From the Designer: Bonobos gets ready for swim season
Brian Spaly — May 22, 2009 @ 6:22 pm
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).
15 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Oh Man Those are sharp! In for one of the first pairs hopefully! What is the release date??
[Reply]
banana! nice, i usually wear nothing with a brand name on it but I might reconsider.
[Reply]
bring em on!
[Reply]
Nobody charges $200 for a swimsuit, and why do I need premium fabrics for the lake?
[Reply]
release date tbd. they should be ready to ship to you the first or second week of june. stay tuned!
[Reply]
Chad – there are many brands that retail over $200, and I would imagine that bonobos pulled inspiration from the likes of Vilebrequin, Sundek, and other iconic names in swimwear. In fact, some even higher end ($500 plus) suits were recently featured on gq.com
http://men.style.com/theupgrader/style/features/patterned-swimsuits
[Reply]
Troy–
You’re 100% correct. In fact, Vilbrequin (http://www.vilebrequinonlinestore.com/web/menstore.asp) sells suits for about $220.
Chad–
As for the the premium fabric–I can actually speak from experience, since I’ve handled the samples–it is AWESOME. Great texture and hand, beautiful drape, vibrant colors. Perfectly good for the lake–but also for a beach party, pool party, yacht party, afternoon roof-deck cocktail soiree–pretty much any casual, social event during the summertime!
[Reply]
Lining or no lining? Debate…
[Reply]
These swimsuits will have lining. it’s a micromesh, high quality. This first swing at swimsuits is just the beginning. Brett and I are anxious to make a board short as well at some point, and those will not have liners. But this launch is intended to be a premium swim trunk in the classic sense of the design – full elastic waist, drawstring trouser, two front pockets and one rear pocket with an easy-open latch.
Watch out vegas pools, hamptons, North Avenue beach, and every other awesome summer hang out spot.
[Reply]
I typically only wear tight, “speedo” type swim pants while at the lake but these will certainly change my mind.
[Reply]
My problem with this post is not the swim trunks, it’s the delivery. You’re competing against the Nordstrom brands, but are (allegedly) offering better quality which is why I might choose your brand over a similarly priced brand. Telling me you’re giving me a deal by comparing yourself to an absurdly over-priced niche brand just turns me off.
Quick Fact: Crown Royal used to be an unsuccessful mid-market whisky before they sheathed the bottle in a purple velvet bag and fancy box. Same whisky as one half the price, just in a prettier box.
I have a $30 pair of board shorts I bought in Hawaii 10 years ago that I still wear because they still look great. I have a $125 pair of Faconnable trunks I bought a year ago. Put them side by side, the difference between the fabric is negligible. As for fitting well, has anyone ever had a problem with swim trunks not fitting well? I haven’t, they’re swim trunks!
My point in this rant is that it sounds to me that you’re shiny object’ing me with the $200 price tag so I don’t start asking why you’re more expensive than the Polos, Penguins and Faconnables. Just show me the product, show me the price and let me decide.
[Reply]
This is my first visit to the site after seeing your ad in WIRED. So, let me get this straight… I will be spending around $200.00 dollars for a pair of your pants and THEN I may have to go to a tailor or put them in the dryer to make them fit well.
UMMM DUDES!!!! When I shop at fine men’s shops they do the tailoring for free. No Dryer Required. And no shopping for a tailor required. Better check with Stanford Business Prof again. You have what seems like a good product BUT at these prices you better get a deal with a store or a few tailors.
Mark
[Reply]
Mark,
Thanks for reading. We believe pretty firmly that hemming pants is the only way to get the perfect length. We’ve been thinking about offering an add-on hemming service, but that gives us a bit of pause since ideally, pants should be measured for a hem while you’re wearing them–it’s a pretty tiny percentage of men who have a perfect 30″ or 32″ inseam… most guys are 32.1″, or 33.7″, or something like that. Plus, consider that guys have different preferences as to where their pants should break (I prefer a full break, others like no break, some guys like cuffs). We’d rather leave the inseam long and leave it up to the customer.
We recommend visiting your local dry cleaner or alterations shop to have the hem done–it’s an extremely simple operation, and here in NYC it costs nine or ten dollars. We know it’s an extra step to go through, but we believe it’s worth it.
Our business model is predicated not just on great-fitting pants, but on value. That’s why we’re staying out of retail stores. We think you should pay for the things that matter–premium fabric; quality construction here in the U.S.; and attentive, sincere customer service. I’m sure fine men’s shops don’t allow you to return items for a refund after they’ve been altered, but we do. We get calls and emails every day from boutiques and department stores, offering to sell our pants at about twice what we charge. We tell them all no thanks.
I hope you’ll give us a try. Let us know if we can assist in any way.
Chief Ninja
Scott
[Reply]
What is going to be the price tag on these? I already have a couple pairs of nails trunks so I’m just curious if I’ll be able to drop some coin here or be best served getting a pair of pant (or the sack racers if they come back out in my size).
[Reply]
I just came across this blog and found it very interesting indeed.Thanks for sharing.
[Reply]