Help us shape the future of American trouserdom!
Marshall Roy — September 25, 2008 @ 8:58 am
My fellow Americans,
From the great continuum of human feuds (Capulets vs. Montagues, Whigs vs. Tories, Lindsay vs. Paris) emerges an historic slug-fest: Bam vs. Mac. Bonobos is proud to enter the fray.
In the late eighteenth century the working class of France, with fire in their eyes, gumption in their blood, and dirt under their fingernails, began a stirring that would eventually deliver the nation from monarchism to democracy. The aristocrats—in their fashionable, frilly silk breeches—looked down upon these free thinkers and their full-length, utilitarian trousers. They mockingly dubbed the revolutionaries sans-culottes, or “without knee-breeches.” In the end, all the dandily appointed silk in the world couldn’t halt the guillotine’s dispassionate dispatchment.
Which is to say: the launch of our newest trousers, the obamas and the mccains, is not the first time politics has crossed paths with pants.
We set out to craft a worthy successor to our awesome midnight blues—a John Quincy Adams of trousers, if you will. We acquired super-soft cotton twill from our favorite mill in Belgium (one of the finest in the world), and the fabric’s deep, presidential navy spoke to us.
Channeling Republican candidate John McCain’s unshakeable individualism, our designer, Brian Spaly—triathlete, heartthrob, and nautical accessories guru—lined one batch of these beautiful twills with an indigo pinstripe (the same fabric we use on the outside of our super soakers). There is no contrast stitching on the belt loops of the mccains, and no flashy fabric in the back pockets. It’s the most conservative trouser we could bring ourselves to construct, but it’s still a pair of bonobos, through and through, made with care and pride right here in New York City. 
But what of democrat Barack Obama? He is charismatic and distinctive, yet his cynosure does not disabuse us of the faith we have in our own greatness. He dwarfs doubt, heightens hope. Lined in a daring mosaic of blue, brown, and orange, the obamas strive to accomplish the same—to be a beacon of encouragement, a leader by example.
(Don’t worry if your trouser preference doesn’t coincide with your vote. It doesn’t make you a flip-flopper. We advise taking a bipartisan approach and ordering both.)
The battle lines are drawn deep. The pundits are sharpening their hyperbole, Joe Biden is cracking his knuckles, Sarah Palin is checking her makeup, and Bonobos has made some really gorgeous pants. Which pair will serve as executive trouser? That’s for you to determine.
By the way–we don’t think pants will play that significant a role in shaping the next four to eight years of this nation’s future, but it doesn’t escape us that Abraham Lincoln wore a Brooks Brothers suit to Ford’s Theatre….
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