[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: 50% off accessories

Photo taken by Ian Lindsay, PNG, Vancouver Sun, via www.vancouversun.com

Good news for Christmas, there is one new official coupon giving you 50% off accessories such as holiday sets (which are already good value before discount!), ties, cuff links, tie bars, etc.

Coupon:

50% off accessories, use coupon code happyholidays (valid until December 26th, 2011)

Also, Indochino was featured in the Vancouver Sun today, read the story here: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Made+measure+suits+shipped+your+home/5903790/story.html

[EXPIRED] Indochino Holiday Promo - Suit Utility Kit for 29$

I almost missed this, thank you to David who wrote me an email about it. We are talking about the Indochino Suit Utility Kit as was previously available via Groupon for 49$ (read about it here). I guess they had a couple of those left and decided to give them away for a good price, it's only 29$ including shipping now, you will receive it until December 24th. The promo is also linked to the Indochino segment on NBC recently, unfortunately I missed it and haven't been able to find it online so far. 

For 29$ you do get quite a lot, the kit consists of:

• a black tie,
• tie bar, 
• cufflinks, 
• a white pocket square and 
• a measuring tape. 

You can get it here (US only):

http://todayshow.indochino.com/offer.html

Cashmere scarfs, wool ties, essential suits and more

As you may know, Indochino usually releases limited collections every other week. These suits are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, meaning that at some point the fabrics are gone and won't be restocked (there are exceptions). These limited collections make up for the bigger part of the suits on the Indochino website and are a big part of Indochino's success - it allows them to react to trends and seasons quickly.

Velvet Blazers, Cashmere Scarfs & Wool Ties

One of the new limited collections was released a couple of days ago, featuring velvet blazers and in my opinion, more interestingly also wool ties (finally!) and cashmere scarfs. The velvet blazers are 100% wool and available in 3 colours (tan, burgundy and navy blue) and cost 279$ each. The 100% cashmere scarfs (cashmere from Mongolia) go for 109$ and the wool ties for 39$. I'm especially happy about the wool ties, they have been featured in most fashion magazines from Esquire to GQ for years and I have always been waiting for Indochino to stock some of these.

Velvet Blazers - 279$

Cashmere scarfs 109$ and Wool Ties 39$

Holiday Gift Sets - a decent present for Christmas?

Consisting of a tie, tie bar, cufflinks and a pocket square, they could make for a nice Christmas present. They also ship quite quickly (within 10 days), as all of these items are on stock.

Holiday Gift Sets - 99$

The Essential Collection

Indochino Essential Suits - 379$

Aside from these limited collections, there are a number of basic suits as well. Until recently they were called the Ultimate Suits, now they are referred to as the Essential Suits. These are suits and blazers someone who is just starting to build his wardrobe usually buys first. Simple and and affordable classics (379$) such as the Essential Charcoal, Navy (voted most essential suit on a poll on my website), Gray or Black Suit. Some of them are also available as 3-piece suits including a vest (449$). These suits will never sell out, Indochino has a trusted supplier for the needed fabrics (now clearly declared as 100% wool fabrics).

I own some of these Essential suits, more specifically the Navy Blue Suit and the Essential Gray Suit. Detailed reviews of both these suits are available on my blog here and here. The Essential Gray is probably my favorite suit overall, I wear it at least once every week - it's hard to find another suit that is as versatile as this one. The Navy Blue Suit has recently been "upgraded" to their Navy Blue Traveling Collection Suit - review available here.

Hint: for a 100€ more you can get an "upgraded" version of the basic suit, complete with headphone port, cuff zippers, teflon coated wool fabrics and some more features. Check my article on the Traveling Collection for more info. 

Indochino Review: Transatlantic Traveler Blue Suit & Brown Tweed Blazer

The Transatlantic Traveler Blue Suit

General Information:

• Indochino Perfect Fit Guide
• More Reviews
• Indochino Coupons
• Indochino Customer Survey 2012

I ordered the Transatlantic Traveling Navy Blue Suit to replace my Indochino Navy Blue suit that I had ordered as my first Indochino suit, back around April 2010. The suit still holds up fine, but I just know much better now what I want in a suit and didn't feel entirely comfortable with it anymore. 

When I had first ordered the Traveling Navy suit, the jacket arrived with a too high button stance and too much waist suppression. I do have rather wide hips and a long torso, so the combination really left me looking as if I was wearing a women's blazer. 

