Bonobos

Bonobos is making swimsuits and we’re pretty fired up about it! We’ve had our eyes on this category for a long time—we have trouble finding affordable swimsuits that fit well, look great, and last a long time. There are a few fantastic swimsuit companies out there, but they tend to charge over $200 a pair. We figured we could make something similar, maybe even better, with our own signature prints, for less than half the price, at the same quality.

We did it!

So this season we’re bringing you a bunch of solid and print swimsuits that are sure to become a staple of your summer and holiday resort wear. All of our suits feature premium fabrics with soft, durable mesh inner liners, two front pockets, and a rear pocket with an easy open and close loop. They’ll be available in sizes S, M, L, and XL.

We think every guy should have 4-5 swimsuits. A few prints and a few solids. Here’s why: it’s great to have options when it comes time to slam together your weekend wardrobe at 11:45 on Thursday night. You might not have any of the right shirts to match your prints and then you’ll be glad you have a pair of navy or red or black trunks. Sometimes your favorite shirts are pretty wacky and exotic themselves and call for a more conservative or simple look. Sometimes you want to go a little more conservatively: company events, playing tennis at a resort—solid swim trunks are incredibly versatile, especially on trips away from home.

That said, it’s a firm Bonobos policy to wear prints whenever possible. And wear them well. They look great with solid color v-neck tees and polos. It’s not tricky to get a good swim print outfit right. Here are the rules—pick a solid color shirt to match one of the colors in the print—and pick a solid color pair of sandals/boat shoes to match a different color in the print. Presto—you are good to go. But you should have more than one printed swimsuit—variety is the spice of life and it’s good to have a few different color themes covered (black/red/gold, blue/green/pink, brown/yellow/orange, for example).

Mailbag – we’re so inspired and in awe of The Sports Guy that we thought we would try to come up with something analogous to his legendary mailbag.  Believe it or not, our designer gets a ton of questions from the field and will handpick some of the best to be addressed here on our blog…   

Q: I bought the clean slates, they are my new favorite pair of pants.  What should I get next?–Dan G, Manhattan

A: A familiar refrain…  You know when I designed the Clean Slates I was pretty sure they would do well, but at the time the Midnight Blues were far and away our best seller.  A rare piece of Bonobos Trivia here: in April of 2008 (right after I came back to the company full time and moved into the stockroom where Andy had been sleeping for the first 6 months of Bonobos in New York) we hit a point where we were down to something like 400 pairs of pants in inventory and I think almost half of them were Midnight Blues in size 35.  Ooops! That’s when I came up with the Clean Slate idea and I figured if they did half as well as the MBs we would be pleased.  Well it turns out they are now our bestselling trousers, right up there with the Khakis.  To answer your question Dan, I usually tell people that they should pick up a pair of the Congos – they are like the Clean Slates in many ways but give you another non-khaki option in that same awesome fabric.  Alternatively, if I want to encourage them to try another one of our signature fabrics, I recommend the Shoguns/Samurai in navy cord – this is probably the pair of Bonobos that I wear the most, all year round.  They are just so damn versatile, and are probably the closest thing to jeans in terms of matching what’s left in my wardrobe that I used to wear with denim. Last suggestion – get a pair of our wool trousers, something in the G-series or Fundamentals.  These are also highly versatile trousers like the Clean Slates.  Q. My wallet is starting to look like George Costanza’s – and doesn’t fit well into my Bonobos pockets…  what should I do? –John M., Chicago, IL

A: We highly encourage all of our customers to throw out the enormous wallet and move to a slim system.  Just carry what you really need – license, credit card, cash. With a money clip (we recommend the binder clip, straight out of your desk drawer) or in one of those small credit card holders. We like $50 bills for this purpose and curse the fact that so few ATMs have them. Too bad Citiwide Change (of SNL fame) doesn’t have more ATMs – they were so great at offering combinations that met our particular change needs.    But seriously, the slim system is much more flattering as it will alleviate that distant but pernicious cousin of Khaki Diaper Butt - CBFB – Chunky Bill-Fold Bulge, which can be caused by any number of culprits in your front or back pockets such as large key rings, fatty Costanza wallets, blackberries, etc. and makes you a chimmel.  Carrying big stuff in your pockets sullies the drape and overall look of your trousers/shorts and should be avoided whenever possible.  Do you really need your frequent sandwich card from Flingers? Or your Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Card?  And by the way, we are nervous about Starwood’s loyalty programs as they have a chequered history of devaluing the Starpoint.  

