Indochino Suit Review - Autumn Indigo Herringbone Windowpane Suit

Indochino Review of the Luxury Autumn Indigo Herringbone Windowpane Suit

Sometimes I look back at this blog and I'm surprised it's been going on for so long. I also realise I used to post a lot more reviews which should be the main content on here and I gotta admit, I didn't publish as much as I would have liked to. I didn't stop wearing Indochino suits at all, but I've had less and less time to write about it. Let's see if I can break the spell.

There is one specific Indochino suit that I've been wearing a lot before the weather got too hot. The Luxury Autumn Indigo Herringbone Windowpane suit. What a name, right? It's unfortunately not available anymore, it was part of the Fall 2014 Collection originally. That said, the Fall 20156 Collection has a couple of similar suits available.

I now work for a small internet start-up, not for an established multinational anymore and it's casual wear during the days. I'd be awkward if I showed up in suit and tie every day to be honest - and I enjoy the causal wear e.g. well cut pants and a nice shirt. I know that goes a bit against the "movement" Indochino is promoting: dress up, be fancy. I really wish Indochino had more in store when it comes to casual wear - I remember they did discuss Indochino cardigans and other items a few years back, but that was when Heikal Ghani was still responsible for product and it seems there are no such plans anymore (at least at the moment).

Side notes on Indochino Ties: My experience with Indochino's ties goes back many years. They were always sold as 100% silk and I still got some of their early offerings. If that was indeed silk then, I don't know what it is today, but the material improved enormously. That Slate Floral Tie I have is really made of a very nice material, fells and looks great. The tie isn't available at the moment, but all of the new ones a pretty much of the same quality material. 

Anyway, I was at a wedding a while back and finally had a chance to wear that Indigo Indochino suit you see above. I realise most of you are from the US and Canada, so let me just quickly explain how weddings work in most European countries: Everyone wears a different outfit. There are bridesmen and brideswomen, but they don't necessarily wear the same things. Why? I don't know, it's just not something we do and thus there is not a huge market to outfit wedding parties. What you get is a great mix of suits and dresses, especially if different nations are present. The Italians usually stand out, that's for sure. The rest of Europe follows and I can't really say there is any other special nation overall, social status seems to be a major factor influencing how you dress. There are plenty of ill fitting suits to be seen, but luckily we don't have these extremely oversized, box cut suits that I always see in US wedding photography. In any case, I did pretty well with my Indochino suit too. 

Side notes on perfumes: I'm very much a "less is more" guy and that certainly is true for perfumes, in my opinion. No one should smell you from 10 meters away and your perfume smell shouldn't linger for 5 minutes after you left a room. I like the solid perfumes that seem to pop up everywhere, a favourite of mine is certainly Alfred Lane. 

Alfred Lane solid perfumes: http://alfredlane.com/

Back to the suit: Because of its pattern, I wanted to keep the rest of the outfit simple. I went for a couple of different shades of blue, actually. I combined the outfit with the Lapis Blue French Oxford Shirt, the Slate Floral Tie and the Indochino Silver Tie Bar. Didn't go for a pocket square this time around, no cufflinks either. Let me tell you about the suit: I've developed an eye for certain details: seams, buttons, button holes, shoulder pads, lining to name just a few. I also have the comparison to older Indochino suits and I can safely tell you: They know what they are doing and they are doing it well. There used to be these stories around of local tailors having to alter Indochino suits and being shocked at the construction method and the materials. These days are gone for good - the product is excellent.

As for other accessories, I kept it simple with a watch brand I had supported on Kickstarter, called Elliot Havok. I got their black watch, The Blackout Havok Watch, and I'm mostly happy with it, especially considering the price of $95. Looks fine, the leather straps could feel more natural for my taste - it says genuine leather, but we all know that doesn't mean much so I'm going to change them to maybe NATO straps. The rest is done really well.

Summary:
It very often sounds like usual marketing lingo: We greatly improved our product by using high quality suppliers etc. etc. bla bla bla. The truth is: Indochino really improved product quality over the last couple of years. Yeah sure, they also increased prices, but you can get a simply awesome product for a really good price.