Luckily, Indochino still does the free remakes and I am glad that the remade jacket now fits perfectly. Angie ensured my that my preferences of a lower button stance and less waist suppression are now noted on my account, so I shouldn't have these problems again in the future. Actually, don't know why I had it them in first place, these issues didn't occur with earlier suits. Anyway, I hope that now with their digital cutting process these problems are a thing of the past. 

Transatlantic Traveler Navy Blue Suit | 479$
Ultimate Utility Shirt | 79$
Regimental Strip Tie | 49$
Elegant Angle Tie Clip | 39$
Metal Collar Stays | 9$

I have noticed some Indochino suits with overdone waist suppression in the past, so if you don't exactly have the ideal model shape of wide shoulders and narrow hips, you might want to tell them to take care with the waist suppression. 

The suit itself is really cool. You might have read my article on the Traveling Collection, so you know about it's special features like Teflon coated Merino wool (it feels nice to the touch, luckily), zipped sleeve cuffs, headphone ports and zip pocket under the lapel, vents under the armpits, etc. Some of those are just gimmicks I probably won't use much - for example there are something like 9 pockets inside the suit, I won't ever use them as it would probably destroy the shape and looks of the jacket. Other features are really nice to have, I am determined to see if I can make proper use of the headphone port and the Teflon coating will definitely come in handy for those Spaghetti lunches. 

Another item I purchased is the Intriguing Intellectual Brown Tweed Blazer. I had the same fit problem with this one, the remade blazer fits great though. To be honest, I even think the waist suppression is overdone at the model. I stayed with the peak lapels and the ticket pocket as shown on the Indochino website. I am still not sure if the peak lapels were a wise choice, but it looks cool - especially with the elbow patches (I realize you either hate or love them). It's a pretty versatile blazer, I could have easily worn it with jeans and without tie as well, just was too lazy to change for the photo

Intriguing Intellectual Brown Tweed Blazer | 299$
Navy Blue Pants (from the Transatlantic Traveler Navy Blue Suit)
Ultimate Utility Shirt | 79$
Spot On Navy Tie | 39$
Elegant Angle Tie Clip | 39$
Metal Collar Stays | 9$

All in all, two great additions to my wardrobe. I hope that was it for me with remakes on my suits, I indeed have high hopes for their newly introduced digital cutting process. By the way, I will be doing an interview with Indochino CEO Kyle Vucko and I'm writing together a couple of questions at the moment. Are there any specific questions you would like to ask? I will gather them all and see what I can get answered.

Indochino Navy Blue Traveling Suit

Reviewing a new addition to Indochino's suit lineup.

A great suit, including hidden pockets, teflon coated wool fabrics and most importantly, a great fit.

Written by: Lorenz

Indochino Navy Blue Traveling Suit

Date published: 12/04/2011

8 / 10 stars

[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: Get 30% off all orders over 700$

I love sending out coupon alerts. The last few months have been pretty tough for those who were used to regular deals on Indochino suits and I know that many decided against a purchase then. Well, seems sometimes waiting pays off (even if they missed out on some great collections). Indochino announced details for their Black Friday deal today and it's a really cool one.

Using the coupon BF2011 you can get 30% off on all orders over 700$, the coupon is valid until Monday, November 28th. This is a pretty cool discount, I have calculated some examples below to see what you can get for it. 

[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: 20 chances to get 20% off

Just a quick alert, Indochino is celebrating 20.000 Facebook fans and the first 20 orders get 20% off, using the coupon 20000fans. Hope some of you can make use of it! If it doesn't work anymore, please let us know in the comments! Thanks :)

Update: it's gone!

Indochino's Vancouver pop-up store - a big success

Suits on display at the Indochino Pop-up Store in Vancouver
photo by Mike Underell (via Twitter)

As you may know, Indochino had it's first ever pop-up store in their hometown of Vancouver during the last days. The event seems to have been a big success, 760 people registered on Facebook alone and I am sure many hundreds more reserved via the website or just dropped by to check it out. 

Most reports on Twitter and Facebook were very positive and it certainly shows that is important for customers to see and feel the materials and fabrics before you purchase. I am sure many custom tailors perceive Indochino as an even bigger threat now. Furthermore, the measurements were taken by professionals (even the two co-founders, Kyle Vucko and Heikal Gani were there) so the suits should turn out great by any means and you have a great profile for future purchases.

Here is hope the event was successful enough for Indochino to roll out more across the US and Canada (and hopefully Europe?) in 2012. 

