How does your Indochino suit stand the test of time? This is a question that comes up rather frequently in comments, forum threads and emails. It's an interesting topic worth finding out more about, I believe. Indochino suits are good value for money, but how do they look after a couple of years regular use?
Let's take a look at my Essential Gray Suit, purchased in September 2010. Because of it's versatility, it is one of the most frequently used suits in my wardrobe. I guess I use it on average 1-2 times a week.
Before I come to the issues I encountered with it, let me tell you that I treated it with great care. I only took the jacket to the dry cleaners once, because of a particularly annoying stain that I could not manage to remove myself. Apart from that one time, I just hang my suits in the bathroom to get rid of wrinkles, at the open window to get some fresh air and use a brush to get rid of particles.
All in all, it held up pretty well, I would say. The top button on the jacket became a bit loose, so I had it resewn. Also, my pants ripped (1.5 inches wide) at the seam at the thighs just last week. The collar felt wasn't sewn on properly on the left side and needed fixing as well, but that problem was present right from the start. Apart from these 3 minor issues, the suit held up very well and shows no further signs of wear and tear.
My other Indochino suits seem to follow this example, so far no bigger problems - top button becoming lose seems to be the number one issue. I've also had the issue raised in a comment on an earlier article - a line around the edge of the jacket became visible. I think it's due to the thin fabric, so the "insides" of the suit become visible over time.
Shirts seem to hold up equally well. They do shrink quite a bit, I noticed, and recently I have had a number of buttons coming off at the cuffs. Some broke, some just became loose.
My other Indochino suits seem to follow this example, so far no bigger problems - top button becoming lose seems to be the number one issue. I've also had the issue raised in a comment on an earlier article - a line around the edge of the jacket became visible. I think it's due to the thin fabric, so the "insides" of the suit become visible over time.
Shirts seem to hold up equally well. They do shrink quite a bit, I noticed, and recently I have had a number of buttons coming off at the cuffs. Some broke, some just became loose.
Recommended Care Instructions:
- Indochino suits contain some fused interlining, thus it is not recommended to bring your jackets to the dry cleaners (the heat may cause bubbling and render the jacket useless).
- Instead, hang the jacket in your bathroom while you take a hot shower - the steam will take care of the wrinkles. Afterwards, you can hang the jacket at an open window so it can breath.
- Use a brush and lint rollers to remove smaller particles.
- Remove stains with water or a non-aggressive washing detergent. When in doubt, ask your dry cleaner for help or check these online resources: Esquire | Abrahams Tailoring
- Hang your suit on a proper hanger to avoid messing up the shoulders
I'd be interested to hear about your experience - how are your Indochino suits holding up? Any specific problem areas fellow readers should know about? I put together a little survey, it's embedded in this post just below. Would be nice if you could all participate, doesn't even take a minute.
28 comments:
Do you launder your shirts normally, or dry clean them? I'm curious
about the shrinkage you mentioned on shirts because i didn't factor that
into the sizing on mine.
Just dry clean, the sleeves still got a bit shorter.
Have you heard of elitesuits.com, the owner claims to have the best mtm suit at every price point. If you could review them that would be awesome.
the sleeze on mine shrunk, im thinking of lengthen them.
hey what are the areas of the jacket I should take in to make it more of a tailored look? my first suit was perfect except for the jacket. even after the tailor (which did a great job) I still feel its a boxy below the arm pits down to the waist on. ( lots of material on the sides)? thanks. greta site
Elitesuits.com vs. Indochino, does simon really have twice their quality at half their cost, shouldnt we find out? A full floating canvas, pure 120s to 180s italian wool, mtm suit for less than $300? Someones head will roll in this match!!!
Mate, if you've taken it to a tailor, told him/her the jacket felt boxy below the arm pits and your tailor had no feedback for you then it's probably time to find a proper tailor.
But to answer your question, the boxy-ness could be cause by any one or combination of the below:
- too big around the chest
- not enough waist suppression
- too big around the hip
- improper cut for the shoulder
- jacket too long
Without seeing it in person, it's really hard to say. Even photographs, unless it's professionally taken, don't really give enough detail.
