Indochino suits?

Originally Posted by TRINI

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I have nothing of value to add to this discussion but I just wanted to recognize that this is a ******* awesome quote.

+1

Coltboy, we need more people with your philosophy in the world.

He actually did the whole rough calculation for me. From what I remember: $6,000 in fabric, the sponging/cutting would be $400, something else (labour costs for putting together the suit?) $3,000, and then the retail price would typically be double that (markup/margin I guess?), for a total of $19,000+. That was at the extreme high end though. At the opposite end, he showed me a small swatch of fabric from another supplier with the wholesale price being quoted at $16.50 a yard! Quite the spread in prices!

I think his point was that certain of the fabric suppliers and suit industry were slightly out of touch with what would constitute a reasonable amount to pay for a suit. 1-2 weeks salary for someone making about $100,000 a year (which is quite a good amount in my city) would be $2K-$3K. So the suits they sold in the store would go up to just under $2,000.

Originally Posted by sharkw

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He actually did the whole rough calculation for me. From what I remember: $6,000 in fabric, the sponging/cutting would be $400, something else (labour costs for putting together the suit?) $3,000, and then the retail price would typically be double that (markup/margin I guess?), for a total of $19,000+. That was at the extreme high end though. At the opposite end, he showed me a small swatch of fabric from another supplier with the wholesale price being quoted at $16.50 a yard! Quite the spread in prices! I think his point was that certain of the fabric suppliers and suit industry were slightly out of touch with what would constitute a reasonable amount to pay for a suit. 1-2 weeks salary for someone making about $100,000 a year (which is quite a good amount in my city) would be $2K-$3K. So the suits they sold in the store would go up to just under $2,000.
Plus it just sounds like a ripoff to me. No way the company is sending out swatches of a few square inches each if their "value" is so high.

Originally Posted by sharkw

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He actually did the whole rough calculation for me. From what I remember: $6,000 in fabric, the sponging/cutting would be $400, something else (labour costs for putting together the suit?) $3,000, and then the retail price would typically be double that (markup/margin I guess?), for a total of $19,000+. That was at the extreme high end though. At the opposite end, he showed me a small swatch of fabric from another supplier with the wholesale price being quoted at $16.50 a yard! Quite the spread in prices!

I think his point was that certain of the fabric suppliers and suit industry were slightly out of touch with what would constitute a reasonable amount to pay for a suit. 1-2 weeks salary for someone making about $100,000 a year (which is quite a good amount in my city) would be $2K-$3K. So the suits they sold in the store would go up to just under $2,000.

Well, by your numbers, even if the cloth is free (or CMT), you can't get a suit there for less than $7k.
I think the problem is hardly the 'unreasonable fabric suppliers' but the 100% markup they charge. If they think fabric is expensive, why do they want to skim 100% on top of that?
At some point you have to decide whether you are a tailor or a cloth merchant.

Originally Posted by sharkw

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A bit off topic but we spoke a bit about the economics of suit tailoring, just for information's sake he showed me one top end mill's fabric price list, one fabric was over $2,000 a yard (material only) - and it takes about 3 yards for a suit!

Now, was that 100% wool, or a wool-poly blend?

- Mike

Originally Posted by mjc

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Now, was that 100% wool, or a wool-poly blend?

- Mike

Maybe it had threads of gold woven into the cloth, in which case it would be a wool-mineral blend?

The sad thing is, they actually sell such a fabric...

any working coupons?

Originally Posted by Redwoood

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Maybe it had threads of gold woven into the cloth, in which case it would be a wool-mineral blend?

The sad thing is, they actually sell such a fabric...
It makes for a heavier flannel.

Originally Posted by Redwoood

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Well, by your numbers, even if the cloth is free (or CMT), you can't get a suit there for less than $7k. I think the problem is hardly the 'unreasonable fabric suppliers' but the 100% markup they charge. If they think fabric is expensive, why do they want to skim 100% on top of that? At some point you have to decide whether you are a tailor or a cloth merchant.
Just to clarify, they actually don't make suits at that store, he was just giving me an extreme example of how much one could spend on a custom suit - yes I realize now that he was overstating the case a tad

Originally Posted by mjc

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Now, was that 100% wool, or a wool-poly blend?

- Mike
No swatch, just a description and price in a catalogue (not even a picture!), must have been a blend Anyway I think I went off topic too much already, back to Indochino. Here are the pics after I got the suit back from the tailor. Stuff I had done: pants were pretty much spot on, got them lengthened a smidgen though they probably were perfect before for those who prefer minimal/no break. Had the jacket shoulders taken in half an inch, the tailor noted that I apparently had an erect posture so he also rotated the sleeves back a bit. As I said I'm happy overall, I will buy from Indochino again. Of course, I'm sure you can tell from the pictures that there are the usual shoulder issues plus pulling at the back, plus other details which I haven't caught. The shirt and tie are the free ones from the coupon, I probably could have tucked it in a bit better for the pictures. I look a little flabby in the pictures, anyone think I could/should narrow the chest/waist measurements a little more? Yeah I know I have pretty big hips, so perhaps this is the best a suit will ever fit me - definitely a huge improvement over anything I can get off the rack + tailored. Edit: yeah the sleeves could be shorted a tad and the jacket lengthened a bit.

jacket looks about 1 inch too short.
sleeves could be taken in .25 to .5 inches.

you look great in it otherwise, no really chubbiness.

The jacket is a bit short for my taste as well, but the fit seems really good! After the discussion about the shoulder style I became much more aware of how shoulders look on suits in general and I noticed that there are indeed people who much prefer that kind of look!

Looks good Sharkw,

I might try for one this month.

Well my tailor didn't like the way the suit fit at all and suggested i have it remade. Gave Indochino some updated measurements and we'll see how the shirt and suit come back.

been thinking of getting a IC suit...I'll wait for a new discount code

Originally Posted by dunkin

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been thinking of getting a IC suit...I'll wait for a new discount code

You may be waiting awhile. I am a repeat customer and was wondering about promotions awhile back and customer service responded to me:

"Our company was built to providing real value to customers in terms of affordability, great service, custom-made experience and style education. Thus, we try not to focus on promotions unless for special holidays like Christmas."