Indochino — Local services in Madison

Before looking to work with a new (to me) company, I always start with the "about us" section on their website. I don't randomly select something based on any other reasons aside what they stand for and who they represent. I chose to work with Indochino because their first sentence in describing "who we are" says a custom wardrobe should be affordable while remaining premium. Fast forward through 2 initial fittings, disappointment and a strongly worded letter to corporate, a call from the regional manager who specifically said "suits aren't custom, you are misunderstanding what we do, they are just 'made to fit' you (by the way there is a tab on the website called 'why custom' as well," 3 total jacket remakes, 2 pants remakes plus alterations made in-house domestically, 5 round trips to the store for different follow up fittings that are an hour drive each way and the end result after working on this from February-August being 90% satisfied, it was a headache to say the least.

PROS-- -The concept behind the business is fantastic and gives you hope your body type, regardless of what it looks like, can also be fitted with a custom suit. -Monica (tailor) at Indochino Madison is patient, kind and driven to provide customer's with the best option to best fit their body type. Truly she is overlooked and undervalued in my opinion after working with her for 6 months. -Enid (in-house seamstress) is also kind, great with feedback as to where the alterations should be made to best meet the fit you'd like or would compliment you and does great work. ALSO undervalued! -Most of the rest of Hilldale staff (Aries was great) was also kind and helpful plus the shop location is convenient in Madison

CONS-- -Alex, regional manager out of Chicago, seemed defensive when we spoke over the phone, placed blame on the in-house (Monica) tailor saying she should not have specified men's or ladies' fits when I explained my frustration (and she didn't do this) and I thought as a manager that was unprofessional but I did appreciate the call. Also, the call only resulted in my email to corporate, their generic response and my reply calling out I felt dismissed. -There are fields the tailor completes as they take your measurement. They start with a template suit, take it in or out depending on how it should fit your body and then send it overseas to make-great concept. However, there are limitations in that field so the key point to take away in reviewing shops is-if your body isn't "standard" for Men (if you have large biceps or pec muscles) or Ladies (if you're more curvy than the average woman or have a large bust), your suit is not going to arrive fitted to you. There is only so much someone can do domestically with alterations as a lot of the problem areas I had were where the actual construction of the suit was made like shoulder or leg seams (where the pants come together) and those result in the need to reconstruct the garment. Not being able to add or subtract fabric in those fields beyond the few centimeters the in-house tailor is given also leaves THEM frustrated as their goal is to get you into something you can be proud to wear.

I do want to say I can understand this process has come a long way, ladies' suits weren't always in demand and so I acknowledge the work being put in and feedback helps you continue to develop your algorithm and product but at the end of the day, it felt like false advertising as this really wasn't a "made to you" fit. The actual garment is great, all the material is high-quality and the "customization extras" like buttons, lapel, liner, embroidery, etc. is all very suave and helps you feel like you stand out in your item which is why I am giving the rating I am, all the rest is just my experience.

Truly if it wasn't for Monica at Indochino Madison, I would have quit in May after my 2nd initial fitting and went elsewhere so...

Review of my recent experience getting a suit for a friend's wedding. I bought a two piece suit and a white dress shirt. Details below, but the summary is that whether you're a menswear hobbyist or you're just shopping for a new suit, you will be better served looking elsewhere.

Positives: friendly staff, appointments always started on time, no shipping issues.

Negatives: Unless you wear suits often and know about how they should fit and what to look out for, they will likely fit you into garments that is too slim/small. I had to specifically ask for a higher rise in the trousers, a longer jacket, and to not nip in the waist so much that the jacket would pull when buttoned (I am average height and build.) I will say the associate I worked with was accommodating of these requests, but I had to know to ask for them. The suit ended up coming out well with these changes and one adjustment after the original delivery.

I was much less happy with the dress shirt. Similar to the suits, they are too slim, and for this they were unwilling to accommodate a more reasonable fit. The shirt catches on my upper arms and rides up on my lower arms through a normal range of motion. The associate insisted that this was how a shirt is supposed to fit, that I just didn't know what was right, and that I would end up liking this fit. At best, they did not listen to what their customer wanted in a fit. At worst, they don't understand how a dress shirt should fit. And really, it's both.

Conclusion: Made To Measure is not the same as Bespoke, so it's unreasonable to expect perfection. However, at this price point, I expected better than what I got, especially with the shirt.

For enthusiasts, you can get an off the rack suit at Suit Supply or Spier & Mackay at a lower price point, including tailoring. The fabrics will likely be better, and the fit will be anywhere from slightly better to very slightly worse. At the price point of the dress shirt, you can get the same customizations, better fabrics, and a garment that fits properly at Proper Cloth.

For non-enthusiast who just need suit, you will likely be just as happy going to Men's Warehouse, and it will be...

My fiancé recently (2/14/24) purchased three new suits with coordinating shirts and was remeasured at the Hilldale location. We met with two lovely associates who helped us through the whole process of selecting the fine details of each of the three suits. We confirmed all the measurements and details, and made the payment (over $1500) and waited for the suits to show up. The suits showed up a few weeks later and were completely wrong. All of his measurements were his old measurements and were off by several pants sizes (essentially two of him could fit into the pants and coordinating items). When the suits were brought in during the 10-day try-on period, he was then remeasured again to be sure that they were remade properly. The suits were sent to be remade and we waited for the new ones to show up. That was nearly two months ago. I checked in with the showroom to be informed that the order didn't exist and they were unable to locate the remake order that he had been remeasured for. When I talked to the showroom manager, he was unable to give me an update about where the suits were or what happened to the order. My fiancé and I have been in contact via email and phone for the last three weeks with no resolution. I have asked for the order to be canceled and the money refunded - no response. We have submitted a ticket that has gone unanswered by the Customer Success Team, who have redirected us back to the Showroom Manager. All of this headache is not worth the cost. At the time 3 custom suits and 3 shirts for $1500 seemed like a good investment - wrong.

WE ARE STILL WAITING. Today marks 2 months since the suits went missing. I STRONGLY do not recommend using Indochino for...