It took only a few short weeks to get my suit from Indochino once I ordered it. If you don’t remember the first post in this series catch up on things here. In sum, the ordering process went smoothly and I was impressed by the simplicity ease of use of the interface. With Indochino one provides their measurements via the website and from the measurements Indochino is able to fabricate the suit. Unlike My.Suit and Alton Lane, there is no human interaction between the customer and the maker. Which can create a ‘translation error,’ as I would like to term it. That is, there may be a gap in how the customer (me) understands the measurements asked for by Indochino. Admittedly, at first I was a little worried about this and its potential to cause an issue. Unfortunately, my fear was warranted. However, the blame likely rests on my side of the table, not Indochino’s; whereas in past instances with My.Suit and Alton Lane where there needed to be alterations made the fault lied mostly with the companies, not the customer. But even with this error, I still think the process is quite well organized and presented.
As I put on the suit the pant fit was nearly perfect, the waist just needed taking in about an inch. However, the chest and back in the jacket was too large, the sleeves to long and the braces buttons on the left side were too close to the fly (see pics below). I discussed the matter with my contacts at Indochino and we agreed it would be best to go ahead with a remake (we thought this was also good because it would give me a chance to evaluate the remake process). The process was quite easy and simple. I adjusted the necessary measurements (sleeve length, chest and pants waist) to what we thought would be the right measurements and submitted for a remake.
I waited excitedly for my remake for roughly five weeks (the turnaround time is normally no more than three weeks, however, the timing fell over the Chinese new year which held things up). As I again ripped open the packaging and hurriedly put on my new suit I could tell immediately it fit much better. The adjustments to the sleeves and chest were nearly perfect. And the braces buttons were in the proper place. I will need to have the chest and waist of the pants taken in ever so slightly (see pics below for the remake fit). The only other area of concern is the width of the sleeves, as they are a little tight, especially around the wrists. But I think they may be able to be let out by a tailor of good skill, we shall see.
Aside from the fit there are a few things I would like to note on the styling of the jacket. Mainly, I would like to speak on the lapels; one of the focal points on any jacket. Although I would prefer these lapels have a little more width to them, their length and placement of the peak and gorge are superb. Better than those on my My.Suit suit. You will notice the buttoning point is lower, by about half an inch. The peak and gorge are also placed about half an inch higher. Now, what these two things do is extend the torso visually and add a slight illusion of added height. Which in my case is beneficial as I am only just over 5’10”, well done. Oh, and the although it is in a keyhole shape the boutonniere is a real one.
In the next post in this series I will discuss the final fit as well as the construction and details of the suit.
Note: FYGblog did receive material compensation from Indochino in exchange for reviewing its product. However, as has been stated before an unbiased view will be taken when evaluating and discussing any product or brand for which FYGblog receives material compensation for.
I was waiting for this review to buy.. For the cost, that looks amazing ! I’m surprised they’ll just make you another suit at a whim ! Full package.
George,
I am quite certain that a better value cannot be found for the price, that is for the ‘essentials’ suits; which are priced at $379. I should also add that I sent a few pictures to the guys at Indochino to show them exactly what was off. It worked out quite well, they had a few tips on what to change. Good luck with the purchase, feel free to post back up here with how it goes.
Justin
Interesting I didn’t realize it was chinese new year. I placed an order with indochino 26 days ago and it’s still “in production”. Also your photo of IC’s side tabs makes them look better than how they are presented on the IC website…I’m curious how you like them
DCWE,
Chinese New Year is a huge deal from what I hear. Factories will close down for a week or more. As such a backlog of orders will occur. Contact the guys at Indochino to check on any updates. I like the side tabs, the only thing I would change about them is the placement, I would probably more them forward a little bit. In terms of function however, they hold their place well and keep the pants up which allows me to not wear braces if I so choose.
Justin
I’m curious about the quality of the fabric. I’m eyeing The Essential Navy Suit and although I’m fairly certain I can figure out the instructions on how to take measurements (I’m going to my tailor), I have no idea if even it it fits like a glove that the quality of the fabric will be a suit I wear regularly. Also I’m hoping that I can break up the Navy suit to wear pants and jacket with other pieces. Any thoughts? Also would you consider this a decent quality/fit for the cost? If so, what would you compare it to? Do you have a better suggestion for your money?
Just a suggestion, because I have the same concerns: I actually ordered the grey essentials instead of the navy because it’s only super 100s verses 120s for the grey for the same price. (Regarding thread count, I have two solid navy suits in my closet – a 100s and a 130s (neither Indochino), and the difference is night and day). I ordered my grey essentials 26 days ago so hopefully it will arrive within a few days…if so I will post my opinion then.
DCWE,
Looking forward to your thoughts. Hope everything turns out well.
Justin
@DCWestEnd… got a suggestion on a better classic essential navy in a decent quality for the price? I’m trying to fill this hole in my wardrobe and was hoping this was it.
Open to anyone – All suggestions welcome.
C.Hill,
The fabric for the grey is of decent quality. It is by no means something you would find from mills like Scabal or Dormeuil, it is not the smoothest fabric I have felt. But it is quite tolerable. I have so far worn the suit for a day (a very long day I might add) and had no issue with how it felt against my skin. The color itself is great, a nice light grey when viewed from afar (I received a compliments from the other sex on the color actually). Close up you can tell that it is more alternating black and white threads. I will get a picture up in the next few days of a close up of the fabric if you would like. Regarding value, I don’t think a better value can be found if you are looking to spend under $400, but if I find one, it will be put up on the blog. So until then (if it even happens), I would certainly recommend Indochino. Also, check back for the 3rd part of Indochino series for more information.
