The Essential Navy Blue Blazer

Essential Navy Blue Blazer - 399$

Update July 2016: The blazer is now called the Essential Navy Blue Blazer, but is currently out of stock. You can find all available Indochino blazers here: Indochino Blazers

Indochino added another blazer today - the Ultimate Navy Blue Blazer. It can of course just be a coincidence, but just recently someone on Indochino's Facebook wall asked for a Navy Blue Blazer without the golden buttons - so it seems as if they saw a market there. I'm sure there is a market for it - it's a versatile piece. I remember I once used to think that only weird people wear blazers and trousers in different colours, but clearly, I was very ignorant then. I'm positively surprised about the price, by the way - 199$ is very affordable, probably making this a big seller - I assume even without a coupon (and you can see how much a coupon would be needed in the poll on the right). 

The info about the fabric quality is not very detailed; it is called a "solid wool blend" - of course, this doesn't tell us if it's blended with silk, polyester or any other fabric. Considering the price, I would suspect polyester (also they would mention it if it's silk or any other seemingly high-quality fabric), but that is just my personal guess. The other Navy Blue Blazer is described as a "wool blend" too, if anyone owns it, would be cool to find out what you think about the fabric.

Comparing the two Navy Blue Blazers

Doing my usual research on Twitter, I also found out that we should get some new shirts next - gingham shirts.   Will keep you updated as usual!

[outdated article] 2011 Summer suits are here! The Indochino Linen Collection

New Indochino Linen Suits released - get ready for the summer

Finally summer (or spring) is here and Indochino celebrates it with a release of new Linen Suits. The timing is pretty good, as it actually seems they settled on a 3-week delivery time now. If you order today you receive your suit by May 10. I believe many of us had been waiting for light summer suits for a while now (me too, especially as I had missed out on their last Linen Collection a year ago) and I have to say that today's collection looks very promising.

In the first round we got 5 new Linen suits (actually mostly nice a linen/cotton mix to reduce wrinkles). I assume some new shirts or perhaps also ties and accessories will follow in the next few weeks. The prices this time are very fair with 349$ for the 2-piece suits and 419$ for the 3-piece Ultimate Khaki Suit. Competition over - thanks for participating - congrats to Nick Fabiani, the winner! I actually have one more Groupon coupon (value 150$) to give away - I'll give it to someone who commens here on this post until Friday, 22nd. Brings down the price for a suit to 299$ 199$ (thanks JC :D), which is not so bad in times of no other working coupons I guess! Please be aware that in case you need alterations, the tailor credit will be credited back to your coupon, not to your credit card account.

Classic Camel Linen Suit - 349$

As usual I have my personal favourites - this time it is probably the Classic Camel Linen Suit pictured above. It's just really a classic linen suit and I happen to miss one of those in my wardrobe. Well, I actually do have one, but I bought it far too big and I hate wearing it.

I'm actually considering asking for a half-lined suit this time, for the really hot days. I believe Indochino does this on demand. Shoulder style will still be the padded version, I'm just not very convinced about the look of the natural shoulders.

Update: I received my Camel Linen suit by now and you can check the review here:

http://www.indochino-review.com/2011/05/indochino-review-classic-camel-linen.html

The other suits available seem pretty cool as well - I can imagine the 3-piece Ultimate Khaki Suit very well for a summer wedding and the Navy Blue Linen Suit looks promising too- also good to have a summer suit that is not necessarily a light color. Of course I can always only speak from my perspective, but the Grey Linen Suit pictured below is perhaps the one I could least imagine wearing.

Indochino Grey Linen Suit - 349$

Indochino Navy Blue Linen Suit - 349$

Summer Sensation White Linen Suit - 349$

Ultimate Khaki Linen Suit - 419$

Overall, I believe this is the right collection at the right time. If you need a summer suit and Indochino works for you (or you are curious to try), then you will probably find something you like. Or is there something missing in your opinion? Don't forget to comment (a useful comment, no flatteries!) for a chance to win a Groupon coupon worth 150$!