Q. I know you guys are famous for your pants, but I’m starting to get a bit thin on my noggin, can you recommend any prudent course of action – I’ve always been a fan of big hair but it’s getting tougher to pull off.–Mark W., Santa Monica

A: Funny you should happen upon a favorite topic of mine… the strategic use of the wig.  I know what you’re thinking…. WIG? WHIG? Not a toupee but a ridiculously awesome Bon Jovi style rockstar wig. Seriously. There is no better way to cover up a receding hairline.  Your other options include propecia, which we hear kills your sex drive.  Clearly not an option.  Or wearing a ball cap – once you hit your 20s-30s a baseball hat is a dead giveaway for hair loss and sportsbaritis (a disease where you still love sports bars and domestic macro brews more than anything else).  The 80s hair-band rocker wig reeks of confidence, exuberance, and creativity.  When was the last time someone wore a hat that you actually noticed or thought was cool?  Here is a pic of my best buddy John and me sporting some salad at a bar in British Columbia… and here is the pic of me trying to pretend I was mad at the hottest girl in the bar for stealing my wig and revealing my slightly receding hairline.  Q: I dig the shoes in your product photography – where do you shop for them?–Michael C., Chicago, IL

A: We tend to pick up our shoes all over the place - don’t have a fave place mostly because the prices are usually so outrageous everywhere.  We get more questions about the tan leather shoes in the Greewich Lean Times and Superfreakonomics than anything else.For the record, those are last season’s Gucci, purchased at Nieman Marcus. What’s just as important as WHERE you shop for shoes is WHEN you shop for shoes.  January and July are usually your best bets, when there are semi-annual sales at places like Nieman’s (located in most big cities except Manhattan, where they have Bergdorf Goodman) and smaller boutiques.  One thing I’ve noticed about shoes is that setting aside how they look, some brands are significantly more comfortable than others. Taryn Rose, Tod’s and Prada tend to be head and shoulders above the others with respect to wear-ability. Which is REALLY important. I’d love to make Bonobos shoes sometime soon – we’ll bring you all the panache and pukka of our fave brands named above, at about half the price.  Last word on shoes – push the limits – a great pair of white leather shoes looks amazing with just about everything but white.And if you like to wear khakis or white pants, go with some brightly colored loafers or boat shoes – exquisite footwear can make the outfit (these are Paul Smith). Q: I have 9 weddings to attend this summer and a lot of rehearsal dinners – what am I supposed to wear to the rehearsal dinner?  Any good ideas to spice up my wardrobe for these affairs?–Bryce W. Las Vegas, NV

A: Welcome to Wedding Season Bryce.  Team Bonobos attends a ton of weddings and we discuss this topic in our office a lot.  Here is the party line: Rehearsal Dinners – email your friend the groom and ask him what you should wear. This is frequently the only decision the groom gets to make after he pops the question; it’s good to recognize this and ask him a) what he is wearing (take this page out of the girls’ playbook, people love it when you ask them what they are wearing because they have probably thought a lot about it and are invariably proud of the ensemble), and b) what he wants you to wear.  If you aren’t in contact with the groom, plan to wear a blazer, a tie, and nice pair of trousers.  Starting with a tie makes sense as it’s always easy enough to remove it, and I always like to say “be overdressed, not underdressed, if it must be guessed!”

As for what type of look you should target – I always encourage people to wear festive attire to rehearsal dinners AND weddings.  It’s a celebration and nothing says you are happy to be there, ready to dance the night away, toast the nuptials, and foment merriment like a colorful bow tie, a seersucker suit, a handsome boater, a bright silk kerchief, a cane, or any other clever accoutrement or dash of style. If you, like me, end up seeing the same people at many of the weddings you attend, then challenge yourself to come up with variants of these colorful looks or you’ll end up like my buddy Alpha who owns one seersucker suit and one shirt/shoes/tie/belt that he wears to every single wedding without fail. At some point this look wears out (women have known this for years – you gotta mix it up). Seersucker will always be in, but the real ninjas will move into even more appropriate summer suiting like a solid beige in tropic wool or linen, a light grey suit with faint purple pinstripes, or a pair of white trousers and a stunning navy linen blazer (if you are this good, you need not worry about rules and you probably should be giving me advice, not reading this mailbag).