Justin
Thanks Justin.
that flow is sick
My Indochino suit and shirt arrived today, so here are my thoughts.
First impression: Mine is actually the gray charcoal, which appears to be the only one from the essentials collection that is super 120s (the rest are 100s). The suit arrived quite wrinkled but the fabric quality is about what I expected…in between that of 100’s and 130s (from other brands) that I already have. Construction appears of good quality.
Jacket: Too small, but not by much. Getting some bunching of the fabric at the top of the back that pushes it up over the lapel (caused by not enough width in the shoulders, I’m guessing?) Overall and sleeve length are slightly too short (more on this later). Pick stitching looks good but I wouldn’t necessarily order it again. They actually made it with functional sleeve buttons even though this is my first suit…again quality of these appears above average to good. Functional boutonniere is not the best I’ve seen but is okay…I would order these options again.
Trousers: Fit poorly. Too small everywhere except waist, but this is perhaps my fault when taking measurements. What’s REALLY disappointing is that I specifically requested that the leg openings be a minimum of 17.5 inches (straight leg cut), and Indochino indicated they could accommodate this and add that request to my order. Unfortunately the pants arrived very tapered with 16.25 inch openings. I know some of you guys can pull this off, but this looks odd for someone my age and in my industry. This is really a non-starter for me….even if they fit well everywhere else, I would never wear these trousers in public with this much taper. Hopefully Indochino can get it right next time.
Vest (3-piece): Actually fits better than anything else. Length seems perfect (unlike the jacket length given the same measurements). Surprisingly, the vest back (same fabric as jacket lining) appears to be a light or medium gray, and I ordered it in dark gray. It’s not bad, but I would have ordered vest fabric on the back had I known the lining fabric was going to be so much lighter than the wool charcoal fabric. (You have to wonder if they run out of fabric at times and simply use whatever is a close match and available.)
Shirt: a bit to small but they nailed the sleeve length (again, curiously, unlike the jacket). I also ordered the small spread collar which is not what arrived…it’s okay, but I would never wear a collar larger than this.
Remake form: I was under the impression that a paper form would be included for a tailor to take more refined measurements and suggested changes to the suit before returning. This form was not included so I’ll just have to wing it.
Summary: A bit disappointed but wasn’t expecting a perfect fit the first time. My opinion is that Indochino’s self-measuring system has some serious flaws and they would be more successful with a simplified system based on one’s off-the-rack measurements with some tweaks. After placing my order I noticed this measurement guide on the studiosuits website:
http://www.studiosuits.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=33.
My guess is had I used this guide instead of taking all the measurements at home that I would not be needing a remake, just an alteration. (Justin, I’m wondering how close your final Indochino measurements compare with your off-the-rack measurements indicated on this guide?). But otherwise if Indochino can get the fit right after a remake (and then a paid-for alteration, if needed) then I would say this is a very good value.
DCWE,
Good stuff, thanks for following up. Hope you get the fit issues resolved. Let us know how it goes.
Justin
Well I actually ended up fairy discouraged about the Indochino purchase.
When I took the suit to my local tailor to have it measured for remake adjustments, he pointed out everything that was wrong with it…items I couldn’t tell from trying it on since it fit so poorly to begin with. The most significant issues were shoulder pads that seemed to be “floating” around inside the jacket, and an unusual amount of creasing in the lapels caused by fusing, even though the quality of the fabric he agreed was good. I expected the tailor to be somewhat critical, given that his bespoke suits start at around $2,500, but I wasn’t expecting him to basically say the suit wasn’t worth the cost to return it.
Perhaps these issues could have been at least somewhat corrected with a proper pressing. But when I checked the website I realized that Indochino had arbitrarily changed the measurements that I had entered, which made the suit actually fit worse than it would have otherwise. Add that to the issue I had with the trousers (described above) and I just lost confidence in this brand.
Perhaps I will try Indochino again in the future, but for now I’m going to try one of the other mtm brands that is noted for better construction — at least half-canvassing, etc. For what it’s worth, Indochino has been very pleasant and professional when dealing with processing the return and refund.
[…] ever so slightly too wide. But we’ll discuss that another time, in the final post in the Indochino series. Anyway, it was also the debut of the ‘Fuck You’ tie from Chipp 2. For the […]
I was planning to order a suit from Indochino but after reading through all the comments, I am not sure if it’s still a good idea…
In terms of measuring, does anyone have any suggestions on how to measure accurately? Any tricks? (i.e. maybe I should add 0.5 inch to chest size to make the suit fit better, etc)
Thanks in advance
Hey,
Understandable concerns you have. But I do not think they should persuade you from ordering. I found everything to be pretty true to size except the chest. My chest measurement is 40″ but I ended up submitting it at 39″ on my remake. That’s the only thing I can think of for now.
Good luck,
Justin
Thanks
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I was thinking about an Indochino too, but still not sure. I think http://www.KnotStandard.com seems to be better quality, but they’re a newer company. Has anyone had experience with both?
Erik
I have no experience with Knot Standard so I cannot speak for the brand’s quality. Do a search on Style Forum or Ask Andy and see if anything comes up. The quality may very well be better than Indochino, however, so is the price.
Justin