Indochino Review: Classic Camel Linen Suit

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Indochino Classic Camel Linen Suit - the perfect summer suit

I wanted to post this already a month ago, but better late than never, I guess! So here is my review on the Indochino Classic Camel Linen Suit (349$) - luckily still available, just like many other suits from the recent Linen Collection and the Cotton Collection.

The fabric
As mentioned on they product description, the Linen suits are actually a blend of 55% linen and 45% cotton. This way you can prevent the worst wrinkles and the suit is still light and breathable for the summer - in the pictures I posted, the suit has actually already been worn for 2 days. So, yes it's not completely crisp anymore, but still quite acceptable. I am working in an environment that requires me to wear suits, but I would appear overdressed in a 3-piece pinstripe suit - a linen suit in summer is definitely ok, but I guess that might be different for those of you who are working in the banking industry.

close-up of the fabric

One drawback of this year's linen suits is the fact that the jackets are all fully lined. In the summer it would be great to half some lighter, half-lined jackets. I remember you could request that option at Indochino last year, but this year it's all full lining. I could have used my 75$ tailor credit and half a local tailor do that, but at the end I decided against it... now that I think of it, it could have been interesting to do it and take some pictures of the inside of the suit. Perhaps with the next one.

Buttonholes - could be a bit more accurate


The fit: the pants
It is worth mentioning that so far my suits have not required a remake. I had to go to a tailor to fix a thing or two sometimes, but these were minor issues. On the first suit I had to correct the pants length and the length of the sleeves (my measurement mistake), once a collar felt was not properly sewn, but that is basically it. So quality on my suits has been very consistent. However, this time the pants didn't fit that well. They were unusually baggy and that didn't work with the tailored fit of the jacket. I am not sure how this happened - I had actually already lowered the crotch measurement, but they still came out baggy. Perhaps it's their house cut that changed slightly? We have all noticed the models wearing the pants a bit loose. 

Anyway, I applied for a remake with further improved measurements and received my new pants last week - the fit is excellent. I have to say that the process was smooth and simple. All I have to do now is find a cheap way to send back the original pants to Indochino.

everything fit fine after the pants remake

The fit: the jacket
For my first suits, my shoulder measurement was 18'. That was very snug and I felt it restricted my movements a bit when I bowed forward or leaned on a table. I talked to Angie/Indochino Customer support about this and I changed my measurements to 18.25", emphasizing that I really just want the shoulders to be a tiny bit larger than 18". I had done the same already with my Tweed Suit and the result was very convincing. Now the shoulders still end exactly where they should, but I do have a bit more freedom to move. 

Another thing that I always request is a bit less waist suppression than usual. I had seen a couple of pictures where they really overdid it and I wanted to avoid having a female silhouette.

jacket fit just fine out of the box

The lowdown:
Ultimately, another Indochino suit that worked fine for me. I like the fabric, the suit is cool enough for hot summer days, even if it's fully lined. The fit is just as I wished for after all. I hope I can avoid a remake on the pants next time and they keep on working on their quality & consistency. One thing I'm a bit unsure of is the style on their models. It changes a bit every month, does that mean the suits change too or do they stay true to the measurements? It might just be that my pants were too baggy because the style of their suits changed. Which could mean that my next pants could end up far too tight, depending on the style of the collection.

Furthermore, am curious to see what the 4$ million investment from a few months ago will change or lead to. Shoes? Finally the cardigans that were already talked about at the end of 2010? Customizable ties (length, width)? Silk lining instead of the polyester blend we have now? There'd be plenty of possibilities.  

Indochino wants you to look cool when it's hot

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Indochino introduces the Cotton Suit Collection

Indochino stays true to their monthly releases and introduced a range of new suits today. As was already visible from the teaser image yesterday, the new collection draws some inspiration from last year's successful Blueprint Collection. Back then, a big inspirations was admittedly Etro, with their colored collar felts and extravagant linings (unfortunately we didn't get any this time). Furthermore, this time the collection focuses on cotton fabrics - a wish often voiced within the Indochino community. There is again a bit of a different look to both the models and the photos - somehow reminds me of 60ies comedy movies - perhaps because of the hairdo? I quite like it, they really to keep things fresh (and obviously that always means that some people like it and others don't).

One of the key points of the new collection is a bit controversial. The suits are made with a fabric exclusively created for Indochino, according to the product descriptions. They call that fabric "CoolCotton" and it is a blend of cotton and a "finite amount of spandex". Spandex is usually used for those superman costumes or cycling pants, stretch leggins, Zentai etc. What it basically does is allow for stretch and I guess it also reduces wrinkles - it also gives the fabric some sheen. I'm not a fan of blends (with synthetic fiber), I do really prefer the fabrics to be 100% natural. I guess everyone has to form his own opinion on that. Indochino presents it basically as an enhanced fabric, easy to care and breathable and that might just very well be what it is and what many people want.

The suits that were made available today basically mirror the linen suits. They are available in Khaki, Gray, Navy Blue, Black and Brown:

Indochino Cotton suits - priced at 375$

Ultimately, the choice is yours. You can go for a Linen suit (in this case a blend of cotton and linen) or a Cotton suit (in this case a blend of cotton and spandex). The latter one has a slight sheen to it and is less wrinkly. Linen is obviously wrinkly after an hour, but that's also part of its coolness. In terms of prices there is not much of a difference. The Linen suits are a bit cheaper at 349$ compared to 375$ for the CoolCotton fabric.

Linen on the left vs. Cotton on the right

By the way, I'm a bit sorry for the delay of the Linen Suit review. I realize it would have been more helpful some weeks ago, but I really wanted to wait for the remade pants so I can do a proper review (and compare the two pants). I'll still do the review in a few days, the new pants are on the way now.

Nouveau Collection suits are back!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011



Today, Indochino reintroduced some of their suits from the December 2010 Collection - The Nouveau Collection. It was a collection that set new standards. Not only was it one of their biggest collection with 13 new suits, 10 new shirts and different linings, it was also the first time we got very high quality fabrics - and comparably very high prices. You can check out my detailed write-up on that collection right here. The fabrics are also very heavy (300mg/m2), so don't expect them to be light summer suits. 

Luckily, most of the Linen Suits are still available, so there is plenty of choice! By the way, still no coupons - or do you know of any?


Indochino Newsflash: Gingham shirts and an upcoming review

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

New Gingham Shirts from Indochino - priced 99$ each

Hi guys, just thought I'd quickly update you with some new additions to the Indochino lineup - 5 gingham shirts in various colors of the rainbow were added yesterday. All priced at 99$. Now, I don't want to push this too far, but I guess we are all waiting for a coupon to get one of the shirts for free with a coupon...

In other news, I have received my Indochino Camel Linen Suit (349$) yesterday and I'm working on a review. I might have to postpone it a bit, because while the jacket fits great as usual, the pants came out a bit too baggy, especially the crotch and the waist measurements. Perhaps this is a change in the house style - we have all noticed the models wearing the trousers a bit more "baggy", so that might be the reason. In any case, I requested a remake on the trousers with some adjusted measurements and hope it will ship quickly so I can wear the suit confidently. I have still included a picture below.


Indochino Camel Linen Suit