We’ve recently gotten a ton of questions about which Bonobos are best for spring and summertime. Here is the current lineup and our best recommendations! Fireworks, skinny dipping, Weber grills, and Hobie Cat thrills. Here we go!

Easy Winners - Super Soakers and Leblons. We wear white pants all year, but especially love them in the summer! Our Leblons provide a brilliant white, soft brushed, 6-ounce cotton that works with everything from a sweater on a cool evening to a colorful clubby tank top when things get steamy. We also wear the Leblons for lawn athletics such as grass court tennis, badminton, and croquet. The Super Soakers are our top-selling summer pant and it’s probably because they are not only a Bonobos exclusive but so silky smooth and comfortable that they offer a dry wit and panache even in the most oppressive climates and country clubs. We wear them with solid tops, generally pink, lavender, or white polos and dress shirts (tucked in or not), and white shoes, creamy nubucs and driving loafers, or sandals.

Summerweight cords - Turqs, Mint Juleps, Party Starters, and Orange Crush. These are perfect for wear with sandals and a soft cotton t-shirt. Don’t be fooled by the term corduroy, the truth is that these are light and buttery and will not weigh you down or heat you up. Perfect for yachting, chilling, long walks on the beach, and so forth.

Lightweight organic stretch cotton. We make this awesome fabric into the No Scrubs, the Los Bonobos and the Touchstones. All you need is a navy blue polo shirt or light cotton sportshirt and you have three incredible outfits. We like to wear these while traveling and out to dinners al fresco. They are comfortable, versatile, have enough stretch to let the air flow through them, and to accommodate belly bursting barbecue and beer binges, or clambakes and crawfish boils.

Lightweight wools. The Dorian Grays are probably the best option here; not only are they lightweight pants, but the light grey hue is perfect for sunny days, looks awesome with white shoes and light colored dress shirts. The Dorian Grays provide our most direct route to Miami-Vice-style warm weather evening elegance, romance, and intrigue. Next in line would be the Savage Verde, which also come in a lightweight and heat friendly fabric. You can take these up market with a pressed dress shirt, but they also work really well with t-shirts, especially high quality, slim-fitting v-necks. Last, but not least, are the Haymakers. The sleek white pinstripes on the beige background say Havana have no fear and they look magestic with a brown leather shoe and a white linen shirt, white 60s/80s polo, and a white or pink sweater thrown over the shoulders to defend the cool breeze. Aruba, Havana, have no fear… your strong but subtle Haymakers are here.

In your first year or two out of college, you feel important and exceptional when traveling for work. But you may eventually tire of this image. After 2-3 years of racking up starpoints, miles, memorized airport acronyms, and facility with Hertz Neverlost, you may start to realize that the image of a business traveler is not that sexy, and not that you.

But financial exigencies and professional aspirations may force you to keep on traveling for work. As such, we’ve developed a few strategies for helping you look cool and avoid the corporate douche-bag (CDB) moniker as you adventure through the O’Hares and LAXs of the world.

1. Never carry a briefcase. Unless it’s made of brushed light silver aluminum, handcuffed to your wrist, and filled with cash.
2. Trade Bluetooth headset for aviators.

3. Never open Powerpoint on your computer, unless you have the privacy shade on your screen.

4. If you are sitting next to an attractive seat companion, open the in-flight magazine and start checking off all the countries on the world map, as if noting the places you have visited. Color up all of the map except for east sub-saharan Africa and then make a list of notes next to it like: August 2009 safari? Rally Car World Cup 2010? It’s unlikely you’ll be mistaken for a young accountant if you do this. In this case, it’s super helpful to be wearing a leather jacket from this year’s Indy 500 pace car team. If that jacket has a lot of neon and is made of tyvek, you are even safer.

5. Don’t shop at Kenneth Cole. We think they have a special co-promo deal with Accenture. Actually, we’re pretty sure Accenture owns Kenneth Cole, and Dockers, and Jos. A Bank.

