Proper Cloth 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.
Proper Cloth delivers more shirt per dollar than Indochino
Proper Cloth scores 100/100 on specification per dollar against 73/100 for Indochino. The score weighs two things a shirt is actually judged on after a year: the collar interlining and how the size is arrived at. Indochino 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 $125 a shirt
- Collar construction: Proper Cloth — Proper Cloth publishes it (fused or unfused, your choice at order); Indochino does not
- Fit control: Indochino — Made to your measurements against questionnaire-derived size
| Specification | Proper Cloth | Indochino |
|---|---|---|
| List price, one shirtWhat a single shirt costs at full price. | $1251 | $139710 |
| Lowest advertised priceThe per-shirt price the brand itself promotes — its multi-buy ladder or standing sale. | $125 (no multi-buy)1 | $97710 |
| Collar interliningA glued collar is what bubbles and curls after a year of washing. Most brands decline to say which theirs is. | Fused or unfused, your choice at order2 | Not published by the brand7 |
| How the size is decidedAlpha sizing asks you to fit the shirt; a drafted pattern fits the shirt to you. | Questionnaire-derived size314 | Made to your measurements8 |
| Cloth | Broadcloth, twill, pinpoint oxford, chambray, denim, dobby, end-on-end, flannel, melange, oxford, poplin, royal oxford, herringbone and seersucker, in Egyptian, Sea Island, American Pima and Giza 45 cottons. Both two-ply and single-ply are offered, with counts referenced from 50s up to 330s and the rule of thumb that anything above 100 implies two-ply. No non-iron or wrinkle-free treatment is mentioned anywhere in the fabric reference; wrinkling is discussed only as a property of the weave.5 | 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.7 |
| Published construction | Collar construction is the one spec published in full, per collar model. Single-needle side seams, stitch density, split yoke and removable collar stays are not stated on the reference pages, and the button material could not be confirmed from the linked button article.21 | 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.7 |
| Where it is made | Does not name a country of manufacture on any page read — not on the custom shirt page, the fabric reference or the guarantee.156 | No country of manufacture is disclosed anywhere on the shirt collection page.7 |
| Returns | Free 60-day returns and remakes, with free remakes if the first custom shirt is not right. No numeric cap on remakes is stated on the guarantee page; a third-party write-up claims two complimentary remakes per product category, which the brand page does not confirm. Altered clothing is not accepted back at all, and who pays return shipping is not stated.6 | 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.98 |
| Turnaround | Made to measure in under two weeks, stated on the custom shirt page.1 | 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.711 |
| Spec per dollarCollar construction and sizing method against the price actually advertised (0–100). | 100/100 · Exceptional | 73/100 · Strong |
Who each one is for
- Proper Cloth
- Someone who wants to choose a fused or unfused collar knowingly, without measuring themselves, and to have the shirt inside two weeks.
- 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 Proper Cloth or Indochino cheaper?
- Indochino. Its lowest advertised price is $97 a shirt against $125 for Proper Cloth. At full list the two are $125 and $139.
- Which has the better collar?
- Proper Cloth. Publishes interlining by collar model and defines the terms: a heat-bonded interlining is fused, a sewn-in one is unfused. Dress collars are stiff fused, casual collars are soft non-fused with the interlining sewn to the collar fabric, and hybrid collars are soft fused with a lighter, more pliable interlining. Because the choice is made by picking a collar, the buyer decides fused or unfused at order time. 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 Proper Cloth or Indochino?
- Proper Cloth: Three routes: a ten-question Smart Sizes questionnaire that adjusts sixteen independent fit points, nine body measurements entered directly, or measurements taken off a shirt you already own. Standard fits are Super Slim, Slim and Classic. Read the size charts carefully — chest, midsection, bottom and sleeve widths are half, flat garment measurements taken across the front of a shirt lying flat, and the brand says to double them to get the garment circumference, so a listed 21.5 inch chest width is a 43 inch chest. 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?
- Proper Cloth: Free 60-day returns and remakes, with free remakes if the first custom shirt is not right. No numeric cap on remakes is stated on the guarantee page; a third-party write-up claims two complimentary remakes per product category, which the brand page does not confirm. Altered clothing is not accepted back at all, and 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 Proper Cloth 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. Proper Cloth — custom dress shirtsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 2. Proper Cloth — shirt collar constructionsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 3. Proper Cloth — standard sizes, types of fit and size chartsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 4. Proper Cloth — dress shirt body measurementsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 5. Proper Cloth — dress shirt fabrics referencebrand · read 2026-09-29
- 6. Proper Cloth — Perfect Fit Guaranteebrand · read 2026-09-29
- 7. Indochino — premium shirts collectionbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 8. Indochino — how Indochino worksbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 9. Indochino — alterations and returnsbrand · read 2026-09-29
- 10. FindPrices — Indochino pricing structurethird-party · read 2026-09-29
- 11. Mass Customization — Indochino custom shirts (states about three weeks)third-party · read 2026-09-29