New "rich-textured" two-piece suits added

Indochino Blue Tweed Suit - 399$

Indochino has added 3 more suits to their current line-up, after we saw the introduction of 3-piece pinestripe suits last time around, we get some nice patterns and fabrics for today's update. All 3 of them are priced at a relatively low price of 399$, which is quite ok, considering we were already up to prices of 549$ for recent suits. 

My personal favourite of the three suits added today is the Indochino Blue Tweed Suit pictured above. Not only have I come to appreciate the Indochino tweed fabric choices, but this one also adds a nice pattern - not a suit you'd usually buy as your first one, but a suit that can definitely bring some welcome change to a wardrobe of solid colored suits. By the way, I do really like the tie on the model - it's not a slim one, but to be honest I would appreciate a couple of wider ties from Indochino too. I had mentioned it before, but it would really cool if we could customize ties at Indochino á la Dolbeau (width, length, etc). 

The other two suits, the Graphite Windowpane and the Grey Herringbone are interesting additions as well and from what I hear, some nice summer suits are just around the corner!

Indochino Graphite Windowpane Suit - 399$

Indochino Grey Herringbone Suit - 399$

Indochino Review: The Associate 3-piece Tweed Suit

The Associate 3-piece Tweed Suit - click for a larger image
(the suit only looks as grey as on the website in very white light - see left bottom pics)

This review of an Indochino 3-piece tweed suit was originally published in 2011 and has since been updated numerous times with new information. Indochino still has this suit (or rather a version of it) in their constant collection, meaning it should always be available. The 3-piece suit I bought in 2011 was called the Associate 3-piece Tweed Suit, the current model can be found as the 3-piece Prince of Wales Suit and is priced at USD 499 (find more info here). I will try to update the photos soon (yes, I still have the suit) and with better light conditions. 

When you search around the Internet for Indochino reviews, you will obviously find that people have different experiences. For some it works right away, for others after a remake and some suits just don't seem to be right at all. If you check out the forums like Reddit or Styleforum, you will find that lots of people who buy their first ever suit from Indochino are often having troubles and they seem unsure whether their suit actually fits well. Over  time, I have gathered a couple of ideas into the Indochino Guide to help first-time buyers. Check it out when you have time and find some thoughts on how to get a good fit below.

I have some ideas on which steps you should follow to get a good fit - I know that's how I did it and that it worked for me on a number of suits already.

Close up of the fabric

One of the most important things was to measure carefully - it does take more than the 10 minutes claimed on the Indochino website. Just really stick to the videos and remeasure the next day to make sure you didn't make any grave mistakes. Yes, this is a bit lengthy, but I believe the measurements are essential. Don't take any existing measurements from other MTM tailors such as moderntailor... Anyway, mine were pretty much perfect from the last suits already, so I only tweaked some minor things (a tiny bit more space for my thighs, a little extra length on the trousers - I feel more comfortable with 1 break instead of no break). 

I did ask to have less waist suppression. I feel they are overdoing it a bit in that department, and as I have rather wide hips (and short legs) it would not be very flattering for me with heavy waist suppression.

Other customization options I went for: fabric back of the vest instead of lining, ticket pocket, 1 pleat for the trousers (big thighs), higher armholes, 2 buttons, 2 vents, notch lapels (I didn't dare going for the peak lapels).

Furthermore, I don't go for their natural shoulders, because I think they very often look lumpy and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with their normal, padded shoulders. I might just try the natural shoulders for a summer suit though - together with requesting the suit to be only half-lined.

On to the Associate 3-piece suit, it was a bit of an experiment for two reasons:

1. It is my first 3-piece suit and I was very unsure about the vest measurements. 
2. It is the most expensive Indochino suit I had ordered yet and I was very curious if the fabric quality would justify the price
   

Ad 1., after a couple of emails with Angie I submitted my vest measurements (or what I thought was correct) via email as I couldn't lower the value on the system enough. I was concerned a bit how that would turn out and I did feel the vest was too long at first. However, Ioan pointed me to an interesting website were the vests shown were considerably longer compared to how the models look on Indochino's website. I am ok now with how it looks, just looking for an occasion to wear it without being overdressed. Opinions on the length are appreciated!