Quotes from the event: 

"[...]Friendly professional tailors, quick service, awesome styles. Great event :)". source: Twitter

"Had a great time today getting my Dad suited up @indochino! You guys have an awesome team! #SuitUpYVR". source: Twitter

You can find some more photos and customer's opinions on Indochino's Facebook page and on Twitter by searching for #SuitUpYVR.

[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: Shirts for 49$ instead of 99$

Indochino Shirt Sale - get each shirt for 49$ - valid until November 22nd, 2011

Indochino is having a shirt sale again, this time it's shirts for 49$ instead of 99$ (that is almost 50% discount) with a suit purchase. At 49$, their shirts are a an excellent deal - even Wooly Llama (comment section) would agree. There is a vast selection of shirts available at the moment, there should be something for everyone. Be advised that the deal only works if you are buying a suit as well. There are also a couple of personalized coupon codes being sent out - 25% off 600$ - but I am not sure if they can be used for other accounts as well (in case someone doesn't want to use his). 

Shirts for 49$ instead of 99$:

SHIRTS49 (valid until November 22nd, 2011)

[EXPIRED] Special chance!
A user who has received a 25% code (for a purchase of min. 600$) decided to share it with you guys, as he is not going to use it. We are not sure if it works, might be that his coupon code is tied to his account, but I guess it is worth a try. If it works, it will probably only work once, so the first to use it will get the 25% off. The code is 25off600_826130. Good luck and let us know in the comments if it worked!

Call for pictures/infos:

Today is the first day of the Indochino pop-up store in Vancouver. If anyone is going there, I'd love to see some pics and stories for an article on the blog!

Steve Nash suit/new packaging

Just received my new Steve Nash suit - the Gray Glen Plaid. First suit with the new packaging, it's really big - see some pics below - review as soon as I find the time. 

[EXPIRED] Indochino Deal Alert: Vincero Suit, 2 free shirts, 2 free ties for 649$

Did you miss out on the 20% off deal on the weekend? Here is another one for you:

Urbandaddy.com has a special deal on the Vincero suits - if you remember, the Vincero Collection was the most expensive collection Indochino ever had, using Italian Reda fabrics, German collar felts, etc. - check my article on the collection for inspiration and some details on the Vincero suits.

http://www.indochino-review.com/2011/09/indochinos-vincero-collection.html

The Vincero Light Gray 3-piece suit - now 649$ instead of 799$, including 2 ties and 2 shirts for free!

The most expensive of these suits, the Vincero Light Gray 3-piece suit, normally sells for 799$ - the deal on Urbandaddy goes for any Vincero suit and costs 649$ and includes 2 free shirts and 2 free ties in addition. If you go for the most expensive suit, you will save 150$ on the suit, 2  times 99$ on the shirts and around 49$ each for the ties. This deal is probably as good as it gets, if you can spare 649$. Apart from that, I hope we will see a couple of those 20% off deals in the future!

Urbandaddy Indochino Vincero Deal

http://perks.urbandaddy.com/new-york/indochino.html

Ready for the winter: New Shadow Plaid Suits from Indochino

Indochino's new Shadow Plaid Suits - 399$ - 479$

After we didn't get anything new last week (no wonder after the big Nash Collection), Indochino introduced a number of new shadow plaid suits (and one pinstripe suit) today. Additionally, a number of new retro-inspired shirts and ties (also, for the first time, knit ties!) were made available.

The suits are 100% merino wool, according to the description with a flannel-like surface, perfect for the winter. I have to be honest, I have long considered suits like that one brown shadow plaid suit to be "old men's" suits, but they are classic styles with a modern cut that can look good if you can pull it off.
Most of these new suits are, however, clearly not for beginners. In combination with the new shirts and ties, the looks are rather daring and you certainly have to be self-confident to feel comfortable in these looks.

My favorite is probably the Indigo Glen Plaid Winter Suit - the pattern on this one is rather subtle, on a closer look the fabric almost looks like a nailhead fabric actually. The fabric is medium weight, giving you some extra warmth during cold winter days. This one is a good alternative to solid colored dark blue suits and can be easily combined with a number of shirts and ties.

Indochino's new Indigo Glen Plaid Winter Suit - 399§

The shirts - see some of the patterns below - are quite loud too. Indochino is right when they claim  your wardrobe should not only consist of solids, stripes and checks, so those shirts could be an interesting addition. Personally, I don't think I could pull off this look though. For the moment, I stick to what I know works. In a way, the same is true for the new ties. The knit ties are cool, by the way, work with jeans too for a more casual look. Pity they are not shown on any of the models. I remember a while ago Indochino had a Style Guide, I am hoping for it to return - it was a nice guide to look for inspiration.

