3 Must-Have Indochino Suits & Cheaper Alternatives

Indochino's reboot of their Essential Line a few days ago got my thinking about the 3 quintessential suits every man should own. I think at the beginning, it's all about having something you feel comfortable in and to have something versatile that can be combined with other items easily. Patterns can be a bit tricky at first and I think by now everyone know to stay away from solid black suits. 

1. Navy Blue Suit

Without a doubt, the Navy Blue Suit is probably the single most important suit for any man. The colour is formal and elegant enough for all business settings and the jacket alone can be paired well for a more casual outfit, for example with a pair of chinos.

The Indochino Navy Blue Suit - now $449

Reviews of Navy Blue Suits:

While already from 2011, this Indochino suit review covers a variation of the Navy Blue suit, featuring extras such as a headphone port or additional zipped pockets.
--> http://www.indochino-review.com/2011/12/indochino-review-transatlantic-traveler.html

The Navy Blue Suit I have from Black Lapel is definitely one of my favourite suits. Well tailored and great construction make this an serious alternative worth considering.
--> http://www.indochino-review.com/2012/03/introducing-black-lapel-navy-blue-suit.html

A good alternative for the summer, a Navy Blue Linen suit like the one reviewed from Indochino below can help you to stay cool in the heat. Try to look for a wool/linen blend as pure linen suits will wrinkle very easily (which is also part of their appeal).
--> http://www.indochino-review.com/2012/06/indochino-review-modern-navy-linen-wool.html

2. Midnight Blue Tuxedo

The day will come when you need to go to a formal evening event and I think it's best to have a well fitting tux ready in the wardrobe. The idea of renting one just never really convinced me, sure it's a good last minute solution, but you would have to be very lucky to actually look good in your rented tuxedo. 

Indochino Midnight Blue Tuxedo - $449

Review of the Midnight Blue Tuxedo:

The perfect suit for a formal evening event, taking some inspiration from James Bond movies. Make sure you learn how to tie a bow tie before, it's a bit tricky - at least it was for me.
--> http://www.indochino-review.com/2012/11/midnight-blue-tuxedo-review.html

Essential Gray Suit

The Essential Gray Suit is one of my personal favourites, a great and versatile suit for any occasion. Solid suits are great, because they can be combined with a lot of more daring shirts (if you want to) or just with a simple solid shirt. The look below, with the white Oxford shirt and the Navy dotted tie is just perfect in my opinion.

Indochino Essential Gray Suit - $449

Indochino Alternatives:

It may be worth checking out some of the competitors if you are looking for a more entry level pricing. Upunique, Suitly, Dragon Inside are just some of the names that have been mentioned frequently in comments lately.

Their websites are all far from being as professional as Indochino and some of the suit pictures look questionable (look at this one, shoulders far too wide), the basic suits Suitly offers even contain 10% polyester...it seems some of them just repeat mistakes Indochino did years ago. Upunique hasn't updated anything on their Facebook page since March - this is always a possible sign for a company in trouble in my personal experience. Dragon Inside seems to be the most promising so far,

If you have any experience with competitors, please don't hesitate to share in the comment section. I'll be reviewing Dragon Inside myself in a few weeks and I'm curious to see how Indochino's fresh competitors compare.

Also make sure to check for an Indochino coupon at my dedicated deal page: Indochino Coupons

Indochino Review: The Midnight Blue Tuxedo

Indochino Midnight Blue Tuxedo - available for $449

Sorry, it took me a while to get this review up. Not so much because of the text, but my photographer was out of the country for a while and just got back to me with the photos now. Anyway, just in time before the Black Friday Deal ends. 

The Tuxedo was something really new for me. Over here in Europe, we don't usually wear tuxedos much. You wear them for the grand Opera ball in Vienna (actually, you don't, as I found out in the comments) and other society events that I usually don't (or rather never) frequent. Still, I thought a tuxedo might be fun to have, you never know, and I thought it'd be interesting to many of you - seems it's much more widely used in the US and Canada.

I didn't want to go for a standard black one, so I thought the Midnight Blue Tuxedo might be a good alternative. I also went with the all the classic bells and whistles - shawl collar, slit pockets, no vents.  I also got the working sleeve buttons, with the last button matching the lining (burgundy). For the shirt, I decided for the studded Starched at Casino Royal Shirt ($99). It needs a couple of studs and as I had ordered the shirt with cuffs, I just went for the Tuxedo Cufflink Set ($59) to get all I needed. 

The bow tie was a bit of a challenge. Indochino only had the pre-tied one in black, and I thought I could do better. The only one that I thought was acceptable is the Charcoal Wool Bow Tie, but to be entirely honest, the colours do clash a bit. Getting the bow tie to look acceptable was another issue - I underestimated that. I also realised I need new shoes if I want to wear the Tux properly. I settled for a pair of plain oxford Mantorii ($309) as they now offer patent leather as well and currently run a Black Friday Sale for 20% off - will take 4 weeks before I have them, though.

Overall, I think some of the customization options were a good idea, others not so much. I feel uncomfortable without vents, even if it seems to be the standard. I think one vent (Bond) should just work better. Not sure if the contrast buttons on the sleeves are a bit over-the-top, but that's ok. I like the slit pockets, the shirt's excellent too. 

Would Archer approve? More importantly, would Lana? 

As for the suit and the fit: It's great overall, but it's not as perfect as I hoped it would be. The important parts are all good - shoulders and jacket length is perfect. The minor issues are nothing a local tailor can't easily fix, but I don't know why the fit is any different than on my suit before. I need to investigate a bit and see if and how my measurement profile changed. The jacket sleeves seem a bit too wide, I'll have them slimmed down. Pants from the knees down have a bit too much fabric for my taste as well. 

The colour is great, though. Needs good light to come out as blue, but it has a nice subtle sheen (95% wool, 5% cashmere) and it's not the standard black. So that's a choice I am very happy with. I hope the colour comes across well in the photos.

Info: Many people have asked about the possibility of having the lapels all satin. Below please find the official response from Indochino on that issue. Thanks to Dan for sharing it below in the comments.

"Since the release of Skyfall last October, we’ve had a LOT in interest in an all Black Satin Lapel to our Essential Midnight Blue Tux. But unfortunately it is not available with an all satin lapel at this time. The lapels are available with Satin-piping only. I’m sorry that we are unable to assist in this regard. (I’d like one with an all black Satin lapel too!). All Satin lapels are available on our Essential Dinner Jacket Tuxedo and Essential 3 Piece Tuxedo."

To get back to my suit, overall, I think there are not many things that can go wrong with an Indochino purchase for me. My measurements are pretty much done, I still change around minor things sometimes, and it seems Indochino does some changes or at least it's never 100% the same. But overall, it's just click and order for me now. I can also tell that they are constantly improving, it's not always the obvious things, but having proper Bemberg lining, nicely done shoulders, etc. is just really really a good sign, and I am sure there is more to come. 

It seems bluer here because of the strong light from the side.

You can get the Indochino Premium Midnight Blue Tuxedo for $649 right here:

Indochino Midnight Blue Tuxedo or if not available, check out the full Indochino Tuxedo lineup.

Indochino Midnight Blue Tuxedo Reviewed by Lorenz Loidl. Rated: 9/ 10 (Excellent) A Tuxedo should be part of every man's wardrobe. The midnight blue tuxedo is a great alternative to the black ones.