6. When you check into your hotel, ask these three questions:

1. Do overnight guests need to be announced?

2. Does the hotel gym have a boxing ring?

3. Is there a shuttle service to the underground sprinkler convention?

7. It’s never okay to clip a cell phone to your belt. The only acceptable belt-clippable items are grappling hooks, light sabers, work gloves, and beer holsters.

8. Whenever possible, duck into the airport bathroom on the way to your return flight and change into ripped jeans, cowboy boots, killer shades, and an 80s hair band wig. Pass through the smoking lounge and then wipe your sleeve on the beer-soaked table top at the airport bar next to your gate, and you’ll have transformed into a rockstar in under 5 minutes. Heads will turn and eyes will stare as you walk down the aisle. Autograph a few boarding passes, gracefully accept free drinks from idolatrous stewardesses, and mumble incoherently whenever you face a direct query about who you are. (Once a stewardess thought I was that Australian doctor from House and I spent the next six hours eating freshly baked cookies and filet mignon while sipping champagne in a spontaneously upgraded first class seat.)

9. Stage faux-calls that diffuse any business-y suspicions: “Oh hey Keanu—no, I’m sorry, Paris and I can’t make it tonight,” or “Hey Condi. Jagerbombs later? Or are you sick of bombs?”

10. Any time you are picking up a rental car, simply walk to the coolest car, get in, and start driving off the lot. You’d be surprised how many times you’ll end up with a bitchin’ Nissan Z, a Hummer, or an Escalade for the price of a Chevy enema.

“Black Tie Only” — Do these words excite you or strike fear into your heart? Hopefully, it’s the former. Here are some guidelines for black tie events:

Never rent a tux. If you are getting married, never make your groomsmen rent tuxes. The only thing worse than a rental tux is a rental suit. Wait, and rental electronics. While we firmly support the idea of renting rather than buying when it comes to homes (and we’ve been saying this about city living since 2005) in the case of clothing it simply doesn’t make sense.

Simple is elegant. Often the best black tie look requires nothing fancier than a clean, pressed white shirt with French cuffs, a lay down collar and no breast pockets. We don’t endorse fancy ruffles or patterns on the chest of tux shirts. They are acceptable but not essential and can be distracting, not to mention the cleaners never seem to be able to press these types of shirts correctly.

Tie a real bowtie. As for the tie and (optional) cummerbund, we suggest you stick with what works best for your outfit, and recommend a nice satin silk black bowtie. If you don’t know how to tie it, there are some great resources online. Anyway it’s just like tying shoelaces….

Slippers are transcendent. To fully achieve the appropriate evening mindset of mischief and merriment, it’s important to have the perfect pair of shoes. Bonobos men tend to wear velvet tuxedo slippers festooned with something completely ridiculous, such as cobras, gold-threaded monograms, or skulls and crossbones….

Throw in some flair. Clever and refined gentleman will have a special pair of cufflinks or perhaps a gold pocket watch reserved for special occasions that call for formal evening attire. Achieve the highest style echelon by wearing a monocle and carrying a silver-tipped, hollow cane filled with something outrageously poisonous, valuable, or perhaps of South American origin (perhaps a dinosaur-DNA slurping mosquito encased in amber?).

Our customers travel a lot. Business trips, wedding weekends, jaunts all over the world to see friends and family and sporting events. Over the last 10 years I’ve come up with these 10 strategies for traveling sharp:

