INDOCHINO: Brick and Mortar Meets Online Fashion

Men’s fashion is buzzing. New businesses are developing that blur the line between online and brick and mortar retail. I’m not sure if it’s the technology aspect or the ease of shopping that men enjoy but companies like Indochino are taking the world by storm.

My excuse was a last minute tuxedo purchase needed for a black tie wedding in 5 weeks. Most retails declined to produce something in that time, but it probably had to do with the fact that I’m 6’7” and slight alterations to an off the rack suit just isn’t in my cards. When I called Indochino on King West, they promised 4 weeks so I jumped to setting up an appointment. When I arrived I was greeted politely by the front desk and they called down my Style Guide to take me through the process. The Style Guide took all of my measurements in about 10 min, with polite conversation and some specific questions about how I like my suits to fit. She had remembered my name and knew what I was after – very professional and comforting. She used her iPhone to set up an account for me where all my measurements are stored, which I can tweak after Thanksgiving dinner. She then took me downstairs to walk the showroom.

All the fabrics, colors and styles were gorgeous and on trend. They had mannequins showing full outfits and busts showing a suit, shirt and tie combinations next to a closet of fabrics and other jackets. They also had a table with examples of cuff and collar styles, pocket squares and suit jewelry (cufflinks, tie clips, etc) and examples of font styles to sew in your initials into a jacket or shirt. They really make you feel like its designer for you, because it is! When it came to designing my suit I was able to pick from a “template suit” then alter some of the details to make it exactly what I wanted – inside and out. I was given relevant information to make great decisions and felt confident in doing so. I was able to choose pockets flaps to interior jacket liners, collars to shirt cuffs: Excellent.

Before I went to the store I went through the website to design a suit and had a top notch experience. The measure video was really well done: clearly described and enjoyable to watch. When making your selections, they gave you little insight on detailing a suit to feel classic to modern. The guide shop was even better. The store associate was knowledgeable about every detail and gave advice on things I hadn’t thought of. I learned a that designing an outfit is not just about picking every detail, it’s about picking details that work together to give the right look and feel. I was able to buy my suit and dress shirt, bow tie and cufflinks: The full package for an extremely reasonable price for a custom suit. I am praying that this works out; I will be buying a full wardrobe if it does.