Indo-chino mto dress shirt quality?

[JFWR]

Gentlemen,

How would you rate the quality of indo-chino made to measure dress shirts? They offer a very good price and I can get fitted nearby, but I'm concerned they aren't especially good given how inexpensive they are.

Plus, they are made in China so I am concerned they're not especially well made.

 

[breakaway01]

Gentlemen,

How would you rate the quality of indo-chino made to measure dress shirts? They offer a very good price and I can get fitted nearby, but I'm concerned they aren't especially good given how inexpensive they are.

'Quality' is such a nebulous term, especially with shirts. Not sure you'll find significant differences in terms of sewing "quality" among machine-made shirts. Collar construction does matter, so I'd pay attention to how their collars look and feel. There are noticeable differences in shirt fabrics, but you should be able to tell that for yourself if you have a physical store nearby. Fit's going to be more important in a shirt than construction 'quality' IMO. That's going to be a function of how close you are to their block pattern and to the skill of the person taking your measurements and making adjustments. Those are going to be variables that are hard to generalize. I'd say that if the price is very good, why not try a shirt?

Plus, they are made in China so I am concerned they're not especially well made.

Can't believe this still keeps coming up. China makes high quality stuff AND bad quality stuff. iPhones are made in China. Spier & Mackay sources from China. Some really, really nice hand-welted shoes coming out of China. Buick builds some of their SUVs in China -- my wife drives one and it's put together quite nicely. Lots of crap too. Same is true in Italy, USA, etc.

This is even ignoring the apparently fairly common practice of having clothing made in low-income countries and then finishing in high-income countries so that they can have a "Made in Italy" (or wherever) label. OR having workers from low-income countries making clothing in high-income countries for the same reason.

Chinese Remake the ‘Made in Italy’ Fashion Label (Published 2010)

Prato, an Italian textile center, is now home to about 3,000 businesses run by Chinese, stoking resentment.

www.nytimes.com

 

[JFWR]

'Quality' is such a nebulous term, especially with shirts. Not sure you'll find significant differences in terms of sewing "quality" among machine-made shirts. Collar construction does matter, so I'd pay attention to how their collars look and feel. There are noticeable differences in shirt fabrics, but you should be able to tell that for yourself if you have a physical store nearby. Fit's going to be more important in a shirt than construction 'quality' IMO. That's going to be a function of how close you are to their block pattern and to the skill of the person taking your measurements and making adjustments. Those are going to be variables that are hard to generalize. I'd say that if the price is very good, why not try a shirt?


Can't believe this still keeps coming up. China makes high quality stuff AND bad quality stuff. iPhones are made in China. Spier & Mackay sources from China. Some really, really nice hand-welted shoes coming out of China. Buick builds some of their SUVs in China -- my wife drives one and it's put together quite nicely. Lots of crap too. Same is true in Italy, USA, etc.

This is even ignoring the apparently fairly common practice of having clothing made in low-income countries and then finishing in high-income countries so that they can have a "Made in Italy" (or wherever) label. OR having workers from low-income countries making clothing in high-income countries for the same reason.

Chinese Remake the ‘Made in Italy’ Fashion Label (Published 2010)

Prato, an Italian textile center, is now home to about 3,000 businesses run by Chinese, stoking resentment.

www.nytimes.com

Thanks for the insight, but I was hoping for some first hand experience. Still, thank you.

As for the other point:

Nah. I'm afraid that even if China has a few good things, the overwhelming majority is crap. The reputation for disposable garbage, made at the lowest possible price, has stuck to China as it still remains the standard Chinese fare. That's the entire economic model China has used to become rich, so it is deserved as it is real.

That the Chinese are being employed to push Italian goods is actually indicative of the poor quality of Italy rather than the high quality of China.

 

[breakaway01]

Nah. I'm afraid that even if China has a few good things, the overwhelming majority is crap. The reputation for disposable garbage, made at the lowest possible price, has stuck to China as it still remains the standard Chinese fare. That's the entire economic model China has used to become rich, so it is deserved as it is real.

That the Chinese are being employed to push Italian goods is actually indicative of the poor quality of Italy rather than the high quality of China.

Just saying that I think going by "Made In" labels is getting increasingly difficult to parse out. If you really, truly care about this then I think you should buy from small makers and/or those that can clearly trace the production chain, and not pay attention to finding a good deal. Really doubt that Indochino's business model is anything other than minimizing their costs of production. If you don't want to buy MIC, that's entirely your right -- but then I'm confused about why you're even asking whether you should be buying a MIC shirt in the first place.

 

[dieworkwear]

Nah. I'm afraid that even if China has a few good things, the overwhelming majority is crap. The reputation for disposable garbage, made at the lowest possible price, has stuck to China as it still remains the standard Chinese fare. That's the entire economic model China has used to become rich, so it is deserved as it is real.