The real key to a well fitting Indochino thing is still the measurements. I like their approach of having more and more brick-and-mortar stores. A trained Indochino employee should be able to get your measurements right and as long as the factory doesn't mess up, your chance for a good fit on the first suit should be much higher. Anyway, will try to update with more pics and details, but wanted to get this review out finally. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask me questions or demand more detailed info.

Indochino Autumn Indigo Windowpane Suit Reviewed by Lorenz Loidl. Rated: 10/10 (Excellent). Currently my favourite Indochino suit, versatile and elegant.

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Indochino Review: Classic Camel Linen Suit

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 shirt review

The great Magnificent Bastard has a new special report on custom made shirts up on his website. Reviewed is not only an Indochino shirt, but also a couple of others shirts from companies such as A Tailored Suit, Biased Cut or Inditailored.

From what I read on the web so far, most people are happy with their Indochino shirts, but most got them for free with a coupon. Many of them mentioned that they wouldn't buy it for the original price.

The review on Magnificent Bastard likes the simple shirt selection and fast delivery times of Indochino, but criticises the comparably limited selection and the fact that measurements are slightly different from other websites. The shirt turned out fine, they only mentioned that the sleeves were a bit too short and the shirt was a bit tight around the chest. Winning shirt with the perfect fit was the one from Biased Cut.

Find out more and read all the reviews here: http://www.magnificentbastard.com/features/custom-shirt-reviews/

The Indochino Shirt

Indochino Review: The one with the funky shoulders

User "Quatsch" got his Indochino suit and posted a review along with some pictures over at Style Forum. He was so kind to let me put up his review here as well. As you will see, his feelings are a bit mixed, to say the least.

measurements used: followed video advice, no tweaks

hemmed or unhemmed: unhemmed

the verdict: refund

shoulders are massively too big, probably a full inch to inch and a half. I went back to the website and checked my measurement profile and on the shoulders measurement it says 19 inches, which perplexes me because I *very* distinctly remember measuring and entering 18 inches for the shoulder.

I think the pants are fine. The suit has problems in the shoulders and sleeves. I requested a soft shoulder and while the shoulder itself has little or no padding, the top of the sleeve seems to have a fair bit, and I'm unsure about the effect this creates. The sleeves are too big in between the shoulder and the forearm. Probably all the way down.

Something else I'd like to point out is that the lapel roll ends three inches about where the first button is (its a two-button jacket. It looks as if they made a three-button coat and simply never cut a whole for the top button.
 

Important Indochino reviews in a nutshell - Part I

The Style Forum Thread
Style Forum

One of the most extensive resources on Indochino suits on the Internet, this thread (started in 2008) now already stretches over 11 pages. In a way, this thread showcases the evolution of Indochino from a small start-up with fashion mistakes (lower button on suit done) to a company that more and more people are happy with. Opinions are mixed with probably, most criticism goes towards the use of polyester, unclear situation about lining (fused or fully canvased). Overall, results seem to be mixed, but I believe a lot of it has to do with the measurements.

The Red Flag Deals Thread
Red Flag Deals 

Another extensive thread, with discussions worth 13 pages. Again, the measurements are the main topic of concern and opinions vary. Many people claim that following the video instructions will give you a baggy suit, however some others found the result to be very good. Generally, many people seem to make use of the tweaks as suggested on the Made To Measure NY blog (linked in the link list on the left). You should watch this thread for great deals - I got 25% off and a free shirt and tie this way :)

What this is all about

I recently stumbled across Indochino.com while reading my favourite daily newspaper and I really got interested. Indochino, the brain child of two Canadian students (or rather former students), is a company that sells custom made suits and shirts online. You input your measurements following some pretty detailed videos and order your suit. Prices are great (around 250€ or 350$) and they ship worldwide, within 2 weeks. If your suit doesn't fit, they pay for your local tailor to fix it (up to 55€ or 75$), or you can apply for a free remake - or you consider the suit worthless and you get your money back.

Information and reviews about Indochino are spread all around the web. I will try to gather the most up-to-date and most relevant information here, post links to forums and write my own insights about Indochino (I have recently ordered my first suit from them). If you have any suggestions, comments, etc - please let me know :)