New retro-inspired patterned shirts - 99$

Finally knit ties from Indochino - 49$

Indochino Portfolio Plaid Suit - Review to come soon!

Last but not least, I got a chance to wear my Indochino Portfolio Plaid Suit this weekend. I had to get the jacket remade, but I am very happy with the fit now. I will try to get a review up soon, together with a review of their Navy Peacoat! Also, I created a page on Google+, add me to one of your circles if you want and stay updated on all things Indochino. 

[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: get 20% off suits and blazers only this weekend

Good news, 2 short-term coupons just surfaced, both giving you a 20% discount on blazers and suits. Promos have been quite rare on Indochino recently and 20% off are quite a substantial discount. The Steve Nash suits now sell for only 399$ instead of 499$ if you use the coupon. The Ultimate Gray (check here for a review) becomes even more affordable at just above 303$ instead of 379$. Blazers go for as low as 240$. 

The coupons:

1. use the coupon SUITSPROMO on checkout to get 20% off your suit purchase
2. use the coupon BLAZERSPROMO to get 20% off all blazers

P.S.: if you want to stay updated on the latest coupons, you can now also follow me on Google+

Steve Nash invests in Indochino and gets his own Collection - Introducing the Steve Nash Collection

Steve Nash prancing around in one of his new suits

Indochino promised us their biggest collection to date and in a way, it is true - it is their biggest collection, because Steve Nash might just be their biggest (as in tallest) model to date. I assume you all know Steve Nash, the Canadian basketball star. He is also an investor in Indochino (introduced to the company via Jeff Mellett, another Indochino investor) and today he got his own collection, the Steve Nash Collection. 

It's a clever marketing move by Indochino, using a strong Canadian testimonial for their brand. There had been a cooperation between Nash and Indochino before, for a charity and featuring the Showdown In Chinatown suit. I don't know if Steve Nash is perceived as a style icon by the general public, but he surely seems to have the necessary enthusiasm for suits. Here is what Mr Nash himself has to say about the collection:

“I have a huge passion for men’s apparel and brands that are innovative,” said Nash. “So, it is extremely exciting for me to be a part of a brand like Indochino and to have the opportunity to design my own signature collection with them.” (source: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/steve-nash-invests-in-and-launches-his-own-suit-collection-with-indochino-2011-10-25)

The Steve Nash Collection consists of 6 new suits, 4 new ties, a selection of pocket squares and 3 new cufflinks. As for the suits, standout features include:

• Nailhead fabrics (4 different colors, all 100% Merino Wool)
• Prince of Wales fabric (100% Merino Wool)
• Glen Plaid fabric (100% Merino Wool)
• colored collar felts (matching the suit color) 
• special polka dots linings (available in 4 colors)

Prices range from 499$ for the 2-piece suits to 579$ for the 3-piece suits, ties are 49$ each, pocket squares and cufflinks are 39$ a piece.

The new suits are mostly pretty versatile with a twist (nailhead). Available in blue, brown, charcoal and gray the nailhead suits don't have any fancy plaid or striped patterns and can be worn with a number of ties and shirts - and pocket squares, if you want to. If you already have your standard navy and charcoal suit in your wardrobe, a nailhead version might be a nice addition - the brown one also looks great, surely makes you stand out from the crowd, especially on a closer look.

My personal favorite however is the Gray Glen Plaid Suit. Just like all other suits in this collection it is made from 100% Merino Wool and it has a bit of a rougher look to it, perfect for the late fall/winter weather in my opinion - I ordered this one, with pants cuffs, think it goes well with fabric and style. To see an overview of all the new suits and some more details on the collection go here.

As mentioned, there is also a number of pocket squares and ties available, see below for an overview.

Overall, an interesting new collection - I personally don't care much about who designed or models for Indochino, but the collection itself is pretty cool - I like the nailhead fabrics and the glen plaid a lot, the pocket squares and ties are interesting, but a tad expensive (as usual). Overall, Indochino has had some great releases lately and their updated production process (digital cutting) was also a huge step forward. Pity I am not in Vancouver, I would love to go go to their pop-up store - as a tailor measures you there, the risk of having wrong measurements is basically terminated.

Last but not least, there is also a Facebook Competition (value: 4000$)

https://www.facebook.com/indochino?sk=app_161033847281768

...by the way

I did some research on Steve Nash and men's style and Indochino is actually not his first time as a suit model. According to an article on guyism.com, Mr Nash already modelled for Sears back in 1996 - with limited success - guyism.com lists him as number 2 of the 25 worst NBA draft suits of all-time. However, Steve Nash's interest in (and sense for) men's fashion has surely increased since then.

