Indochino vs Suitsupply – An In-Depth Suit Comparison After Trying Both

As a serial suit buyer for over a decade, I have learned a quality, well-fitting suit is worth investing in. But navigating the growing number of retailers promising custom-made perfection at accessible prices points can be confusing.

That is why I am going to give you an insider‘s comparison of the two most prominent affordable made-to-measure specialists – Indochino and Suitsupply. I have first-hand experience purchasing both ready-to-wear and customized suits from them over the years.

In this comprehensive review, I will evaluate how they stack up across quality and materials, customization process, pricing, style variety and customer service. My aim is to breakdown their key strengths and weaknesses to help determine the best brand for your needs.

Overview of Indochino and Suitsupply Background

Indochino was founded in 2007 in Vancouver, Canada. They helped pioneer the concept of customizable made-to-measure suiting offered online and via national showrooms at an affordable mid-tier pricing level.

The brand has been able to scale rapidly now with over 50 retail showrooms across North America. By handling everything from designing to manufacturing in-house, they have developed an efficient vertically integrated process enabling custom suits at around $449 on average.

Suitsupply entered the scene in 2000 from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Although recently building up a presence stateside, they first focused on dominating across Europe and Asia. The foundation of the company has always been on delivering an exceptional in-store made-to-measure experience by expert fashion consultants.

But they balance this elite bespoke tailoring service with a vast ready-to-wear collection as well – encompassing suit separates, formalwear accessories, shoes, outerwear and casual pieces. Across over 100 global locations and strong e-commerce channel, you could say Suitsupply aims to fully outfit the modern gentleman.

Now let‘s examine how these two brands compare more closely across the remaining key factors:

Quality and Materials Comparison

The quality of a suit ultimately comes down to the fabrics utilized and the manufacturing processes to turn those cloths into impeccable garments.

Fabrics

Both Indochino and Suitsupply leverage fine wool fabrics from some of the most renowned Italian mills – Vitale Barberis Canonico, Reda and others household names known for generations of excellence in textile production. This forms a strong foundation.

I‘ll give a slight edge here to Suitsupply though – some of their suits utilize superior Super 150s grade and 180s grade wools, which denote the finest and rarest fibers, that are soft, lustrous and extremely durable. Indochino seems to tap out at Super 130s grade wools which still offer quality but not at the highest echelons.

Beyond wool, Suitsupply again pulls ahead on fabric innovation – offering cotton, linen, alpaca and even luxurious cashmere suiting selections far exceeding Indochino‘s lineup currently centered solely around staple wool and poly-wool blends.

Manufacturing

When it comes to the manufacturing processes to make the suits themselves, this category has seen a bit of a shift in recent years.

Suitsupply has always been unwavering – all production tightly controlled in their owned-and-operated factories across Europe. This gives them end-to-end oversight over quality control. It also facilitates rapid feedback loops from headquarters designing the collections to partner manufacturers perfecting the construction, cuts and stitching.

Indochino in the early days was actually heavily reliant on third-party suppliers and apparel factories predominantly located in China. This led to some quality control issues as production scaled so rapidly. But in recent years, spurred by the pandemic, Indochino has pivoted successfully to taking ownership of over 75% of all production internally either at their headquarters in Canada or at their newly built factory in Vietnam.

So both brands are fairly vertically integrated now, which I see as table stakes for offering made-to-measure suiting able to precisely match customer specifications. But Suitsupply still likely leads when it comes to quality assurance as oversight remains outside Indochino‘s immediate geography in Southeast Asia introducing more variability.

Customization Process Comparison

A core value proposition from both Suitsupply and Indochino lies in their ability to offer bespoke suiting tailored to your exact measurements at an accessible price point compared to traditional custom tailors.

But how does the process compare when actually designing and shopping for your customized suit?

In-Store Experience

The Suitsupply showroom made-to-measure experience remains gold standard in my eyes after numerous visits over the years. From your first step inside their stores, whether in New York‘s SoHo or Amsterdam‘s fashion district, you feel transported into a modernized Savile Row tailor shop.

