Disclaimer: Hockerty was kind and generous enough to send us this suit for free for the purposes of this review.
We continue our ongoing series of covering all of the online made to measure clothing options! This time it’s with a brand you have likely heard of, Hockerty. In short, think of them as Indochino, only cheaper. They’re trying to offer and cater to a market that finds even Indochino expensive. Dubious? Well, you should be. We didn’t have high hopes with Hockerty from the get-go, and, in the end, we were not at all surprised. While, in the past, they did a decent job with outerwear, their consistency is a tremendous issue, and getting a good fit once is no guarantee that future orders will arrive fitting as well, as we saw with their shirts. Put on some weight and want to tweak your fit profile? Good luck with that. It’ll never fit well again. And that’s if it even ended up right in the first place. Plus, this is all not even to mention the various cheaper, synthetic fabrics they offer (which is not inherently terrible if you are just looking for a cheap garment, but it is something you need to be diligent about and aware of so as not to make any bad mistakes).
So, we were quite nervous in ordering a suit ($269+) from them and did not have the highest hopes for how it would turn out. Still, we’re on a mission to cover it all, so we had to give them a shot! The results, though, were pretty much exactly what you would expect from a company like Hockerty. Let’s break it down a bit…
Style & Design
Hockerty has a nice, wide selection of fabrics, but, again, lots are synthetic blends, so be careful and know what you are ordering. We went with a cool plaid pattern that actually does not look too bad in person, though up close does look and feel a little cheap. We went with slit pockets and a standard lapel. Overall, we kept it pretty clean and simple. The final suit looked… decent, as far as the design is concerned. There is nothing that stands out as being particularly bad or wrong about it. The double vents are well spaced, the pockets sit nicely. Don’t expect finer details like “barchetta” pockets, of course, at this price point. But they did deliver what we designed. A-
Ordering Process
Hockerty does, all credit to them, have one of the best online ordering experiences of any online MTM. You see a live updating confirmation of your garment, and it’s just a ton of fun to use. Everything changes right as you make your changes, and you see it reflected live, and accurately, in their model. Again, this is the best thing about Hockerty. They do a great job with the ordering experience.
However, there are some things you can’t do. They don’t offer side tabs, for instance, which is something I almost always order on my custom suits. Same thing for functioning button holes. And so on. But, again, at this price point, all the main options are there. A
First Fitting
A couple weeks later (and they do, nicely, offer rush ordering at a fee), the suit arrives folded up in a way-too-small box. Again, what do you expect at this price point? (Though, how many times does one have to say something like that before realizing it’s not worth it?!) This is why you see it so wrinkly in the photos. So, please excuse that, but we wanted to show you how it arrives.
As to the fit itself, it’s… quite bad. I won’t say a disaster, because with about $150 of tailoring work, this is probably salvageable. But there goes your cheap, $269 suit price. Where to begin… The sleeves are too long and too wide. The drape of the jacket, as well as the length, is actually pretty good, but the shoulders are too wide and oddly padded, and so they sit strangely on my body. The chest also needs to be taken in. The pants are a complete disaster, and way, way too wide throughout. The crotch is so low it seems like a drop-crotch, and the leg opening is a crazy 8.50”+ with almost no taper at all. These are some of the worst fitting pants I have seen from a MTM suiting company, even for a first round.
And that’s just the thing. With Hockerty, there only is one round. Don’t like it? Good luck getting their customer service to work something out with you. While we have seen worse, and have had mixed experiences even with Hockerty themselves, they’re not nearly as accommodating as, say, Indochino, who will happily tailor, credit, or remake your suit for you, with almost no questions asked. Hockerty takes a whole lot of convincing. And getting a refund for a full return, which is what I ended up wanting in my case, is even harder.
And that’s the worst part of it all. With MTM, a relationship is important. Even if it’s not at the level of bespoke, of course, you still want to be able to have someone to talk to and say, hey, I put on 10 pounds, can we update my profile? With Hockerty, there is nothing like that. There is no easy settings panel to asset your measurements. You just email them blind and hopefully they do what you want. If you ever need to tweak something, or your first suit doesn’t come out perfectly (which it won’t. Even the best companies can’t pull that off. It’s to be expected.), then you’re sort of screwed. Good luck working out what you want with them. I tried remakes with them, and since they do a terrible job listening and translating what you want into measurement adjustments, the chances of you getting what you are looking for are beyond slim. D-
Quality & Construction
Again, what do you expect? (Sorry for that again!) There are tons of strands and threads, and uneven button holes and seams. It’s not a well finished garment at all. The buttons feel like crap and the fabric is scratchy and stiff. The jacket and pants both have little to no shape to them. Still, could this pass as a decent suit with tailoring? Sure. But why, when there are so many better options out there, would you put yourself through that? C
Value & Conclusion
Hockerty Custom Suits ($269): We can’t recommend them, really. We hate saying things like that about companies, but unless you happen to be the luckiest person alive, there is no guarantee that you will be able to end up with a garment that fits. We have no confidence in their ability as suit makers, or their customer service, to make sure you are happy if you are even the least bit picky. This is simply a company that does not instill confidence in the customer. It’s beyond risky to order from them for many reasons, and so we cannot recommend it. For just a couple dollars more, Indochino is a much better option (if you insist on staying in the cheaper range of MTM suiting). They’re a company with a real network of stores, tailors, and support behind them. They’re also flawed, but at least you know they’ll back their product until you are happy. Not so with Hockerty. If they seriously update their returns, remake, and tailoring policy, this all might be a different discussion. But, for now, so it is. Final Grade: D