Black Lapel vs Indochino: which dress shirt is actually worth it?
Side by side on the specifications that decide how a shirt looks after a year: the collar interlining, how the size is arrived at, the cloth, and the price each brand actually advertises rather than the one on the ticket.
Indochino delivers more shirt per dollar than Black Lapel
Indochino scores 73/100 on specification per dollar against 71/100 for Black Lapel. The score weighs two things a shirt is actually judged on after a year: the collar interlining and how the size is arrived at. Black Lapel does not publish its collar interlining, so there is nothing there to check. Price is the lowest per-shirt figure each brand advertises itself, not a list price neither of them expects you to pay.
- Lower advertised price: Indochino — $97 against $99 a shirt
| Specification | Black Lapel | Indochino |
|---|---|---|
| List price, one shirtWhat a single shirt costs at full price. | $991 | $13958 |
| Lowest advertised priceThe per-shirt price the brand itself promotes — its multi-buy ladder or standing sale. | $99 (no multi-buy)1 | $9758 |
| Collar interliningA glued collar is what bubbles and curls after a year of washing. Most brands decline to say which theirs is. | Not published by the brand1 | Not published by the brand5 |
| How the size is decidedAlpha sizing asks you to fit the shirt; a drafted pattern fits the shirt to you. | Made to your measurements134 | Made to your measurements6 |
| Cloth | Weaves offered are poplin, fine and classic twill, royal oxford, herringbone, dobby, pinpoint, diamond weave, broadcloth, oxford, corduroy, knit and flannel. Ply, yarn count, cotton type and any non-iron treatment are not published.1 | Named cloths across the premium shirt line include an anti-wrinkle weave, oxford, basketweave, cotton stretch, flannel stretch, corduroy, cotton-linen, herringbone, dobby and brushed melange, with the marketing describing fine cotton and premium poplin. Ply and yarn count are not published, and the anti-wrinkle line carries no treatment chemistry or non-iron grading.5 |
| Published construction | Nothing beyond marketing language — durable buttons and stitching. No interlining type, no stitch density, no single-needle claim, no split yoke, no gusset and no button material appear on the collection page.1 | Nothing is published. No interlining type, no single-needle claim, no stitch density, no split yoke, no button material, no gusset and no collar-stay statement — the page offers fabrics and linings in place of construction.5 |
| Where it is made | No country of manufacture is stated on the shirt collection page; the only origin-adjacent note is that US orders ship duty paid. The workshop is the one that made Ratio Clothing’s shirts as well, which is the reason the two brands merged, but it is not located on any page read.13 | No country of manufacture is disclosed anywhere on the shirt collection page.5 |
| Returns | The Flawless Fit Promise takes fit feedback within 60 days of delivery for the first garment of each type, and offers complimentary in-house alterations or a full remake when necessary, though a remake needs a fit assessment reviewed and approved first. A local-tailor alteration credit runs up to $50 for shirts, on first items only, with pre-approval and itemised receipts. There are no refunds: customers must pursue alterations before cancelling, and fabric cancellation fees apply. Who pays return shipping is not stated.2 | Indochino’s own alterations article states that refunds are not available under any circumstances and that it does not accept returns or offer refunds on made-to-measure items. Claims must be made within 14 days of receipt, and the alteration reimbursement for a shirt is $25 USD or CAD, or $30 AUD, available only in Canada, the United States and Australia. That article contains no remake or replacement clause at all; third parties describe a free remake after the alteration credit is used, but the brand does not document one.76 |
| Turnaround | No production lead time is published on any page read. The only published timing is for in-house alterations, which typically take two to four weeks from delivery.2 | No lead time is published on any Indochino page read. A third-party customisation directory says an order takes about three weeks, but it is undated and is not a brand statement.59 |
| Spec per dollarCollar construction and sizing method against the price actually advertised (0–100). | 71/100 · Strong | 73/100 · Strong |
Who each one is for
- Black Lapel
- A former Ratio Clothing customer whose pattern already lives here, or anyone wanting made-to-measure at under a hundred dollars with a sixty-day fit window.
- Indochino
- Someone who wants to be measured in person at a showroom and accepts that the shirt cannot be refunded afterwards.
Questions people ask about this pair
- Is Black Lapel or Indochino cheaper?
- Indochino. Its lowest advertised price is $97 a shirt against $99 for Black Lapel. At full list the two are $99 and $139.
- Which has the better collar?
- Neither can be separated on published evidence. Does not publish whether the collar is fused. The collection page describes durable buttons and stitching and names no interlining, stitch density or seam construction at all. Does not publish whether the collar is fused. Nothing about interlining appears on the shirt collection page, which offers style customisation in place of any construction specification.
- How do I get the right size from Black Lapel or Indochino?
- Black Lapel: Shirts are cut to your own collar, sleeve and stance rather than to a stock size. Customers who came across from Ratio Clothing in the August 2023 merger had their saved measurements, patterns and fit preferences transferred, so an existing Ratio pattern continues to be used here. Indochino: Two routes, both published: measure yourself at home with the brand’s instructional video, or book a showroom appointment and have a style guide measure you. There is no questionnaire or algorithm route and no way to copy a shirt you already own.
- What are the return policies?
- Black Lapel: The Flawless Fit Promise takes fit feedback within 60 days of delivery for the first garment of each type, and offers complimentary in-house alterations or a full remake when necessary, though a remake needs a fit assessment reviewed and approved first. A local-tailor alteration credit runs up to $50 for shirts, on first items only, with pre-approval and itemised receipts. There are no refunds: customers must pursue alterations before cancelling, and fabric cancellation fees apply. Who pays return shipping is not stated. Indochino: Indochino’s own alterations article states that refunds are not available under any circumstances and that it does not accept returns or offer refunds on made-to-measure items. Claims must be made within 14 days of receipt, and the alteration reimbursement for a shirt is $25 USD or CAD, or $30 AUD, available only in Canada, the United States and Australia. That article contains no remake or replacement clause at all; third parties describe a free remake after the alteration credit is used, but the brand does not document one.
What a made-to-measure shirt costs from the workshop
We are not on this page to sell you a third option you did not ask for, so here are the numbers to compare against the table above. A shirt cut to your own measurements in our Hoi An workshop is $39–$59 garment-only, depending on the cloth, with shipping quoted separately. There is no size to pick and no fit name to guess between: the pattern is drafted from your measurements.
Neither Black Lapel nor Indochino is a bad shirt at its price. The question this page exists to answer is what each one publishes about how it is built — and that is in the table, with the sources. See how the measurements are taken.
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Other shirt comparisons
Sources
- 1. Black Lapel — custom dress shirtsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 2. Black Lapel — Flawless Fit Promisebrand · read 2026-09-29
- 3. Black Lapel — welcome, Ratio Clothing clients (August 2023 merger notice)brand · read 2026-09-29
- 4. ratioclothing.com — merger notice served in place of the old storefrontbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 5. Indochino — premium shirts collectionbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 6. Indochino — how Indochino worksbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 7. Indochino — alterations and returnsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 8. FindPrices — Indochino pricing structurethird-party · read 2026-09-29
- 9. Mass Customization — Indochino custom shirts (states about three weeks)third-party · read 2026-09-29