You are greeted promptly by impeccably dressed associates who turn out to be incredibly knowledgeable fashion consultants ready to guide you through the entire suit creation journey. Fabric swatches across quality wool grades to supple cashmeres are presented for tactile examination. Books containing thousands of fabric pattern and colorway options give seemingly endless customization possibilities.

For the fitting, you enter a privacy pod where every minute measurement across your body is carefully evaluated by hand and personalized spec sheets drawn up with your adjustments and preferences. At conclusion of the 60-90 minute session, you truly feel confident in a personalized suit cut just for you on the way.

Online Experience

Now Suitsupply‘s process comes at a luxury cost few can indulge in regularly. This is where Indochino provides robust alternatives that open up bespoke suiting to the everyday gentleman on a sensible budget.

The brand‘s website contains one of the most comprehensive online custom suit builders I‘ve used. It allows tweaking everything from lapels, vents, lining, buttons, thread colors and more. Simple size and fit guidance helps users submit their measurements accurately. Indochino even offers a home try-on service where sample jackets are shipped to test sizing and fabric swatches show colors.

For those still uncertain on self-measuring, Indochino‘s national showroom network brings in-person fittings with style guides at your disposal very much aligned with Suitsupply. But it does feel more succinct and self-service compared to the elite pampered experience from Suitsupply‘s atelier staff. Virtual appointments over video call are available as well.

I‘m thrilled bespoke suiting has reached a point where sensational service does not always necessitate astronomical prices. Suitsupply carries the torch for traditional fine tailoring. But Indochino democratizes the core customization elements for the everyday gentleman on a budget.

Pricing and Value Comparison

A natural question that comes up whenever assessing the premium customized clothing market – are the astronomical price tags actually justified or more a factor of branding? I will attempt to unpack whether Indochino and Suitsupply deliver substantive value aligned to what customers pay across good, better and best tier offerings.

Pricing	Indochino	Suitsupply
Entry Suits	$449	$499
Mid Tier Suits	$449	$549
Premium Suits	$549	$799+

First off, we must acknowledge Suitsupply does demand around a 15% price premium for comparable custom-made suiting compared to Indochino. Their mid-tier suits frequent the $549+ range which intersects the ceiling average price point of $449 Indochino has capped themselves under.

Entry level offers are pegged at around $499 for Suitsupply versus $449 for Indochino. Then the high-end sees Suitsupply shooting up past $799 all the way to $1000+ on exotic fabrics like silky cashmere while Indochino only reaches to $549 for their premium selections.

But remember – Suitsupply maintains exceptional control and oversight on manufacturing centered in their European factories. Indochino‘s supply chain spans a bit more globally introducing cost efficiencies but also variability in quality.

And Suitsupply continues pushing fabric innovations leveraging luxury clothiers across Italy, England and Scotland driving uniqueness but clearly at higher expense passed onto the customer. Indochino relies predominantly on large-scale wholesale wool purchases likely locked up favorable long-term contracts with mills.

So in my estimation, although positioned firmly in the premium bracket, Suitsupply largely justifies the valuable pricing through their focus to delivering substantive quality. For those with flexibility in clothing budgets, investing further into a Suitsupply garment with hopes of ownership over 5+ years seems quite reasonable.

Indochino unquestionably democratizes bespoke suiting opening accessibility to a far wider audience. The brand has secured such impressive vertical integration in recent years that quality ceiling is higher than prices suggest. So for more value oriented buyers, Indochino will continue serving as the category standard bearer.

Style Variety Comparison

A consequence of companies trying to scale production rapidly within the world of fast fashion is often a homogenization towards safety at the expense of daring expressions. In the suiting realm, this manifests itself via relentless focus on traditional navy, grey and black colors across unadventurous silhouettes season over season.

So in the closet pursuit of margin expansion, personality can unfortunately get stripped out. This is where I have to applaud both Suitsupply and Indochino for injecting style variety across their collections to welcome far more than just business basics.

