Bonobos

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.

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)!!!

I think I speak for the entire Bonobos team when I say:

Phew.

We moved to a larger office this past weekend, which meant everyone put in overtime helping pack and unpack our entire office and inventory. It was a herculean effort, but as we swung back into a fully operational mode today, we knew it was worth it. Shipping is easier and more efficient, we have a rockstar view down Sixth Avenue, and our new phone system is sexy and futuristic (like, I’m pretty sure I could conference call with Kim Smith and the International Space Station in three or fewer keystrokes right now).

And despite the long hours, physical labor, and logistical headaches we found a few moments to monkey around.

Would you expect anything less?

Bonobos is excited to announce a very cool partnership with an organization based out of Bend, Oregon, called the Trunk Club. The women behind the Trunk Club have hit upon some of the very same principles that Bonobos was founded upon:

•    Shopping in retail stores stinks. If there is a way to get around it, do so

•    Shopping is more fun when you’re being delivered phenomenal customer service, be it from a Bonobos ninja, or from a Trunk Club expert

•    Finding great clothes at a fair price is hard. Whether you’re shopping at Bonobos, or shopping with a Trunk Club expert, it’s better to shop from people you trust to supply you with high quality goods at a reasonable price.

What I really love about Trunk Club is the simplicity behind their model. If you’re a guy who doesn’t like to shop, or doesn’t have time to shop, you just communicate to your expert what it is that you’re looking for and your TC expert does the work for you. You get handpicked clothing sent to your home (for free, just like Bonobos) and you only pay for what you keep. And just as advice from our ninjas is free, so is membership with the Trunk Club! If you’d like to apply for free membership (seriously, no hidden fees ever), check it out here. We’ll keep supplying you with pants, shorts and swimsuits (launching in early June) and the TC experts can help you out with every thing else.

A few other highlights from the TC website & team:

•    Monthly fashion tips

•    An awesome, friendly, stylish team

•    Frequently updated lifestyle content on their blog

So if you have any questions about trying the Trunk Club out to help you with your non-Bonobos related fashion, don’t hesitate to email them directly or to email me about their services.

RED ALERT! The Bonobos offices will be CLOSED this Friday (5/15).

The Bonobos gang is growing up and flying the coop—well, not entirely. We’re moving to a brand new HQ, three blocks north of our current space (59 W. 19th Street, 6B). It’s twice as large, to accommodate our growing squad. Between our rockstar tech team, new user-interface designer, and Sales and Marketing Ninja Christina “Tee” Fast (whom you can email to schedule a visit to HQ for a fitting), things at 57 W. 16th Street are just getting a little too… cozy.

Newly renovated and sunnier than a Meg Ryan flick, BNBS HQ 2.0 is going to give the pantrepreneurs all the space we need to take this enterprise from great to legendary.

Here we are, focusing through the chaos of moving day:

Believe it or not, this is not the first gent to threaten—idly or with deadly seriousness—to destroy the entirety of his non-Bonobos wardrobe. (This note came after our friend Atif picked up the Khakis and Destros.) Thanks for your support, Atif! Donate those old chinos to a good cause and spread the good word for us down in Houston.

It doesn’t get much more awesome or literal than this: ziplining through the Hawaiian jungle—in a pair of Jungle Kings.

But that’s how our buddy Curbeau likes to roll–on the edge, in the moment, but always with a stylish streak.

Matt popped up on our radar last autumn, when he picked up a pair of the now-endangered Obamas (newly christened Midnight Blues). Soon thereafter he stocked his work wardrobe with a few sleek renditions of the classics, but went fearlessly for some of our bolder styles, too: the Mint Juleps, Capertons, and Orange Crush. “I have a pretty large collection of Bonobos apparel that is growing by the day, and I could not be happier,” he wrote to me a few weeks ago. “The way you guys treat your customers is simply the best, and your products are second to none…. It just gives me a good feeling to wear something that stands out and puts out a certain ‘vibe.’ I love it.”

Amen to that! Check him out below in his Party Starters with a proper tropical cuff.

Last, but not least—and this is a big deal in the Bonoboverse—today he became the very first gent with sufficient stones and sangfroid to pull the trigger on our boldest and most fearless trouser to date: the Garden Fray. Recommended for advanced players—the rabble rousers and raconteurs. (We only made a handful, so if they strike your fancy, pounce now.)

Here’s a salute, Matt, and entry into the Registry of Champions for being a top customer and all-around class act. Hit us up when you’re in NYC next month. The ninjas owe you a beer.

We hear some variation of the following every day: “I could never get away with wearing that!” or “I don’t live in Manhattan—I could never walk down the street in those.”

I’m reminded of some words from Vivienne Westwood: “You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.” I don’t think she means that impressive clothes make your life better than somebody else’s. I think she means that impressive clothes make your life better than it was previously—and I emphasize that “impressive” does not necessarily signify “expensive,” “trendy,” or of a certain “label.”

Put little less ambiguously by Coco Chanel: “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”

Your comfort zone is a prison—fight back its limits whenever you can. Get comfortable with taking risks. You don’t have to start huge, just remember that if nothing’s ventured, nothing’s gained—and even if you miss the mark, you’ll at the very least have gone out with a bang, not a whimper. You’ll have conveyed to the world that you’re a fearless gent, not (as Teddy Roosevelt said) among the ranks of cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

So give the Turqs a try. Or the Mint Juleps. You might accidentally strike gold. Or silver. Or bronze.

As for me—I’ll be the guy in the blurple (that’s blue + purple) patent leather chukkas cruising down Fourteenth Street.

Got an A+ daring outfit you’d like featured on our blog? E-mail me!   

The ninjas are hooked on Twitter. CEO Andy (@bonobos), Chief of Staff Dave (@davebonobos), and I (@MarshallBonobos) love sending frequent, concise updates on this crazy pantrepreneurial enterprise… and occasionally on our woeful dodgeball showing and insane flip cup domination.

But we also use it to keep in touch with our customers and get feedback on everything from our ads to our new shorts. (Click here to see volume I!) 

Okay, I know, 1-5 might not sound that great. You know what it’s better than? 0-6!!! That’s right folks, you heard it here first, WE FINALLY WON A DODGEBALL MATCH! Since the beginning of the season we’ve been dominating the post-game Flip Cup tourneys (due mostly to our Ninja cup flipper extraordinaire John Rote), but this week we finally pulled off a win on the court as well, and a decisive one at that. All due to me (Yeah right. I don’t think I’ve been heckled more in my life than last night. Just you wait for Bonobos Trivia night…)

Check out the pics below. First up, from L to R: Ninja John warms up; Chief of Staff Dave gets his game face on while Ninja Jessie gets zen; Ninja Matty Ice in action.

From L to R: The team gets ready to charge; Ninja John is dumbfounded after a tough (and unquestionably incorrect) call.