Jefferyd reviews Indochino

For those who don't know, jefferyd is a member here who has extensive knowledge about both the art and the business of tailoring. I respect him immensely for his knowledge and willingness to pull back the curtain; something that can be rare in the industry. He recently reviewed Indochino, one of the more innovative online MTM suits. Here is one of the rare reviews, from his blog, that caught my eye for its insight and his ability to separate personal bias from professional critique:

http://tuttofattoamano.blogspot.com/2012/08/indochino-or-how-to-sell-clothing-to.html

SF is fortunate to have Jeffrey's acquaintance.

Looking forward to the results.

Very informative report. Some good ideas coming from Indochino which ought to dispel the reluctance of potential customers like me. But then Indochino launches a campaign like this and it unravels.

Are we going to get a dissection?



curzon said:

Very informative report. Some good ideas coming from Indochino which ought to dispel the reluctance of potential customers like me. But then Indochino launches a campaign like this and it unravels.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

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It's just styling. You have to remember that they are trying to appeal to a broad audience. The pricepoint is such that they are not going to compete with the Cornelianis of the world, much less the Brioni's.

And honestly, Steve Nash rules.



LA Guy said:

And honestly, Steve Nash rules.

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Nowadays, great enterprise comes from great marketing.

The hard part about selling suits has never been the construction. There's plenty of laborers willing to machine make or hand sewn as much as one would desire.

It seem Indochino is pioneering a method to achieve proper FIT....on a mass scale, and making it as simple as possible for the average Joe.



add911_11 said:

Nowadays, great enterprise comes from great marketing.

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I'd dispute that this is all that it takes, but I do think that the marketing is pitched pretty well at their demographic. The photography and celebrity endorsement even resembles that of GQ fashion pages, which a lot of "average guys" who are peripherally interested in clothing, still regard as the gold standard. I don't think that it's pitched to the people on this forum, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be a resource. Of course, as jefferyd states, whether they can execute and continue to perfect their product remains to be seen.

Some things, like the sizing system, are ingenious.

Thanks, Fok.

There have been a number of questions here and on my blog about a review or a dissection of the Indochino garment. While the nuance may be lost on most people not in the industry, my dissections have never been about commercial reviews of product, but rather about studying what other guys are doing and learning from it. Everyone in the industry does this,I just chose to put it out there for other people to see.

For those who don't know, I work in the RTW and MTM tailored clothing industry, for a company that is probably familiar to most people on this forum. For that reason I have carefully selected garments for dissection which would not fall into the same market segment as those that we sell, to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. I have also refused several requests to do product reviews from people who were offering product, for the sole reason that a proper "review" should be completely unbiased and impartial in fact and in appearance. A fair and impartial commercial review should include the opinions of several reviewers, not just one, and they should be seen to be at arm's length from the product being reviewed; I think we can all agree that review of a Brioni garment done by an employee of Kiton would be somewhat suspect.

My visit to Indochino's popup stand, and my report on that visit, are intended more than anything as a wakeup call to my employers and to my competitors. Everyone is trying to tap into the younger market, but we tend to approach it the same way we sold to his father. What I saw this weekend was that there are far better ways of approaching it.


That said, there are a few questions about the construction of the garment which I may be able to answer without crossing any perceived lines of impartiality, so when it does come, there will be limited discussion about some of the technical features. And in the meantime, I've been sitting on a rather interesting suit that a generous donor had commissioned by Leonard Logsdail and which, sadly or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, no longer fits the donor. I just need to find the time to write it up.



jefferyd said:

And in the meantime, I've been sitting on a rather interesting suit that a generous donor had commissioned by Leonard Logsdail and which, sadly or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, no longer fits the donor. I just need to find the time to write it up.

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jefferyd said:

Thanks, Fok.
There have been a number of questions here and on my blog about a review or a dissection of the Indochino garment. While the nuance may be lost on most people not in the industry, my dissections have never been about commercial reviews of product, but rather about studying what other guys are doing and learning from it. Everyone in the industry does this,I just chose to put it out there for other people to see.
For those who don't know, I work in the RTW and MTM tailored clothing industry, for a company that is probably familiar to most people on this forum. For that reason I have carefully selected garments for dissection which would not fall into the same market segment as those that we sell, to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. I have also refused several requests to do product reviews from people who were offering product, for the sole reason that a proper "review" should be completely unbiased and impartial in fact and in appearance. A fair and impartial commercial review should include the opinions of several reviewers, not just one, and they should be seen to be at arm's length from the product being reviewed; I think we can all agree that review of a Brioni garment done by an employee of Kiton would be somewhat suspect.
My visit to Indochino's popup stand, and my report on that visit, are intended more than anything as a wakeup call to my employers and to my competitors. Everyone is trying to tap into the younger market, but we tend to approach it the same way we sold to his father. What I saw this weekend was that there are far better ways of approaching it.
That said, there are a few questions about the construction of the garment which I may be able to answer without crossing any perceived lines of impartiality, so when it does come, there will be limited discussion about some of the technical features. And in the meantime, I've been sitting on a rather interesting suit that a generous donor had commissioned by Leonard Logsdail and which, sadly or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, no longer fits the donor. I just need to find the time to write it up.

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I thought you did bespoke in Montreal?



ThinkDerm said:

I thought you did bespoke in Montreal?

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I've been in the US for over a year now. Bespoke is a side thing I do for kicks, but the RTW is what pays the bills.

Nice. Looking forward to your follow-up post with the finished suit.



Wes Bourne said:

Nice. Looking forward to your follow-up post with the finished suit.

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+1