Indochino vs Oliver Wicks: A Comparative Review on Made-to-Measure Suit Tailoring

Chances are your search for a great made-to-measure suit has put both Oliver Wicks and Indochino on your radar. Figuring out which one is right for you can seem tough, but it's also where the fun begins. We’ll be the first to agree that both brands are known for making excellent, confidence-boosting suits that fit just right.

Although we both promise a fantastic fit and plenty of ways to make a suit your own, our philosophies on how to get there can differ at certain parts of the experience. The goal of this article isn’t to pick a “winner,” but simply to lay out the facts. We want to give you a respectful comparison so you can confidently decide which brand aligns with your needs and personal taste.

Finding the right tailor starts here, so let's look at what makes each of us unique.

Table of Contents

Different Brands, Different Approaches

Every great suit is guided by a core philosophy. This mindset influences every detail, from the fabric and construction to the overall customer experience—a part of the process we take particular pride in at Oliver Wicks. Understanding a brand’s approach helps you choose a suit that truly aligns with your personal values and expectations.

Indochino: A Model of Accessibility and Scale

The Indochino mission has always been clear: to make made-to-measure suiting a mainstream alternative to ready-to-wear. They accomplish this through a model built for speed and high volume, with headquarters in Canada overseeing large-scale production in Dalian, China. This approach is ideal for the customer who needs a custom-style suit quickly.

This reflects their operational focus on specific high-volume markets in the US, Canada, and Australia. We believe the quality of our European craftsmanship should be accessible worldwide. It’s a standard recognized globally, which is why we are committed to serving discerning clients who seek genuine quality, wherever they may reside—including throughout Europe.

In the end, Indochino has perfected a system for delivering accessible custom-style suits at scale, prioritizing speed, and a targeted delivery model.

Oliver Wicks — European Craftsmanship at Our Core

The Oliver Wicks philosophy is simple—we blend a deep respect for traditional European tailoring with the convenience modern life demands. Our goal is to offer an easy online experience without sacrificing the classic values of Old-World craftsmanship.

Our mindset is that true quality is timeless, and the best suits come from a combination of premium materials, skilled human oversight, and meticulous attention to detail. This begins with sourcing fabrics exclusively from esteemed European mills like Vitale Barberis Canonico, Reda, Guabello (and more!). It continues with a one-on-one review of your measurements by an experienced tailor, ensuring an expert eye guides your commission from the very start. Finally, it is demonstrated in our construction, where features like half-canvas interfacing and functional surgeon's cuffs are not optional upgrades, but simply our standard.

That’s why every suit by Oliver Wicks is proudly crafted in Europe, where each garment is handled not as an order number, but as a personal commission. It is this standard of quality we deliver to a worldwide audience, with shipping always included free of charge.

Sourcing Excellence — A Commitment to World-Class Fabrics

Oliver Wicks: A Curated Collection from European Mills

An exceptional suit begins with exceptional cloth. That's why we go directly to the source, sourcing our fabrics exclusively from the most respected mills in Italy and England. Every fabric in our collection carries a world-class pedigree from legendary weavers—names like Vitale Barberis Canonico, Drago, and Reda.

These aren't just labels; they represent the global benchmark for quality. For the man who understands that cloth is the foundation of a great suit, our focus on sourcing is a guarantee of uncompromising quality.

Indochino: A Focus on Variety and Accessibility

Indochino’s fabric strategy is built to support their model of accessibility and vast choice. Their collection, primarily using Australian merino wool, is produced through partnerships with large-scale mills in China.

This approach allows them to offer a wide spectrum of colors and patterns at an accessible price point, catering to current trends and a variety of customer needs. The focus is on providing a breadth of choice, rather than a curated selection defined by the heritage of a specific European mill.

The Heart of Quality — Why Construction Defines Value

The true worth of a suit is decided by its inner construction—specifically, whether it is fused or canvassed. Fusing is a low-cost method where the jacket’s mid-layer is essentially a wall of glue, resulting in a stiff garment that is prone to "bubbling" as the adhesive fails. It's a shortcut that sacrifices both sophistication and durability.

The First Point of Distinction: Half-Canvas vs. Full-Canvas

A canvassed jacket, with its stitched inner layer, is the key to a long-lasting and elegant garment. Both Oliver Wicks and Indochino offer a quality half-canvas build as their standard, ensuring a great fit and durability from the outset.

The crucial difference, and a significant one for tailoring aficionados, lies in the ability to elevate that construction further.

