The Indochino Ultimate Summer Collection 2013

Indochino is quickening their pace and barely waited four weeks after their Spring Collection to introduce their new 2013 Summer Collection, named the Ultimate Summer Collection. 

Similar to the Summer Collection 2012, the new collection introduces lightweight seersucker suits and blazers, a suit and a couple of blazes of medium-weight fabrics suitable for all seasons, some new colourful additions to their Boca Chinos line and a couple of new trench coats (see a quick review of their older version here). There are also yet more shirts and perhaps more interestingly, new belts. The old ones very really narrow and I was asked if I am using my girlfriend's belt at work. The new ones have an acceptable width of 2.8cm - the previous ones (still up for sale) measure around 1.9cm. 

As for the suits, there are the two seersucker suits, grey and blue - see the blue one below. Both styles are available as blazers as well. I checked for the main differences to last year and interestingly, the 2013 seersuckers have an entirely different fabric composition.

2012: 100% Cotton

2013: 79% Wool, 20% Cotton, 1% Lycra

Would be interesting to compare the breathability of both. Surely, the 2013 seersuckers will wrinkle less, but somehow a 100% cotton suit does have its advantages as well, especially in the scalding regions. It is a pity the half-lining option is still only available for Blazers. I have an order waiting to be finished from the Spring Collection and can't wait to see how this option will turn out. 

Indochino Blue Seersucker Suit - $429

Again, there are a couple daring blazers. I remember last year Sabir from Men's Style Pro did a review on one of those and rocked the double-breasted look. A similar style, The Premium Plaid Blazer, is available with this year's collection as well, but the price skyrocketed from just $199 to a whopping $429 - an increase of more than 53%, mainly because this time the fabric is sourced from Reda. Still, a cool looking blazer, even if I think the shirt on the model is a bit too busy in combination with that pattern. 

Left: Sabir Peele from Men's Style Pro, Photo copyright www.mensstylepro.com. Right: the Indochino Model

Trench Coats - $329

A word about prices and coupons

In 2012, Indochino had released a very similar collection around the same time. One big difference to 2012 is the price point. Seersucker suits went for $299 in 2012 and now sell for $429. That is a steep increase of 30%. By comparison, the more affordable blazers increased more than 33% from an affordable $199 to $299. Furthermore, just like in 2012, no coupons are around. Reasons for the hike in prices includes higher commodity prices, a switch to higher quality components and of course, the establishment of Indochino as a more premium brand than before. Perhaps there is also a certain expectation from investors to break even; I can of course, only speculate about that or Indochino's profit situation in general. 

What is your opinion on the Summer Collection? 

Does Indochino Suit the Portly Crowd? Part II

By Ryan Burwinkel

All pictures and text by Ryan Burwinkel.

As you may remember, I posed a question a few weeks back, and I’m… well, not exactly happy to report back with an answer.

I’m also not exactly unhappy, to be fair. The results, in my opinion, are pretty middling. The fabric is really nice looking, and they got all the customized detailing right (were it up to me, I’d have chosen a different felt under the collar -they went with brown- but that’s really a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things) The fit is where the problems are, really. And fit is king.

(EXPIRED) Deal Alert: 10% off, 1 free shirt, 1 free accessory

Essential Gray Suit: now $341 instead of $379 plus 1 free shirt & 1 free accessory

UPDATE: Indochino deactivated the coupon already, hope some of you got their orders through.

The deal is only valid for suits, shirts and accessories from the Wedding Collection, but there are actually a number of interesting items even if you don't need it for a wedding. 10% off may not sound a lot, but here is the important part: this is one of the very few occasions where you can actually get a discount on an Essential Suit. 

Take the Essential Gray Suit (review here) or the Essential Navy Suit, normally priced at $379 would now be $341 plus you get a free shirt (from the Refined Shirts, e.g. worth max. $99) and a free accessory. 

Overall, this is a great deal if you need a complete outfit for a very good price - and believe me, the Essential Suits are hardly ever discounted, at least not in their usual seasonal sales or friday happy hour promos. I recommend to be quick if you want to use this coupon, Indochino might not have designed this promo to spread, so they may deactivate the coupon soon.

Selected Items - The Indochino Ultimate Spring Collection

I had been thinking quite a lot of what I should order from the recent Spring Collection. I have plenty of suits ready for the warmer weather, but I wanted a combination that can be used for more casual settings as well. 

Instead of the classic blue blazer & light chinos combo I went for the light blazer and navy pants version. Indochino has been offering their Boca Chinos for quite a while and keeps restocking them with new items, I decided it was time to give them a try. I just got a really nice slim fit Navy Blue one from GAP, let's see how they compare. 

Measurement Changes:

I will change my measurements around a bit as I want a slimmer fit on the chinos compared to my suit pants and perhaps the jacket 0.5 inch shorter than usual. Of course I went for the half-lined version of the jacket and I'm really curious to see how that will turn out. Other than that I kept it pretty basic with a solid blue shirt (with contrast inside cuffs), a blue linen tie, a pocket square and one of the new lapel pins. I find many of the patterns Indochino offers a bit overwhelming - not necessarily bad, just a bit too garish for my personal taste. 

Did anyone else order some Spring Collection items? What did you go for?

Indochino is also running a sweepstake again, you can win a $400 voucher here.