Indochino's Ultimate Spring Collection 2013 - An Overview

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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. 

Indochino Half Lined Blazer

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.

Indochino Spring Collection 2013


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

Friday, March 22, 2013

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


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)

Monday, March 18, 2013


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

Saturday, March 16, 2013


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.

Indochino Traveling Tailor - Next Stop: Boston

Wednesday, March 13, 2013


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:

Does Indochino Suit the Portly Crowd? Part I

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

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.

Report from Traveling Tailor Washington, DC - by Derrick Nguyen

Thursday, March 7, 2013

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.

Indochino introduces 4 new, solid coloured premium suits

Tuesday, March 5, 2013


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

Saturday, March 2, 2013


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?

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.