  • The Shared Standard (Half-Canvas): Offered by both brands, this construction provides excellent drape through the chest and lapel, creating a sharp and reliable suit.
  • The Oliver Wicks Upgrade (Full-Canvas): Offered as an option at Oliver Wicks, this is the purist’s choice. By extending the canvas through the entire front of the jacket, you achieve an unparalleled drape and a highly structured feel (typical in British suit styling). This superior construction allows the suit to meld to your form over years of wear, making it a true personal investment.

While both brands provide an excellent half-canvas standard, Oliver Wicks extends the invitation to embrace an even more luxurious form of tailoring with the full-canvas option.

Style and Customization: Defining Your Garment

The real pleasure of made-to-measure lies in the ability to infuse a garment with your personal taste. While both Oliver Wicks and Indochino offer platforms to move beyond the limits of ready-to-wear, our philosophies focus on different aspects of what makes a suit truly unique: the breadth of choice versus the depth of craftsmanship.

Indochino: A Broad Spectrum of Choice

Indochino’s platform is built to provide a vast and accessible array of style options. Their model excels at offering a wide range of trendy and classic choices, catering to a customer who values having many different aesthetic elements to choose from.

  • Extensive Options: Customers can select from a wide variety of linings, buttons, and other cosmetic details to personalize the look of their suit.
  • Accessible Personalization: Features like surgeon's cuffs and monogramming are available as no-cost options that can be selected during the design process.

Oliver Wicks: Curated Details & Sartorial Integrity

Our approach to customization is guided by a "quality over quantity" philosophy. We focus on the details that are hallmarks of authentic European tailoring, ensuring the structural and functional integrity of your suit is the top priority. We believe the most important features shouldn't be optional add-ons, but the very foundation of your garment.

  • Functional Cuffs as Standard: We believe the functional buttons on a sleeve (surgeon's cuffs) are a hallmark of a true made-to-measure garment. This is not an optional extra; it is a standard, no-cost feature on every Oliver Wicks suit jacket.
  • The Pinnacle of Construction (Key Value): The most significant customization available in tailoring is the internal construction. While a half-canvas is an excellent standard, the ability to upgrade to a full-canvas suit is what separates a great garment from a true sartorial investment. We offer this pinnacle of craftsmanship for a remarkably accessible $110. This option is not available at Indochino.
  • Finishing Touches: Further personalization, such as custom monogramming, is available to add a final, unique touch to your commission.

Longevity and Aftercare: The Mark of a Long-Term Investment

A quality suit is not a fleeting purchase; it is an investment in your wardrobe that should last for years. While standard warranties cover defects, the true measure of a suit's durability lies in its anatomy—specifically, the quality of its cloth and the integrity of its construction.

Indochino: A Focus on Accessibility and Scale

Indochino’s production philosophy is built to serve the modern, fast-paced market. With all garments made in Dalian, China, their model is optimized for speed, high-volume output, and providing a wide array of options that align with current trends. The primary focus is on delivering an accessible, custom-style garment at scale.

Oliver Wicks: Enduring Value Through European Craftsmanship

Our philosophy is that a suit's longevity should be guaranteed from its very foundation. We build our garments not just for today, but for a decade from now.

  • Construction as a Guarantee: Every Oliver Wicks suit is built with half-canvas construction as a non-negotiable standard. This is the crucial difference between a garment that lasts and one that doesn't. It ensures your jacket molds to your body over time and will never suffer from the "bubbling" common in inferior fused suits, guaranteeing its structural integrity for years of wear.
  • Cloth Woven to Last: Our exclusive sourcing from legendary Italian and English mills is a promise of enduring quality. These historic weavers are world-renowned for creating fabrics that not only look and feel exceptional, but are specifically engineered for resilience and a long life.
  • The Pinnacle of Longevity: For the gentleman building a truly permanent wardrobe, our accessible full-canvas upgrade creates a garment that can last for decades, becoming a testament to timeless quality and personal style.

When you choose Oliver Wicks, you are choosing a guarantee of lasting value, built into the very anatomy of your garment from day one.

Pricing Transparency – Defining Your Investment

For the discerning gentleman, a suit is an investment, and understanding the financial outlay is as crucial as understanding the construction. While it is impossible to give a fixed price due to the custom nature of made-to-measure, we can provide a clear and transparent breakdown of the typical investment for an Oliver Wicks suit versus an Indochino suit.

The difference in price points often reflects the brand's core philosophy—specifically, the origin of the cloth and the standard construction features.