Perhaps you can tell us the city you live in and maybe someone can recommend a good tailor for you. It's very important to get the fit of the suit right above anything. A good fit vs. a poor fit, regardless of how luxurious or common place the fabric looks can make you look like a million bucks or an off-duty bell boy.
Fit is absolutely everything.
Bp7, please comment on the full page, not the mobile version - for some reason your comments don't show up in the comments on the full page like this. Thanks!
I have about 15 IC shirts and 6 suits. I always dry clean the shirts, no issue. Even my oldest shirts (24 months aprox) no issue. If I had to actually launder and iron those puppies that would be a deal breaker for me lol.
Suits get the treatment prescribed here by Lorenz and also holding strong. Although I wear much less frequently (2 to 3 times per month). When I am stuck flying in a suit I always opt for one of the two "traveler" collection suits I picked up - the fabric is like armor and its comfortable like a sweat suit.
Most frequent problem (other than fit) is buttons. They are consistently loose, often out of the box. Not a big issue but highly annoying having to re sew. Worst was on sleeve of my Navy Traveler was visibly daisy chained (i.e. all four jacket buttons sewn in one long length of thread). So I concur with the survey. Like slow the f down IC and sew buttons properly. With consistent fit seemingly conquered workmanship is in the crosshairs.
Weird I am having this issue with the shrinking shirt sleeves. But they definitely did get shorter, only every washed them once in 30C cold water, so that can't be it.
By the way, regarding the Traveler Suits, I got the Navy Blue one, use it frequently as well and like it a lot so far. However, the fabric is quite the lint magnet, isn't it? I spend 5 mins every morning going over it with a lint roller. E.g. the Vincero suit I have doesn't collect lint the same way and it's also a dark fabric...
I have about 7 suits, main issue has always been buttons, only 1 fell off completely but thankfully my mom is a good sewer so it's back on and more than secure, I find every suit from them has that prob. I have 2 essential grey and they are holding up find, only issue is the functional sleeve buttonholes that look like they were traditional non functional holes which were later cut open with a knife. No issues with staining or wear. I have the essential blue suit and that from back in the day when they didn't disclose fabric content so the wool is actually a blend and the polyester has so many little strands coming out of the suit I can't wear it anymore, I complained after I got it and they sent me Another suit but same issue. I think I have 10 shirts, never dry cleaned always washed and ironed or steamed if I am in a hurry, no issues, best fitting shirts I have, all French cuff so some minor wear on the cuffs but that is to be expected.one shirt the monogram was wonky but it is fine so
Has anyone heard of or had any experience with elitesuits.com. On their website the owner "Simon" states that he will provide twice the quality at half the cost of any mtm suit at any price point. For instance he is selling a full floating canvas, s120s to s180s pure italian or english wool for $300. His prices range from under $200 to well over a thousand for designer fabrics. I think he is making quite a bold claim here and would love to see one of his suits in a comparable price range to indochino reviewed in depth to see if he can hold up on his promises. If so we may have found a gold mine gentlemen.
Never tried them, website doesn't look too convincing. I have said it in a comment earlier, there are hundreds of online mtm suit makers by now, it's hard to keep track. Usually, if they promise something that seems too good to be true, it is very often not true...
Thanks for sharing! I think they are actually cut open with a knife. I have to research a bit on working buttons, might be interesting.
That was kinda my feeling as well so I did a little research on them and he gets awesome feedback at his ebay store (granted this could be because everyone that buys from him on ebay either doesnt really know what to look for in a decent suit or they are old and fat and anything mtm will be great as to off the rack) a nd the couple of threads on style forum that reveiw him seem to be quite satisfied with their orders. The owner seems to know alot about suits and is very helpful (I have emailed him a couple of times questioning his claims)
and offers a no worries garantee that you will love your suit. Now all I am saying is that if he can provide a comparable suit fit and fabric wise to indochinos essentials collection and have it be a fully floating canvas, even at a comparable price range then we would come out ahead. I like indochino but it really bothers me that they dont offer a full floating canvas upgrade at the very least. If simon can provide comparable quality with a full floating canvass at a comparable price range then I would have to give my business to him. On the website, I agree that it is a mess (ordering and measurements seem like a hassle, fabric pics are horrible and Simon rambles on on the website a bit too much) but some of the greatest books I have read didnt have very convincing covers, in other words the appearance of the cover never truly illustrates the content of anything. There really arent alot of mtm companies that make as bold of a claim as simon, some sell cheap suits and admit to where they will cut corners (cheap fabric, fused interlining, ect...) then others offer top quality with a premium price to match with multple levels between. The question is and I hope simon sees this and makes a suit for you to review, is can He make a higher quality product than indochino at any price range( Can he make a vincereo quality fabric, full floating canvas suit at a comparable price range, does it fit and look as nice, and can he match indochinos customer service? I say we find out.