Steve Nash modelling for Sears in 1996
source: http://guyism.com/sports/worst-nba-draft-suits-ever.html

Biggest Indochino Collection ever coming up tomorrow

Facebook teaser image

Tomorrow, the 25th of October, is no ordinary day according to Indochino. Today, the released a newsletter with two links to teaser images from their Facebook and Twitter acounts. I have posted them both above and below. Hard to say what exactly will await us, colored collar felts are for sure and I guess there will be much more - Indochino named it their biggest collection to date. More tomorrow!

Twitter teaser image

Finally, new outerwear from Indochino!

Finally, we got some fresh outerwear from Indochino. Actually, not only 6 new coats, 6 new blazers (Tweed!) were added as well, along with a couple of new shirts. Read on below for more details and  measurement advice on outerwear. 

Outerwear

6 new outerwear items, from peacoats, to topcoats and trenchcoats, with prices ranging from 329$ to 349$ (that is quite fair, isn't it?). They all feature padded interior lining for extra insulation and a couple of them have a front zip pocket as a nice style detail. If you are wondering about the fabrics, all of the new items seem to be made of wool/cashmere blends.

I have been wondering which one of those coats I should get, at the moment I favor the Navy Peacoat.  Not only do I like how it looks, I can also imagine wearing it with a casual outfit. Whatever I will go for, it will also be the first Indochino item I can order for "free", because some of you have been so nice to use my referral code on their first purchase, which used to give me 50$ store credit (referral program is now stopped)- so let me take the opportunity here to say a big thank you! Read on below for more info on the new collection.

Another big step forward for Indochino - The Indochino Pop-Up Store Vancouver

Exciting times for Indochino and their customers. Yesterday, Indochino announced the first ever Indochino pop-up store, to be opened from November 16-19 in their hometown Vancouver, Canada. This marks a big step for Indochino, so far their whole business has been online. While many of the more traditional brick-and-mortar stores are moving their businesses online, Indochino is a pure online business attempting to grasp a foothold in the offline world. 

As a special incentive, Indochino is also offering a free dress shirt and 2 free accessories & free style advice for those who attend the fitting event. I see this move as a logical next step, after introducing digital cutting in a message recently. I am sure this is only a first try to test the market, if this works out (and more than 80 people have already registered for the event via Facebook), I am sure that more major cities in Canada and the U.S. will follow. Who knows, perhaps a real, permanent retail store is in the plans too. 

The benefit for the customer (aside from the freebies) is clear - you can be sure Indochino trained the tailors present to take the measurements exactly as needed, so your suit should turn out great by all means.

For more information on the event check http://www.indochino.com/traveling-tailor-vancouver and read about it on Facebook. I wish I could go myself, but Vancouver is just a bit too far away. However, I hope I will be able to cover the event on the blog, would be cool if someone here could share some impressions! You can always reach me at lorenz@indochino-review.com or via Twitter or let me know in a comment if you are planning to attend!

New linings from Indochino

Some new patterned linings for your suit

With all the buzz about the message from the founders on Tuesday (digital cutting!), I completely missed the 4 new lining options introduced yesterday. There are 4 new choices, available for every suit (except the Traveling Collection, because of the special features). The same kind of pattern comes in different colors, ranging from gray and blue to pink and brown. I like the subtle pattern, it is a welcome change from the solid colored options available so far. Not sure if those new linings will be online permanently, but I am sure it will be a popular choice. 

Great news in a message from the Indochino founders

Indochino today released a new video (see above and Facebook) - a message from the founders, Kyle Vucko and Heikal Gani. They covered three topics:

• Digital Cutting
• Ready-To-Wear Packing
• Traveling Collection Insights (bigger/longer boxes, less wrinkles)

Digital Cutting aka. "consistency, consistency, consistency"

I had been very outspoken about this in the past and I had seen it as THE one point where Indochino needed to improve - I am talking about consistency. Previously, there was this margin of error that could make suits come out slightly different, even if you didn't change any of your measurements. I am very happy to learn that this risk has now been eliminated. Indochino is using state of the art technology to digitally map your patterns and cut them with lasers. They are using Gerber machines and I have heard they are the best you can get for this job.

What this means for customers: Once you get the fit right - follow the guide - you can now be sure your suits will fit exactly the same way. Yes, you might need some alterations on your first suit, or perhaps even a remake - but patience pays off for the next orders. I really believe this is a huge step forward. 