The table below is a guide to 2-piece suits from both brands side-by-side:

Suit Type Indochino Oliver Wicks Oliver Wicks Key Value Proposition
Entry-Level MTM From $599 From $799 Oliver Wicks' entry-level includes half-canvas construction as standard, as well as wools sourced exclusively from prestigious Italian and English mills to ensure the highest quality, from the lowest price point.
Mid-Tier From $949 From $849 Everything from entry-level, but now Oliver Wicks introduces especially luxurious features, such as top-tier Super S wool ratings.
High-End From $1149 From $999 Value-Driven High-End. The difference in price at Oliver Wicks is a reflection of our core belief that superior quality must be a standard, not a premium-priced option. This investment secures an exceptional cloth at a uniquely accessible price point, even at our premium range.

Oliver Wicks: Value as a Standard

Our pricing reflects our core philosophy: the features that define a great suit should be integral, not optional add-ons. Your investment secures a foundation of guaranteed half-canvas construction and European cloth from the start. This commitment to inherent value is clear across our offerings:

  • No Tuxedo Upcharge: This difference in value is also clear with formal wear; at Oliver Wicks, creating a tuxedo is part of the standard customization process, not a separate $150 upcharge.
  • Accessible Full-Canvas: Our upgrade to full-canvas construction is priced to be an accessible step-up, not a prohibitive luxury.

Turnaround Time and Shipping: A Question of Logistics

Once your suit is designed, the final question is logistical: how and when will it arrive? The timeline for a custom garment often reflects the brand's core production philosophy. It's important to remember that this is not an off-the-rack purchase; quality craftsmanship requires a considered timeframe.

Here is a direct comparison of the key logistical factors, revealing a choice between speed within specific regions and a seamless, all-inclusive global service.

Factor Indochino Oliver Wicks Key Takeaway
Standard Turnaround Time 2–3 weeks Approx. 35 Days This reflects Indochino's high-volume, speed-focused model versus the time required for our considered European craftsmanship.
Standard Shipping Cost Free on orders over $150 Free International Shipping Both brands offer complimentary shipping on all suit orders, making the initial delivery straightforward.
Duties & Taxes Customer's Responsibility (Outside US, CA, AU) Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) Worldwide Critical Difference: Oliver Wicks guarantees a seamless, no-hidden-fee experience for all global customers. The price you see is the final price you pay, regardless of location.

The remarkable difference in the handling of duties and taxes is a core part of our commitment to transparency and service. With Oliver Wicks, there are no surprise costs upon delivery. Our "Delivery Duty Paid" policy ensures a predictable, professional, and truly global experience from start to finish.

Customer Support & The Client Experience: A Contrast in Philosophy

Beyond the suit itself, the quality of service and guidance defines the made-to-measure journey. Here, the two brands present a clear choice between a model centered on a physical retail experience and one built on direct access to a dedicated expert.

Indochino: The Retail-Hybrid Model

Indochino has built its service model around a significant physical retail presence, designed for the customer who values an in-person, over-the-counter interaction.

  • Showroom-Centric Service: Their showrooms are the main draw, allowing clients to see fabrics and have their measurements taken by a staff member in a traditional retail setting.
  • Standard Digital Support: This in-person service is supplemented by online tools, including a chatbot and an email contact form. Direct support is largely decentralized, with contact numbers available for each specific store.

Oliver Wicks: The Expert-Driven Service Model

Our service is structured on a fundamentally different principle: we believe the highest quality of personalized guidance comes from human expertise, not a storefront. By deliberately bypassing the costs of physical retail, we reinvest those resources directly into the quality of your service and your suit.

  • A Guided Path to an Accurate Fit: We believe that achieving a great fit should be a straightforward process. That's why we’ve designed an intuitive system you can complete from home in about 15 minutes. After creating your free profile, you’ll be guided by a series of clear video tutorials. Each video isolates a single measurement, showing you precisely how and where to use a standard tape measure. This focused, step-by-step approach removes all guesswork and ensures the numbers you provide are accurate and reliable.
  • Your Personal Expert: Our Confidence Check: Submitting measurements online can feel like a leap of faith. We replace that uncertainty with confidence. The moment you complete your profile, your entire commission is placed in the skilled hands of a personal expert. Their first and most critical task is to act as your advocate. They will meticulously review every measurement you've provided, looking for the kind of subtle inconsistencies that only a trained human can spot. If a potential issue is flagged, we will reach out to you personally to double-check. This proactive, holistic touch is a foundational step in our process, designed to ensure accuracy and provide you with complete peace of mind.
  • A Commitment to Tangible Value: The costs saved by not operating showrooms are passed directly to you. This is how we can offer a more generous guarantee, make the pinnacle full-canvas upgrade remarkably accessible, and provide world-class European fabrics and construction at a uniquely competitive price.