That the Chinese are being employed to push Italian goods is actually indicative of the poor quality of Italy rather than the high quality of China.

If you have a garment in front of you, why read quality off a country-of-origin label instead of the garment itself?

 

[JFWR]

If you have a garment in front of you, why read quality off a country-of-origin label instead of the garment itself?

Because I don't consider myself an expert in dress shirt quality and would prefer to ask someone with experience who could relate what they take to be the case.

 

[User123456789]

I have no experience with Indochino shirts. But I've had good experience with Proper Cloth. They offer shirts at about the same price point (starting ~$80) and made overseas with good customer service as well.

You won't be able to get measured in person by them unless you're in NYC, but it does go to show that the price point is not necessarily too good to be true.

As an aside, be careful getting fitted in person at major chains like Indochino. They won't mess up your measurements like you probably would at home. But they will stuff you into the uber slim fit that is in fashion today. Doesn't work for most people's builds. I've had the best luck finding a shirt that fits me the way I like it off the rack and going off of the measurements of the existing shirt.

 

[JFWR]

I have no experience with Indochino shirts. But I've had good experience with Proper Cloth. They offer shirts at about the same price point (starting ~$80) and made overseas with good customer service as well.

You won't be able to get measured in person by them unless you're in NYC, but it does go to show that the price point is not necessarily too good to be true.

As an aside, be careful getting fitted in person at major chains like Indochino. They won't mess up your measurements like you probably would at home. But they will stuff you into the uber slim fit that is in fashion today. Doesn't work for most people's builds. I've had the best luck finding a shirt that fits me the way I like it off the rack and going off of the measurements of the existing shirt.

Thank you. I decided to book an appointment with Proper Cloth to see how that works out for me.

The reason I am going down the MTM route is I find that my measurements make it difficult to get a good fit from off the rack.

 

[comrade]

Re: Indo Chino. If their shirts are anything like their suits,
stay away. They sell crap.

 

[JFWR]

So, had a terrible experience today at Proper Cloth.

I had gotten an appointment on Monday for Thursday at 3 pm. The person who took down my information had my phone number and my email. Nevertheless, they failed to contact me to tell me they had to cancel due to a "team decision" to close down for omicron for a bit.

Now I'm sympathetic about the virus and the one person there made it seem like someone may have gotten it, but why did they fail to contact their customers? There were other people booked that day and they wasted my time/effort in going there, and nothing was really done about it except a half-hearted apology.

I might try indo-chino again because I'm not pleased to waste my time like this.

Conversely, any other nyc mtm places worth checking?

 

[emptym]

If I was in NY, I'd go to CEGO. I had some shirts made by them/Carl during trips to NYC and have no complaints. Carl's fun to talk to too. The shirts are made in the city or in NJ, and they don't cost much more than Proper Cloth.

 

[JFWR]

If I was in NY, I'd go to CEGO. I had some shirts made by them/Carl during trips to NYC and have no complaints. Carl's fun to talk to too. The shirts are made in the city or in NJ, and they don't cost much more than Proper Cloth.

Thanks! I will investigate both.

 

[Shirtmaven]

If I was in NY, I'd go to CEGO. I had some shirts made by them/Carl during trips to NYC and have no complaints. Carl's fun to talk to too. The shirts are made in the city or in NJ, and they don't cost much more than Proper Cloth.

Thanks for the mention.
Sadly my manufacturing partner in NJ closed for Good in 2020. Now Making everything in my shop in NYC. In fact will be moving to a larger space close by in the new year.
And prices are quite a bit higher then
Propercloth. It cost more to make a shirt with a small workroom with 7 people in NYC then a huge modern factory in Vietnam owned by TAL.

 

[Shirtmaven]

Thanks! I will investigate both.

I have not seen an Indochino shirt in a few years. My only comment is if the price is that low. Quality will be questionable. Cheap fabrics and trims. Lower quality stitching. Also the person measuring you may not have a lot of experience.

 

[wozniak]

Gentlemen,

How would you rate the quality of indo-chino made to measure dress shirts? They offer a very good price and I can get fitted nearby, but I'm concerned they aren't especially good given how inexpensive they are.

Plus, they are made in China so I am concerned they're not especially well made.

Adding my experience here for future reference of anyone searching here. I have both Indochino and Proper Cloth Shirts. I am a hard to fit guy and MTM is the way to go for me.

Of course Indochino are not high quality shirts, but that is okay to me as I like having some mediocre, low cost, but well fitting shirts in my closet. I am not wearing my expensive high quality PC shirts to a back yard barbecue, taking the dog to the park, etc... But I am fine with putting on an Indochino button down with jeans and not worrying about it, because I paid 33-60 bucks (on sale) for them. PC shirts are for business, church, nice dinner out, with blazers and suits.

I would say it took me three visits to the Indochino store near me to get my first shirt to a point of being wearable. I think this is a key as their online support is terrible, and the folks in store always tried to get it resolved.