The Traveling Collection

I had been writing about it before (and I also ordered the Navy Traveler Suit) and I think the Traveling Collection is pretty cool - lots of pockets (don't use them for heavy stuff), one even especially for touchscreens, zippers, earphone ports, teflon-coated fabrics...pretty innovative! There has been quite a lot of cool stuff coming from Indochino lately anyway, I enjoy the new outerwear (write-up here) too - they have upgraded their fabrics compared to last year, so this time the outerwear should be suitable for colder climates too.

Traveling Collection features

[EXPIRED] Indochino Coupon Alert: Autumn Shirt Promotion (23% discount)

Indochino just launched a special promotion on their shirts - use the coupon code OCTOBERSHIRTS at checkout to get 3 shirts for 229$ (normal price 297$ at 99$ per shirt, resulting in around 23% discount overall). I do own quite a few of their shirts and never had any problems, they hold up well, I wear them regularly and bring them to the dry cleaners every week.

There are currently around 40 different shirts available, so choice shouldn't be the problem. I would recommend against the wrinkle-free shirts - I got 2 of them recently and I just read up on the chemical process (formaldehyde) used afterwards. So, if you can, go for the normal cotton shirts and accept they will get a bit wrinkled.

It doesn't really say about the duration of the promotion, but judging from the coupon's name, I would say it's valid until the end of October ;)

Fresh ideas: Indochino's new Traveling Collection

Key features of Indochino's Travelling Collection

Nicely timed with the presentation of the iPhone 4S, Indochino released their new collection, named the "Traveling Collection" yesterday. A set of 3 suits and 1 blazer, reasonably priced at 349$ - 499$ showcase some fresh ideas that I want to highlight below:

2 new Pinstripe Suits from Indochino

Today, 2 new pinstripe suits got added to Indochino's collection. Both priced at 479$ they are not quite as affordable as the basic suits at 379$, but also far less expensive than the Vincero Collection (all suits still available, by the way). I think today's additions will make a couple of people happy, there has been the occasional customer asking for for pinstriped suits on Facebook or Twitter recently.

There is also a special gimmick for those two suits, both of them feature a special lining - in one case geometric patterns, in the other retro circles. By the way, I overheard some chit-chat about new outerwear items in October, so I am really looking forward to that! I will give their outerwear a try this time.

The Yankee Switch Up Pinstripe Suit - 479$

Man of Mystery Pinstripe Suit - 479$

New Indochino shirts added

An overview of the 9 new Indochino shirts added today

9 new Indochino shirts were added today, with a focus on dark colours and bold butcher's stripes, priced at the usual 99$ each. I have noticed a certain pattern to Indochino releases a while ago: 1 big release (like the Vincero Collection) is usually followed by 2-3 smaller (accessories, blazers, shirts, ties)  in the following weeks.  

Following this pattern, we could see another big collection as soon as next week (but most likely they will wait for October). Besides new suits (will we see Harris Tweed this year?) my bet is on outerwear items. Waiting any longer than early October would be really late for autumn 2011 and I am ready to try one of their outerwear options this time.

In the meanwhile, I am waiting for my ProperSuit suit to arrive (I sure hope it didn't get lost on the way) and I'm working on getting a good fit on my last Indochino suit. I had ordered the Portfolio Plaid Suit a while ago, but the jacket had a couple of issues: button stance was 2 inch higher than usual, giving the whole jacket a weird shape. In addition, the jacket was also roomier than usual. Luckily, Indochino was very forthcoming and accepted my request for a remake. 

StudioSuits.com Review

StudioSuits.com Suit - a very slim fit

Update: Studio Suits now offers a fit guarantee on selected items.

With the recent discussions on the expensive Indochino Vincero Collection and my introduction to equally high-priced ProperSuit, I also wanted to cover a more affordable option. Haresh aka Harry from StudioSuits.com had contacted me a while ago and offered me to receive a free suit for review, and I thought I'd make for an interesting article. 

One of the readers of this blog had mentioned StudioSuits a while ago in a comment; their prices are surely tempting - suits start at 99$ only - an unbelievable price for an MTM suit. At this price, you can be lucky to get a shirt at Indochino. But are the suits worth the money?

New Tie Bars from Indochino

Indochino Tie Clip - 39$

Yesterday only brought a couple of small updates, 3 new tie bars priced at 39$. I don't know if much can be said about them, there is nothing particularly outstanding, but it's nice to have a bit of a choice there. As discussed previously, there are many other choices to get tie bars. Would be good to know how long the Indochino ones are, but no further details are provided. I assume they are the standard size, which can be a bit too long for the slim Indochino ties. 

