Kickstarter Fashion & Accessories: Wallets, Shirts and Swim Trunks

I want to introduce a new series on indochino-review.com, covering interesting Fashion & Accessory projects on Kickstarter. There have been a number of successful projects in the men's fashion area and I am keeping a keen eye on what's going on at the moment. Lots of the projects are from small, local companies and I think there are some really cool ideas out there. 

Band-it extra slim minimal wallet

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amagpoc/band-it-extra-small-minimal-wallet

A slim wallet, big enough to hold around 10 cards  and folded cash. Seems pretty good for everyone in countries that does not use coins. You can choose from different leather options or from elastic materials. There are a lot of different material combinations possible.

Prices at Kickstarter are very affordable, starting at $13 (gets you one of the wallets). Add $3 for international delivery. The project is not yet fully funded, but it seems they will surely reach full funding until the deadline in around 2 weeks. 

Mianzi - Shirts Drool Over

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kligman/shirts-to-drool-over-literally

Available both for men and women, these shirts come both in short- and long-sleeved versions. The shirts promise to be super soft, naturally anti-bacterial, anti odor, quick drying, eco friendly and much more. 

The designs are simple and convincing with attention to detail. What makes them very special: 70% of the fabric is bamboo fibre. A great material for shirts, it's becoming quite big, I've seen a number of local shops selling bamboo shirts in Vietnam already. 

Prices start at $34 for the short-sleeved versions, add $10 for international delivery. The project is almost funded with 9 days to go. 

THE BLUE LINE by Voller - A Better Swim Trunks

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/96570449/the-blue-line-by-voller-a-better-swim-trunk

Voller swim trunks claim to be the best on the market for the price. If you join the Kickstarter project, you can get a pair for as low as $30, add $5 to even have your monogram added - add $10 for international delivery. 

Custom swim shorts, there you go. They come in various sizes and are always available as regular and long. 

There are some really good designs and the guys are already way above their target. 

Guide To Customising Your Indochino Suit

15 New Indochino Shirts from $99 - $159

Buyers Guide: 4 Essential Indochino shirts & the perfect fit

This article is part of a series, helping young men to build their professional wardrobe with Indochino. I know I made many mistakes when I started my career, and there are some simple steps that everyone can take to make things much easier and better. It is possible to avoid looking back at old photos and having that "what did I think?" moment. Most importantly, it does not have to cost a lot of money or take a massive effort to get the basics covered and look good. Read on for some essential style advice and an overview of the top 4 Indochino shirts to buy when you are just starting out to build your professional wardrobe.

Deal Alert: The big Indochino End of Season Sale 2013

Finally, Indochino is having a bigger sale again and this time it contains some actually very interesting items. Remember my last review, where I said I actually consider the 2013 Spring Collection the better Summer Collection? 

Slate Blue Plaid Linen Blazer now $264 instead of $349

Well, now the the Sand Linen & Wool Suit (review of the jacket here!) originally part of the Spring Collection is on sale and you can save $100 - it is discounted from $429 to $329. Basically, you get the pants for free. 

There are also a number of other linen products on sale, including light cotton & wool blends. Remember you can choose half-lining on the blazers at no additional cost to make them even more suitable for hot days. If you are looking for more Indochino suit reviews before purchase, you can consult my index: Indochino Suit Review Index.

Blazers are discounted from $349 to $269 and then there is a number of premium shirts for as low as $119. 

Indochino's end of season sales usually sell out rather quickly, but also there are often items added. I will keep track of what's on sale (except the shirts) and what's already gone below.

Update June 8: Sand Cotton and Linen Suit available again.
Update June 9: Sand Cotton and Linen sold out (again).
Update June 10: Sand Linen and Wool sold out.

Olive Plaid Silk, Linen & Wool Blazer: $264 $349 sold out

Slate Blue Plaid Silk, Linen & Wool Blazer: $264 $349 sold out

Sky Blue Pinstripe Shirt: $75 $99 sold out

Sand Linen and Wool Suit: $329 $429 sold out

Sand Cotton and Wool Suit: $329 $429 sold out

Tonal Slate Linen & Wool Suit: $329 $429 n.a.

Olive Cotton & Wool Suit: $329 $429 n.a. 

Gray Linen & Wool Suit: $329 $429 n.a.

Slate Blue Cotton & Wool Suit: $329 $429 n.a.

The Indochino End of Season Sale:

http://www.indochino.com/collection/End-of-Season-Sale

Indochino Quality Survey 2013 - The Results

The results of the Indochino Quality Check 2013 are in and as promised, they provide some very interesting insights, especially for first time buyers. Thank you to all 100 of you who took the time to participate!

Please let me again emphasise two important points, before we take a look at the results.

1. This was not an official survey conducted by Indochino
2. This is not a statistically speaking representative survey e.g. the results can be seen as an indication only and do not represent the total Indochino customer base

Bearing these two points in mind, and as mentioned earlier on, the results are interesting and certainly worth considering if you are about to order an Indochino suit or if you are wondering about what other customers experienced. I will spare you a lengthy analysis and will give you the charts to look at with a couple of my thoughts at the end of this article.

1. How old are you?

2. How many (if any) Indochino suits do you own?

3. Would you recommend Indochino to your friends?

4. Does any of your Indochino garments suffer from defects? 
Remark: I forgot to include "No" as an answer, but 42 e.g. almost 50% skipped the question, indicating that nearly 50% have not experienced any defects on any of their suits. 

5. Did any of your Indochino garments miss any options you had specified during the shopping process?

6. Did your first Indochino suit require alterations?

7. Did you first Indochino suit need a remake?

8. Open Question - space for comments, questions, etc.

Some interesting points mentioned here. Requests for a lower button stance, more blazer options, more deals and coupon codes, proper half-canvas construction. Some said quality improved, some others mentioned it deteriorated.

tl;dr

Despite of almost 80% of first time buyers needing alterations and 35% needing a remake on their first Indochino suit, more than 70% would recommend Indochino to their friends, indicating a high satisfaction rate. 

Missing options (less than 20%) or quality issues (less than 50%) are overall negligible and if they occur, limited to minor issues such as loose buttons. This speaks both for proper quality control and for overall quality (fit aside) itself. 

Popular future requests:

1. Lower button stance
2. Proper half-canvas construction
3. More sales/coupons
4. Better selection

Indochino Traveling Tailor Chicago & Black Lapel Dapper Man Shop

Indochino just announced they'd be back in Chicago for another visit of their successful traveling tailor.   Your chance to get measured by a pro, feel the fabrics in person and get a bonus offer when pre-booking an appointment. If you are lucky you might also get some special fabrics that are not available online.

Traveling Tailor Info:
Pre-book and get a BONUS OFFER: http://cus.tm/CHITTFBevent

BONUS OFFER: Free custom shirt & gift set (including cuff links & a tie clip $160 value) with a suit purchase when you pre-book using the link above. Limited quantities available.

Store Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8am to 8pm
Sat: 9am to 7pm
Sun 11am to 7pm

Furthermore, Black Lapel, Indochino's main competitor, (review here) is hosting a pop-up store in NYC, together with some other cool companies. The Dapper Man Shop experience is open from June 4th to June 9th, here is a list of the hosts and participants. Would love to go myself!

More on the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/476126542456920/?directed_target_id=0

Here are the start-ups that are hosting the pop-up:
Black Lapel 
Pengallan
Freshneck
Everett
The Collaterals

Here are participating companies:
Artsiclei
Adventure
Urban Consign & Design