Bonobos launches women’s line*

Marshall Roy — June 2, 2009 @ 4:32 pm

*for all blood relatives of the designer under the age of five.

Maybe one day it’ll be a priceless piece of Americana… but for now it’s just adorable.

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SUMMERTIME NAMING CONTEST! Free seersucker, anyone?

Marshall Roy — June 1, 2009 @ 6:37 pm

Some of our most legendary trousers were named by our customers (remember the Destros?), so once again we’re looking for your help. Our Super Soakers are the definitive summertime trouser in lightweight, seersucker-esque shirting twill. Its blue, white, and faint red pinstripes suggests jovialty and the out-of-doors.

So we’re making a version in green, with a razor-thin pinstripe in dotted navy. Submit the winning name as a comment on this blog post, and the pants are yours. (N.B. All comments are moderated; don’t worry, your entry will appear in a few minutes!) As always, be clever, and be yourself. Bring your “A” game, since you may only enter once. Submitting a name and accompanying description is not necessary, but will be looked upon favorably by the judges.

One last thing: Don’t deny yourself; if you win the contest but have already bought these dreamy greens, we’ll send you a different pair of trousers on the house. Have at it!

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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).

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Dalyn Montgomery: artist, blogger, pants-namer extraordinaire

Marshall Roy — May 20, 2009 @ 3:22 pm

Dalyn Montgomery is an immortal in the Bonoboverse. Christening the swanky, luxurious, endangered Destros would have been enough, but Dalyn is also an artist, and this spring we commissioned a few paintings from him to adorn Bonobos HQ.

A bit ago Dalyn wrote to me:

My hearing about Bonobos was simple destiny. I have been blessed with gynormous thighs and accompanying caboose. These assets have led me on a somewhat illustrious rugby career, which has led me to an affiliation with the finest bunch of MBA ruggers alive, the Wharton Wharthogs [hmm, I wonder how the crimson ruggers of HBS feel about that statement]. A year or so ago, one of the guys sent out an email regarding a trunk show in Philadelphia. While I would never trust a bunch of rugby players engaged in the act of taking pants on and off, I did check out the link to your website and found before me the answer to a life long problem (again the gynormous thighs and rear). One pair of Winstons later and I was officially hooked. As to the Destros it was pretty simple. I owned a pair named after a prime minister and saw a pair online named after an Atari game. What name could better capture the best of both those worlds than the prime minister of the Atari generation? A G.I. Joe guy in black and red (who unfortunately met his demise from a firecracker back in ‘87), and for some reason I could picture someone finely dressed, while in a steel mask, working in your office.

As to my art. I usually paint in my spare time with the idea that I just like to do artwork that “looks cool.” This has largely lead to the best decorated basement in the Philadelphia area, and I have occasionally used my business world experience to convince a few galleries to hang and sell my work. I have done quite a few commissioned pieces but mostly to a small network of associates as I have not truly marketed my services. You can get a sampling of my work at dalyn.ubuilder.com or samples of my writing and painting at dalynart.blogspot.com.

Thanks for your support, Dalyn! Check out his paintings below, as well as the man himself rocking the Destros (on his way to the ballet), Touchstones (at a gallery), and relaxing at home in the Limelights.

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Margaritas, Memorial Day, and Awesome Fitting Trousers

Scott Peterman — May 19, 2009 @ 6:31 pm

Want to check out our new office and showroom at 59 W. 19th Street, Suite 6B (corner of 6th Ave.)? Want to meet our amazing new Ninja, Christina “Tee” Fast, your new point person for in-person fittings and sales? Want to try on some amazing new pants? Better yet, want to do it all with a homemade Margarita in hand, personally mixed by Chief Ninja Scott Peterman? Then stop by this Saturday from 12-5 and have some Memorial Day fun with the Bonobos crew. We’ll see you then (and stay tuned for more fun Saturday fittings like this throughout the summer)!!!

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