I was originally hoping for some new outerwear, but I guess they will keep that for the next bigger collection. What about you guys, are you using tie clips? I sometimes do, but usually feel like I should avoid overdressing if none of my clients wear tie clips. 

Introducing ProperSuit - a rival to the throne?

Impressions from ProperSuit.com

Update: Suit Review now online: http://www.indochino-review.com/2011/10/introducing-propersuit-review.html

A while ago I noticed a comment on my blog. It was posted on an article about the secret pockets that Indochino had introduced on 2 special suits a while ago. The comment mentioned that secret pockets were a standard feature on all Proper Suit suits. It was the first time I had heard about that Proper Suit (http://www.propersuit.com) so I decided to check their website and soon after I found myself chatting to the two founders, McGregor and Richard.

Their concept is not fundamentally different from Indochino, but still raised my interest. I believe the online MTM market is continually growing and the more competitiors, the better for us customers. Instead of just ordering a suit from and reviewing it here I thought of something a bit bigger.

In this first part I want to introduce Proper Suit and conduct an interview with the two founders. The goal will be to find out what differentiates Proper Suit from Indochino and what makes them stand out.

The second part will not only feature a suit review of the Modern Brown Suit from Proper Suit (thank you for the considerable discount!), but also an analysis of the different fabrics, the construction methods used and the fit. I have secured the help of a top bespoke tailor, who has agreed to cut open suits from both Indochino and Proper Suit - expect some surprising insights! 

About Proper Suit

Proper Suit was started in 2010 by McGregor and Richard. Their company’s story is in a way similar to Indochino’s story. There is that general unhappyness with off-the-rack suits and their usually baggy fit as a starting point. McGregor got introduced to local tailors by stylish friends from Sweden and Italy and quickly fell in love with tailored clothes. Richard was the perfect business partner, as a former factory auditor in China he possessed the necessary know-how on the “proper” machinery, raw materials and the processes. Together, they founded Proper Suit - the name seemed fitting, because at the core a (very) proper suit is what they want to provide to their customers.

I had the chance to do an extensive interview with both Richard and McGregor, read on below to for the full transcript of the conversation.

Indochino's Vincero Collection

Indochino Vincero Collection
The Vincero Navy Blue & White Pinstripe Suit, 649$

Indochino is constantly changing and in many cases, improving. Advanced options have been reworked (photos of the options are now available) and simplified (higher armholes became standard), their much-discussed shoulder construction has been upgraded (now lightly padded shoulders). 

They have also completely changed their prices and sales strategy. Just a year ago you could get 20% off an Indochino suit plus 2 free shirts. Today, there are almost no coupons (just some small official sales) and prices have increased significantly. I remember when you could get the suits for 299$ after using a coupon - now their monthly collections cost significantly more. This has surely left many former customers disappointed and looking for bargains elsewhere - StudioSuits.com comes to mind, I actually have a review coming up within the next weeks. 

The reasons of the change in strategy and price increases are manifold. First of all, Indochino has been growing quickly and now wants to start making profits and grow into a strong brand, not depending on short-term sales initiatives using coupons and discounts. Furthermore, cotton prices have been increasing significantly over the last year, thus negatively affecting profit margins. Indochino has actually raised prices for blazers and some basic suits by around 30$. 

Today's new suits, titled the Vincero Collection, are yet another step in a higher price category. Prices start at 649$, this has been unheard of before - the most expensive 3-piece suit even sells for 829$. However, this is not all without reason. Quite on the contrary, today new suits stand out like no other collection before. Read on below for more info.

Wrinkle-free cotton shirts from Indochino

Indochino wrinkle-free shirts

Indochino introduced some new shirts yesterday, wrinkle-free 100% cotton shirts priced at 79$ a piece. That is not too bad, considering their normal price for shirts is 99$ - true, they are only available in very basic colors, but that is not a bad thing in my opinion. A couple of really well fitting blue and white shirts are never wrong.

They have also introduced some nice metal collar stays at 9$ a piece, the standard plastic ones have always seemed a bit too weak to me, so I will definitely invest in a couple of the metal ones. By the way, the collars on the models seem weird, they have that dent on the left side and I wonder why they missed it and why it is there on all the new shirts...

