

Indochino Essential Gray Herringbone Suit Reviewed by J.Z. Bales. Rating: 10/10 (Excellent) An extremely versatile suit with a touch of sophistication.

Special Bonus: My friend, Calan, recently picked up the three piece version of the Essential Gray Herringbone suit. He chose largely the same options that I did, except with burgundy Bemberg lining and a seven-button vest. He really likes the suit, but notes that he wishes he had gone with the five-button vest. Check it out:

Suit Review: The Nanotech Storm Indigo Striped Suit

2013-02-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

The Nanotech Storm Indigo Stripe Suit

There are a couple of points that highlight the evolution of Indochino: upgraded components, Bemberg liners, digital cutting are just a few. However, it's one thing to read about upgraded components and it's a whole different thing to feel the impact these upgrades have on an actual suit. I've plenty of Indochino suits to compare to and it's safe to say that this suit now, is one of the best ones I've ever head.

The Nanotech Storm Indigo Stripe Suit is part of the first Indochino Collection 2013, the controversial Ultimate Tech Collection. The first collection of a year is always something special and people expect Indochino to stay innovative, stylish/fashionable and at the same time affordable, responsive and accommodating. Sometimes you just can't satisfy everyone and I have a feeling that's what happened with the Ultimate Tech Collection. I have written in length about it already, so I won't go into details now. Suffice it to say, I thought there were plenty of good ideas overall but I certainly don't envy the Indochino employee who had to answer to customers on Facebook around launch day.

Back to my suit. It has all the gimmicks of the Tech Collection:

Smart Pocket: touch sensitive pocket for smartphones, cable clip, earphone hole. The smartphone pocket is a really useful idea for those who carry their phones in their suit jackets. The earphone hole and the cable clip (it's removable) may be useful for those listening to music and audiobooks on their commute - see photo below on how that looks on the suit.

NanoTech: the fabric is treated with an advanced coating that repels liquids and stains. In contrast to the past Traveling Collection that had a similar fabric, this one really doesn't feel any different and just feels like a great material. I tested the whole thing by spilling water on the suit and indeed, the water doesn't soak in - see photo below.

Storm Flap: Described by Indochino as "stylish way to protect your neck and chest from cold weather", this feature mostly triggered negative feedback within the community. I am honestly not sure if I would wear it. It certainly keeps you warm, but so does a nice Cashmere scarf. I'm currently in Vietnam, so it's 33°C and not really the right climate to test it, so I will just remove it for now. I also feel it adds some bulk to the shoulders and the lapels, doesn't look as tidy with the Storm Flap attached.

Aside from the special features, it is most of all just a very well made and very well fitting suit. I specifically like the attention to details, e.g. the buttons don't feature that bold Indochino text on the sides anymore, the buttonholes are really nicely sewn, buttons actually seem like real bull horn, etc.

By the way, the shirt I chose is part of the premium collection and priced at $159. That's definitely not cheap, no doubt about that. It's also a very nice fabric by Cotonificio Albini. Ok, I didn't know the name but I can tell that the fabric is of very high quality and it feels just great. No loose threads, no loose buttons - it's a great fitting shirt made of great material.

The tie is from Indochino as well, it's their Light Gray Wool Tie. I really like the feel of it, a nice contrast to the usual silk ties and a nice one to have for autumn/winter.

Being in Vietnam also gave me the chance to meet with Aron, co-founder of Mantorii. I had another pair of shoes made. I didn't have to pay for those, but Aron suggested I try something more special to showcase what Mantorii can do. I went for a pair of Chili Red Wholecut shoes with blue lining (different lining is available via email request only for the moment) and blue shoe laces. Single leather sole.

I might slim down the pants a little at the bottom

It's a very bold shoe and an interesting combination with the indigo blue Indochino suit. I don't think I'd wear these at the office, but they are great for special occasions.

Mantorii Chili Red Wholecut Shoe. Picture copyright Mantorii Custom Footwear

by Lorenz Loidl

Deal Alert: Save 20% on everything with Indochino's Chinese New Year Sale

2013-02-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

A pretty good deal: e.g. get an Essential Suit for $303 instead of $379

This comes somewhat as a surprise, Indochino actually stated earlier they wouldn't do a Chinese New Year Deal 2013 on Facebook, but here it is - and it's a pretty good one. There was no shortage of good deals recently, with the Gilt City Deal and then the start of the Winter Sale (now unavailable).

20% off on everything is excellent and especially tempting for those who want to get one of the Essential Suits, as they are normally not included in sales.

Example

Essential Navy for $303 instead of $379

To get the deal use the coupon code CNY2013 at checkout. Ends February 3, 11:59.