Thanks for sharing your insights! It's true what you say that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. However, for an online business, a website is like a store front. You just don't want it to be a mess if you want to be convincing.
In any case, you could perhaps do the review? I've got so many suits already!
If i buy i will post my experience, thanks, also if anyone has any insight into elitesuits.com or working with simon please let me know, it will be helpfull in determining whether i should make the plunge or not.
What do you mean by "use a proper hanger"? I used a relatively thick white plastic hanger for both my suits. Is there a particular hanger (shape wise) that I should be using?
If you really want to go over the top, you could use a hanger from here: http://www.hangerproject.com/. The most important is to have proper support for the shoulders, so the really cheap and thin ones from e.g. IKEA are not the ones you want to use for your suits. The way you describe yours is probably sufficient, I have some plastic ones too that provide proper support for the shoulders.
True re lint. The charcoal doesnt seem to be as bad. But something about the navy, especially in the shouders, grabs lint. I actually notice some small clear fibers comming out of the fabric that act like the female portion of velcro. A good lint shaver will help but be careful not to nick the fabric.
I'm glad you said that about the fibers, I have exactly the same issue, on the back of the shoulders (no idea why there). I tried removing it with a normal shaver, but no chance. Gotta get a lint shaver, I guess.
Are Indochino suits still fused? I never new that when I bought my suit from them. I haven't had any problem at the dry cleaners, but thats kind of disappointing.. Not only that but my tailor didn't mention that it was fused either.
They are constructed using a special/hybrid method that is somewhat close to a half-canvas construction, using both fusing and stitching.
I see. Do you know anything about the suits from itailor.com?
No, not really - have heard of them, but I don't have any personal experience.
I purchased a 2 piece pinstripe suit from Elitesuits 2 months ago. I paid $530 for one of their Jade Collection. It was on sale about $100 off. It took them two months to finish and send their products to me because there were some customization I requested like the armhole circumferences, the measurement for the button stance, and the length of the jacket were not full filled by the first tailor. Simon, the owner from Elitesuits contacted me regarding if I want a refund or he can use another tailor with a similar fabric. I choose the later. Simon threw in an extra pair of pants for free. I thought it was nice of him. I received the suit and didn't really notice too many problems. I took the suit to my local tailor to suppress the waist of the jacket and the pants. The pants were about an inch too short. The tailor lengthened the hem for about an inch. Now the suit looks fairly good.
Overall, the price I paid for the suit was fairly affordable not to mention I got an extra pair of pants for free. The fit was not bad giving I have an abnormal fit. I am a weight lift with a bulky torso. I'm 5'7", 5'8" on a good day. I'm about 175 pounds with a size 44 chest. I prefer slim fitting suit with a lower rise pants. My main concerns with suits are the fit of the shoulders. My Elitesuit did a great job on constructing a near perfect shoulders with not much creases. I got what I asked for a slim fitting suit with a shorter jacket and pants. I'm fairly happy with the product.
However, after have experienced with an online MTM company, I rather pay a bit for a true MTM experiance. I think the basted fitting is the most important future when it comes to buying a tailored suit.
I'm interested in buying an Indochino suit. But I think I rather save up money and purchase a real MTM suit from a reputable tailor.
Thank you for sharing your experience! You could give Proper Suit a try.
Unless these guys have changed, they run a great shop! http://customsuitshop.com/
Most of what I read about Indochino above seems to be quality control problems (buttons, seams ripping--which could be poor seam type selection, sewing or machine tension setting issues) or poor fabric selections. Excessive shrinkage of material is not acceptable.
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