Indochino's plans on the new high-end "Vincero Collection"

First shots of the Indochino Vincero Collection - Suits go from 649$
photo via NKPR's Tumblr

You have read about the Indochino Pants Collection yesterday. Fancy pants with Italian fabrics at a rather steep price (steep, if you are used to Indochino's affordable items). Well, it seems fancy pants are not the only thing Indochino is planning for the near future. There have been tweets about a recent Indochino happening at NKPR, a beautiful Toronto based PR agency. They are also the ones who posted the photo of new Indochino suits above, along with some more, including the Indochino guys showing us their favourite food. 

There is also some more information on a certain Phil Birnbaum's blog. He also posted this interesting bit of information below:

The site will begin offering higher-end suit line Vincero starting September 6th in winter-ready Italian-designed wool-cashmere. The Indochino Vincero suits go from $649 US, and continue to allow Indochino customers to customize a suit to fit both their body and personality (via philbirnbaum.ca)

Woolly Llama is going to love this. Not only are there no coupons, now the suits (at least the Vincero Collection) will be even more expensive. I believe 649$ is the highest price they have every asked for a suit. I am not saying it is not worth it, but fabric quality, quality control (consistency!) and construction has to be top-notch at this price point. If I look at the suits above, they sure do look tempting. 

By the way, let me also use this article to inform you about an upcoming special feature on the blog. I don't want to tell too much now, but it will be great. I will introduce an Indochino competitor, compare their suits to Indochino, have a top bespoke tailor cut open and examine both suits and in detail and much more!

Indochino's Italian Fancy Pants Collection

New Indochino Pants, made from premium Italian fabric - priced 159$

Pretty cool pants collection from Indochino today! What surprised me most is that they are using Italian fabrics this time - 130s, 140s and 160s wool pants with some surprising details. For the first time, you can actually choose colorful lining for the pants. Sure, it's mainly a gimmick, but it's a nice one and it adds an interesting flair to the pants. Obviously, no one would really roll up the pants like below, right? 

Prices are quite a bit above the usual 99$ for their pants, but I think the premium is justified, considering the Italian fabrics and the additional customization options. By the way, it seems they also overhauled the suspender buttons and the side tabs options. They seem to look different now. The fit on the models is really good too, not too baggy, not too tight. I'm hoping for my next pants to turn out like that...

Another interesting feature is the very neatly programmed HTML5 (it's HTML5, right?) slideshow on the pants. Just looks really nice, well done. By the way, there was also a hint about Indochino shoes on their Facebook page - nothing for the near future, but it seems shoes are planned at some point.

And the winners are...

Evan Senter

Ultimate Gray Suit

Ryan N.

Navy Pinstripe 3-piece

[expired] Your chance to win a 150$ Indochino coupon - only for the next 5 hours!

I have got good news and bad news. The good news are, I have two 150$ Indochino Groupon vouchers that I will give away to users from the US and Canada (because unfortunately, the coupons are only valid in those countries). The (kind of) bad news are that the coupons expire today, August 18th, so the competition will be a short one! If you want to participate, leave a comment at this post and include a photo of yourself in some Indochino gear - the competition runs until 7pm GMT only! I will then choose a winner. Good luck everyone, looking forward to seeing the pics!

New plaid and pinstripe suits from Indochino

It has been a while since the last big collection, hasn't it? Indochino tried their best to keep us happy with cufflinks, ties and shirts, but after it is the suits we are really waiting for. Today we got lucky, 3 new suits (plaid and pinstripe fabrics) got released. It is a special collection, mainly because of the new shoulder style. They are all priced at 479$, which seems quite fair - it doesn't say so specifically, but Indochino has confirmed via Twitter that all 3 suits are 100% wool.

[expired] Indochino Coupon Alert: buy any two shirts, get one for free

There is a short sale again at Indochino, much like the tie sale a while ago. To use it, buy two shirts and get the third one for free by using the coupon SUMMERSHIRTS on checkout - this brings down the price per shirt to 66$, not a bad deal. 

The sale is only on until Sunday, August 14 2011. Indochino has recently released a big collection of 16 new shirts, so there are a number of different shirts to choose from. If you are interested in the quality, you can check Mike's detailed review on his Indochino shirts. 

This Tuesday: new ties and restocked Linen suits

New Indochino Ties - 49$

Not quite the huge new collection that could have been expected, but still we got some new products this Tuesday. Indochino added 4 new ties (priced at 49$), pictured above to their product portfolio. Also two of the most popular Linen suits were restocked - the Navy Blue and the Ultimate Khaki 3-piece suit. I assume those will already feature the new, slightly padded shoulder style - curious to see how that will look!

Ultimate Khaki 3-piece Linen Suit - 419$

Navy Blue Linen Suit - 349$