1. Pick a theme or color scheme for the trip and stick with it. Pick one great outfit and then build a few variations on it; hold the shoes, belt, and trousers constant and bring a few different shirts or sweaters. Whether the theme is black and yellow or navy and pink, make sure that everything works well together. As always, the more aggressive the outfit, the better. When’s the next time you’re gonna be in Haiti/Hawaii/Houston/Hebron?
2. Sweaters are elegant. Rock it simple and high-end, preferably a black, navy, or charcoal cashmere v-neck or crew neck. Sweaters can be rolled, worn around the shoulders to establish credibility with the jet set and signal you are a man of leisure, and are just plain easier to work with than dress shirts when on the road. Bring a few lightweight, soft cotton t-shirts to wear underneath and you are golden.
3. Accessorize. Invest in and travel with cool hats, sunglasses, sneakers—often the details make the outfit and allow you to do more creative stuff with your basics. It’s easier to pack a cool pair of shades than a second pair of jeans, and people are much more likely to notice your smooth accents than a different shade of indigo.
4. Get a cool weekend travel bag, and find a stylish larger rolling duffel/suitcase for gear-hauling ski trips and international excursions. Frame backpacks are for hippies and people that are going to be sleeping in the wilderness. You don’t need to be Kan(ye) the Louis-Vuitton-Don, but you should be if you can. Find a stylish overnight bag for shorter trips. You want something that says to the cab-driver or friend that picks you up at the airport this guys is legit, has all the right moves, and is probably on his way to a great party or an important meeting, perhaps to discuss a club-opening or a contract to play first base for the Chicago Cubs.
5. Go long on the small stuff. Bringing a few extra pairs of underwear and socks doesn’t take up much space. Fashion commandos do not require underwear at all. We’ve all had to free ball the plane ride home once or twice, but it’s preferable to have extra refreshments in this department.
6. Lightweight, zip-up track jackets/sweatshirts/hoodies are great for travel. Especially if they have two front pockets that close. These are extremely convenient for tickets, phone, music player, etc. Be aggressive—you want to look sharp when you take that middle seat next to the cutie in the window on Southwest…. The hipster zipster can also be a good way to camouflage your corporate origins when traveling for business (more on this topic in a post coming soon).
7. Be resourceful. If you bring gym clothes, most good technical shirts and running shorts can be washed easily in the shower and will hang dry in hours. They can be worn again day after day. Workout shirts and socks are good undergarments while in transit on the plane/train—they don’t need to be fresh clean when you work out in them later in the trip. Use that iron in your hotel room to make a good outfit look much better in under 10 minutes. It also enables you to pack wrinkled shirts and trousers and know that you can freshen them up on site.
8. Pack light and shop a bit on your destination. Especially when traveling abroad, leave space in your bag and plan on getting some fresh duds on location. Wear immediately to blend in with local hipsters, or replace outfits you destroyed at incendiary dance floor outings or impromptu Hyde Park rugby scrums.
9. NEVER, under any circumstances, is it okay to wear pants that have zip-off legs. Ever. If you own a pair, return them. These are truly a fashion disaster. Do not donate to charity—it’s not charitable.
10. Give things away. If you are staying at a friend’s house, and he compliments your impeccable taste in rugby shirts or hipster zipsters, leave the celebrated article as a host gift. Nothing in fashion is more noble than sharing your style with your best friends.

Tip 3 of 3 (read tips 1 and 2)

Have a fashion agenda. “I’m looking for a cool new pair of casual sneakers” or “I need some great white pants” or “I want a better suit to wear to all those weddings.” Having a few needs to fill will help you answer questions like “what do you want for your birthday?” and also prevent you from buying more stuff you don’t need. A lot of guys don’t shop frequently and when they do they aren’t as focused as they should be. The best purchases are the ones that you end up wearing early and often.

Bonus Tip!

Don’t be afraid to go big. Do you have some expensive, rare, or somewhat “fragile” items that you hesitate to wear because you don’t want something to happen to them? A white leather jacket? A killer cashmere blazer? Set a goal of wearing anything that fits into this category at least once a month. It’s a total waste to hoard these treasures—share them with the world and don’t worry if they get ruined. Every once in a while I completely trash a pair of new shoes or pants while partying at a nightclub—this year in Florianopolis I ruined my entire outfit. But it was one of the best nights of my life… and nothing lasts forever. Except diamonds. And those are hard to ruin anyway.

Tip 2 of 3

Maintain your closet, manage your portfolio. At least once a year (better yet, once a quarter), go through your closet and pare down. Give away anything that you haven’t worn in a year. Many less fortunate than you will be grateful for the hand-me-downs. You will gain space, simplicity, and peace of mind. When you go through your closet, make a few mental notes—think about the articles you wear all the time and get the most utility out of, and why. You’ll learn more about how you like to put your outfits together and what you should buy more of. You’ll also notice that you buy a lot of stuff that you don’t wear much, if ever. Time to improve the utility of your wardrobe. Stop buying crap. Spend more on high quality variations of the brands and designs that you like best. Think twice before buying stuff you know you won’t wear often.

Click here to read Tip 1, and check back tomorrow for the third tip for becoming a sharply dressed man in 2009.