Suitsupply in particular channels strong European influences introducing much flare and touches of risk-taking. There is no doubt walking their showrooms you encounter all classics from your solid navy 2-button notch lapels. But those merely serve as palette cleansers because your eyes quickly dart towards captivating houndstooth designs or rich maroons with slubby textures. Unique accent patterns inside suit jackets abound from regal crown motifs to polka dot silk complementing the daring color combinations throughout.

It feels evident the Suitsupply design team keeps pushing the creative boundaries on silhouettes too. You are accommodated whether blessed with slender runway model proportions or carrying a bit more weight requiting adjusted cuts. They want all men well-dressed in looks to bolster confidence and identity.

Indochino plays things certainly safer catering to stereotypical Canadian or American sensibilities. But this still encompasses ample styles to build out your dream suit collection across different occasions. The color palettes do feel wider nowadays with lovely mid-blues to charcoal greys and olive greens joining staple tans, navys and blacks. And modern slim fit designs now live alongside timeless wide peak lapel variants.

I believe Indochino aims for versatility in their aesthetic to best marry with diverse customer needs from conservative corporate warriors to expressive creatives. But for those wanting to push boundaries, the Suitsupply design ethos likely aligns closer.

As evident above though, personalization for self-expression lives at the core of both brands. So style variety empowers you to manifest whatever vision you have for looking sharp. These are just my takes on the inherent house styles based on past purchasing.

Customer Service Comparison

Successfully delivering personalized clothing inherently requires exceptional customer service infrastructure. When relying purely on remote measurements or leaning on the discernment of in-store fashion experts, getting sizing wrong remains inevitable at non-trivial scale.

This makes prompt and frictionless support correcting any issues imperative along with reasonable return policies as backstops where tailoring adjustments just cannot remedy fit.

I assess both Suitsupply and Indochino fare very well on customer support although differing on strategies.

In-Store Experience

The panache which Suitsupply staff conduct fittings and shepherd each and every client at their showrooms through meaningful style consultations is just unparalleled. Never once have I felt rushed or that questions were bothersome. You build personal rapport quickly with the passionate resident stylist assisting your shopping.

But more importantly, by having this dedicated personal relationship, minor tweaks or fixes down the road become infinitely more convenient to arrange. Just pop back into home base location on off hours and someone familiar handles you immediately. Or easily coordinate shipping items cross-country to alternate locations when needed.

Indochino showrooms definitely project more self-service orientation. Associates happily guide you through the basic measurements in a professional manner. But the depth of relationship never quite mirrors Suitsupply. The onus feels more placed on you driving the suit design and configuration. Questions are answered effectively but lean towards transactional rather than transformative interactions.

Online/Omnichannel Experience

This is where Indochino showsunique strength – their nimble customer support infrastructure across online, email, virtual appointments and nationwide showrooms. Everything connects back to individual user accounts for streamlined case management.

I have had to exchange garments due to unsatisfactory fits or fabric defects. But issuing return shipping labels happened swiftly over email. Status updates provided automatically. And reasonable remedies proposed if alterations felt unlikely to solve matters.

So although the intimate high-touch showroom relationships carriage the Suitsupply brand mystique so uniquely, Indochino, being native to e-commerce, does not miss a beat on omni-channel support. Their focus stays squarely on customer happiness and getting you looking sharp.

Conclusions – Who Offers the Best Overall Value?

If it was not clear yet, Suitsupply receives my highest endorsement for the lawyer, banker or executive shopping for a premium suit built to uncompromising standards. The phenomenal in-store service paired with luxurious Italian craftsmanship warrants the loftier price tags. Think of Suitsupply being the equivalent of a high-performance German vehicle. Yes, you pay considerably more but get precision-engineered quality in return.

Indochino absolutely still deserves applause for democratizing customized suiting at prices attainable for young professionals or anyone on a budget. Comparable to a well-equipped Japanese sedan holding far higher reliability than priced, Indochino delivers fantastic bang-for-your-buck. So for the value oriented shopper, I will keep returning to Indochino happily for years to come.

I sincerely hope this comprehensive side-by-side assessment detailing my first-hand experiences with both exceptional modern made-to-measure specialists aids your next sartorial splurge! Feel free to reach out directly if any other questions. Always happy to help the well-dressed gentleman.