Vest length
(shirt is from Modern Tailor)

Ad 2., the fabric of the suits is really great. It's soft to the touch, drapes very well and overall just feels like something of high quality. I have to confess I am not (yet) a specialist on fabric quality, but I can tell you what I think looks and feels nice. I do have a couple of other Indochino suits to compare, so let me say that the rather high price of 499$ is justified (especially with a coupon).

Yep, forgot the pocket square again

Overall, it was another Indochino purchased that worked out well for me. I'm aware there are many problems for others, and I have seen some shocking pictures of suits. Had I had such problems, I think I would have asked for a refund and never bothered to order again. However, the fact is that all of my five suits came out well (the first one was probably the worst one) and if there were any mistakes on them, it was mostly my mistake (too short jacket on one of the suits). Only once did the trousers come out very tight without me changing any of the measurements - luckily a tailor could fix it, and Indochino covered the costs.

I am curious to see how Indochino will develop in the next couple of months, after all, they have just received a 4$ million investment and that should help to iron out some of the problems!

The Prince of Wales Suits in 2016

4 new shirts from Indochino

A dream come true - the simple, basic and yet so versatile blue shirt (and 3 more)

An alternate title could have been "Indochino listens", because many of you have been asking for simple white and blue shirts. Two simple white ones went back online a while ago and today we got four new shirts, including the Blue Utility Shirt (edit: now called Easy Care Blue Utility...) - a versatile, solid, blue pinprick fabric dress shirt. No, it's not fancy and shiny (well, not overly shiny at least) but it's a great alternative to the white dress shirt and definitely an item that should be in everyone's wardrobe - also because it fits with almost every suit I can imagine.

The Blue Utility Shirt - 99$

Prices for the shirts are as usual, meaning 99$. We all know that is a bit steep for the shirts, it would have been great to see the blue one being priced at 79$ at least (just like the basic white shirt). On the other hand it's a great opportunity to make use of a Groupon coupon, if you still have one. Or perhaps they will decide to offer a coupon with free shirts after all?

If we can already ask for things, what about a true cutaway collar? Lars has been asking for it for a couple of times already and I think he has a point! And you know, light (khaki) cotton and linen summer suits ;)

How about some linen suits, Indochino?

Indochino Linen Suits April 2010
(wow, those jackets were short!)

Michael Bastian
Linen Suit

I have been surfing GQ's style pages a bit and came across the "The GQ Spring Trend Report". Not surprisingly, both khaki suits and linen suits play an important part this season. I have been noticing for a while that double-breasted blazers seem to be back in fashion and that trend seems to carry over to summer suits as well. I think I am actually a pretty conservative guy, because I can't see myself pulling it off - but perhaps that is also due to my rather conservative working environment. 

In any case, I do appreciate Indochino's light 180s suits from late March, but they have recently removed their last khaki suit and I think it'd be time to add some real spring mood to their collection. At least I know I'd definitely be tempted to order (especially with a tasty 20% off + 2 free shirts coupon!). There might even be a chance for a nice coupon, if Indochino can win this Store Wars competition over on Dappered. Anyway, I think the theoretical chance for a Linen Collection is not even too bad. They had one in April 2010 (see header image) and while the jacket's were quite a bit too short for my taste, some of the linen fabrics seemed really nice. Unfortunately I didn't pull the trigger on one then!

By the way, Indochino seems to be back to a shorter delivery schedule now - it seems like it's 3 weeks for most items. Not quite their 2-week turnaround, but it is a nice development from their 4-6 weeks earlier this year.

While browsing on the Indochino website I also noticed that finally 2 white shirts are back - the Ultimate Utility Shirt (nicely priced at 79$) and the lighter, thinner Blueprint Oxford Shirt (priced at 99$). I used a Groupon voucher to get 2 of the Ultimate Utility Shirts, will report back on the fabric. So, now we just need some solid blue shirts, right?

The Ultimate Utility Shirt - 79$

The Blueprint Oxford Shirt - 99$