PART 1 OF 3

Each day we field various fashion queries from customers all over the world. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to put together three key points of advice on the topic of how to look your best each and every day. Tip 1 is below—check the blog for tip 2 tomorrow!

Fit is essential. One of the most common mistakes we see guys make here in New York is to buy apparel that is trendy and expensive but not necessarily well-made, durable, or high-quality. Guys, in general, should spend more money on quality fabric and appropriate alterations than on fancy labels. Another common mistake that guys make is to become so set on buying a certain brand that they are blind to the fact that the cut simply doesn’t work for their body type. I have always admired Diesel jeans, but I have never found a pair that works for me. A well-developed fashion sensibility requires one to recognize that sometimes it just isn’t meant to be—sort of like in dating—no matter how cool/hot/sexy the article (or person).

Trousers: Almost all trousers need to be hemmed to the right length for you. We recommend you hem all of your pants to land about one quarter of an inch above the ground when wearing shoes. Expect to pay no more than $10 for a regular hem and $16-22 for an original hem on denim (where you want to keep the original bottoms of the legs—we recommend this). If you are paying more than that you are being taken advantage of. Go to the cleaners for this service, not the tailors. This is a simple operation!

Shirts: Shirts should flatter your figure. Find a brand and make that works well for you and focus on fit. Excellent slim fitting shirts are hard to find—we hope to launch our own line of these soon! In the meantime, buy shirts large enough to allow you to move comfortably, but not much bigger than that. Watch out for baggy arms and blousy, frumpy-looking midsections and waist areas. You can have some of that extra fabric removed by a tailor—it shouldn’t cost much more than $15-20 per shirt. Your sleeves should peak out comfortably when worn underneath a blazer or suit coat—ideally you are showing about half an inch of shirt cuff and the shirt cuff covers just a tiny bit of where your hand starts at the wrist.

Polos and t-shirts: You can think about these in a similar way—comfortable but not baggy or frumpy in any way. Depending on the style, there may be a bit more personal taste involved in how a short-sleeved t-shirt or knit should fit you—wear what you like and what looks great on you.

Outerwear: Jackets and coats should be comfortable when worn over seasonally appropriate tops. The slimmer fitting the better, but use good judgment. Extra fabric in any garment is simply unbecoming unless you are sleeping or pregnant. You do need a bit of extra room in a topcoat for warm air. Every gentleman should have one nice overcoat that falls somewhere between the lower thigh and the mid calf, to be worn with suits.

We love it when people reach out to us with their style queries. Many questions involve the procedure and rationale behind hemming, but this one (from a customer in Park Ridge, Illinois) takes it a step further: how much to hem?

Q: Help settle a debate. I was wondering what, if any, is the official Bonobos opinion on where pants should “break,” i.e., where they should end at the bottom.

I am fond of almost no break at all, with the pants coming down on the top of the shoe (loafers). Many people find this is unacceptable and prefer it longer, so that it gathers up a bit.

As the designer, what do you feel is the most flattering break for Bonobos?

Brian responded:

A: The Bonobos-endorsed break is a little something we call Point Break^TM. It’s full break, plus a little Keanu Reaves heel-boosting extra length. It’s as full as a break can get. It’s the Hawaiian Jaws of breaks. It kisses the parquet. Get involved.

That said, we celebrate our customers at HQ nearly every day, and if you think that no break is best, we’ve got your back. At the core, we believe that men should take their own style baton and run as far as they want. Wear it well, wear it how you want. One of our outstanding employees, Kevin Kelleher, put a cuff on a pair of No Scrubs early in his tenure. We all clapped. Standing O. I wouldn’t have thought of it, but I respect it immensely. If you want to jam on it with bonobos mid-calf, we’ll support it. Heck, Marshall will probably blog about it. If you want to rock Johnny Depp-style Pirates of the Caribbean, shredded hem and barnacled bum, we salute you. It’s up to you.

But as designers, we go Point Break^TM.

UPDATE: After learning of this discussion, Director of Partners John Rote chimed in: “I’m going to hem a pair of SL5000 to an 8″ inseam as a slick tribute to Angus Young as soon as it goes over 60 degrees.” I’ve bet him lunch that he won’t. I’ll keep you posted.