Our Answer to "What If It Doesn't Fit?"

Let's address the most important question on your mind: "What if my suit doesn't fit?" It’s the natural and most critical question for anyone investing in a made-to-measure suit online. We not only expect this question, but we’ve also built our entire experience around answering it, ensuring your confidence is woven into every step of our process.

A Guarantee That Withstands Scrutiny

At Oliver Wicks, we believe our guarantee should be as well-constructed as our suits. We invite you to compare the details of our commitment to your satisfaction—a commitment that goes far beyond the industry norm.

  • Substantial Alterations Credit—With Ample Time: A proper fit cannot be rushed. That is why we provide a $125 alterations credit, significantly more than the token $75 offered by others. Furthermore, you have a full 365 days to use it—not a restrictive 14-day deadline. Your investment deserves more than a hurried, last-minute adjustment.
  • The Assurance of a Remake or a Full Refund: Our support for first-time customers is absolute. If the fit isn't right, we will remake the suit. Crucially, if you are not completely satisfied within 30 days, we provide a full refund. This is a foundational part of our promise—an assurance of quality you will not find at other online tailors who consider all sales final.

This is the commitment a customer should expect when investing in a made-to-measure garment. For us, this guarantee is more than a safety net—it is a direct reflection of the confidence we have in our entire process, from our detailed measurement guides to the renowned skill of our European tailors. It represents our partnership with you, built on a simple promise: we will work together until you have a suit that fits correctly and that you will wear with confidence. We invite you to explore the full details to see precisely how we stand behind every suit we create.

Beyond the Fabric: Understanding Your Investment

A made-to-measure suit is an investment in your confidence and professional presence. The choice between Oliver Wicks and Indochino is not merely about fabric—it is about recognising the vast difference between a garment built to a standard versus one assembled from a list of options.

Our Philosophy: Quality as a Foundation, Not an Add-On

Our stance on value is clear. The features that define a quality suit, from true canvas construction to functional surgeon’s cuffs, are not optional upgrades. They are the cornerstones of authentic tailoring and are therefore included in every garment we make. This is not an up-charge for quality; it is simply our standard of work. It ensures your suit is built on a superior foundation of European craftsmanship—with integrity from the inside out.

This commitment extends far beyond the suit itself. It defines our service, where a seamless online experience is supported by a one-on-one relationship with a personally assigned tailor. This is the partnership that guides you, backed by our comprehensive fit guarantee for your complete peace of mind.

When you choose Oliver Wicks, you are choosing a partner in craftsmanship. You are investing not just in a garment that fits, but in a piece of enduring quality that reflects a deep and unwavering respect for the tailor’s art.

An Investment in Quality: Which Brand is Right for You?

The right tailor for you is the one whose priorities and principles align with your own.

A Side-by-Side Comparison:

Feature Oliver Wicks Indochino
Half Canvas Construction Yes, Standard Yes, Standard
Full Canvas Option Yes, Available No, Not Offered
Fabric Origin Renowned European Mills Primarily Australian Wool
Production European Workshop (Portugal) Large-Scale Production in China
Alterations Credit $125 $75
Credit Validity 365 Days 14 Days
Refund Policy 30-Day Full Refund Offered (First Orders) All Sales are Final –No Refunds
Global Shipping Yes—Including US & Europe. All taxes and duties included.  Yes, but taxes and duties are not included outside the US, CAN, AU

You Might Find Indochino to be a Good Fit if…

Indochino has become a dominant force in the market for a reason. They excel at providing accessible, custom-style suits for the modern man who prioritises speed, convenience, and a vast array of trendy options. If you enjoy a business model built for rapid scale, and need a reasonable suit tailored quickly, Indochino presents a compelling option.

You Will Feel at Home with Oliver Wicks if…

Oliver Wicks is created for a different kind of client—the man who believes the integrity of a suit is found in its construction and the quality of its cloth. If you value the heritage of European tailoring, believe that exceptional fabric is non-negotiable, and seek a direct, personal relationship with your tailor throughout the process (without the great expense of in-person bespoke tailoring), then our philosophy will resonate with you.

Ultimately, the right suit is the one that aligns with your standards for quality. We hope this transparent comparison has provided the clarity you need to make a confident decision, and we invite you to explore our collection of fabrics to see the foundation of our quality for yourself.

OLIVER WICKS
THE FIT THAT SUITS YOU