Bonobos

Even though most of our customer feedback looks more like Christopher Thornton’s, we do encounter our fair share of skeptics–which, frankly, we relish. We make trousers for men of discernment, and at any time we’re happy to answer (in detail) the question, “No, seriously. What’s so great about your pants?”

Sometimes, though, we receive inquiries that bypass skepticism and go straight to naysaying:

We’ll give it to this guy; he’s got cojones. He’s got strong feelings and he voices them–strongly. We respect that. We responded with a pretty detailed overview of why our pants are priced the way they are, and we think it’s important information for naysayers and believers alike to be aware of. Dave Eisenberg, a warrior poet and our Chief of Staff, answered:

   Just got your e-mail forwarded to me from our PR department and I wanted to address your points right away.

   I wrote a blog post on why our shorts are priced where they are here, which goes into our pricing in a lot more depth. I just poked around on Brooks Brothers’ site and found no fewer than 7 pairs priced at $250 a pop, so I have even more confidence that we’re doing the right thing. The major cost drivers in our products are the following features:

   1. Our pants are made in New York City. They are hand-sewn: We have a curved waistband that requires a unique sewing procedure that we would have a lot of difficulty outsourcing to a machine-based production facility in China (where Brooks Brothers does a good deal of its manufacturing).

   2. Our fabric is of a much higher quality than the stuff on their [Brooks Brothers’] basic pants (and certainly on anything in a major mass market retailer). We import our wool and cashmere from Italy and Belgium and our corduroy from Spain. The silk that lines our wool pants is made in Italy and bought here in America.

   The proper comparable for our $190 wool pairs is closer to this pair from Brooks Brothers. It retails for $1500 and is sold on their site for $525! That is drastically more expensive than anything we offer. They have a ton of pants in this price range, and all of their “Black Fleece” collection (this is where they use European fabrics) is more expensive than our stuff. It’s impossible for them not to be; they have to pay for fancy models, advertising, and other costs that we hate as former retail consumers.

   When you buy from a Brooks Brothers (or similar) you are paying for a ton of stuff that we don’t do. We have our employees and customers model our pants. We have never paid for glossy advertisements in magazine or on billboards. We don’t go to runway shows and we do all of our web development in-house. In short, all you pay for when you buy from Bonobos is our fabric, American labor, and customer service. No middleman, no store overhead, no department store staff to hassle you while you’re trying to buy, etc. We think it’s a better, fairer value proposition to our customers, so we’re going to stick with it.

   We believe in our philosophy. Not everyone can afford bonobos. Our worldview is driven by the fact that we don’t believe those who pursue the most lucrative careers should necessarily get to enjoy all of the spoils. So we make our pants a lot more affordable to people who choose careers where they help others on a daily basis. Policemen, firefighters, teachers, servicemen—these are just a few professions that have members in our Band of Brothers program. I’m sure that I don’t have to mention that no such policy exists at [insert retailer here].

   Would you be interested in trying a pair? We’ve got a one of a kind return policy, so if you’re not perfectly satisfied, we’ll pay you to send them back to us. That’s our business model and I sincerely hope we can be your “go-to pants store.” We’d love to have you as a customer.

We’ve published the exchange between Dave and the nameless naysayer here not to stroke our egos, but to earnestly invite anyone who thinks we can improve to contact us and let us know what we should do differently. We may not agree with your recommendations, but we will always respond thoroughly and respectfully.

Customer feedback is extremely valuable to us here at Bonobos. Whether critical or complimentary, when you voice your opinions, we take it to heart. Check out what one Bonobos man, Christopher Thornton, wrote to co-founders Andy and Brian about his shoguns and khakis:

Thanks for those enthusiastic words, Christopher! And thanks for rocking your bonobos.

From the evocative (bermuda straits, plymouth rocks, sandcastles) to the literary (meursaults, tessie hutchinsons, sisyphus, ali babas) to the shamelessly pun-tastic (kappa chinos, just whites, if looks could twill) to the utterly perplexing (stone-faced lady killaz), we sorted through well over 100 submissions to name our stretch brushed lightweight organic twill (or SBLOT).

Autumn approaches, and we don’t want to pigeonhole our twills for beach-going. And much as we love literature, Meursault and Tessie Hutchinson are both senselessly executed (bad chi), Sisyphus is condemned to Hades (ouch!), and Ali Baba is a tyrant (uncool). The day may come when a pun so witty, so original, and so perfectly executed appears that we deem it a worthy moniker for one our creations–but it is not today.

And stone-faced lady killaz? Well, Ryan M., you gave us all a much-needed chuckle with your assertion that “despite their stoic exterior, these stone twill trousers will knock the ladies dead when they undo the zipper to reveal the floral party in your pants.”

But in the end, we thought one suggestion triumphed. Congratulations Robin Testa! Thanks to your simple but richly connotative entry, “touchstones,” our stone-colored SBLOTs now have a name that (to paraphrase you) distinguishes them as the measure against which other trousers shall ever be judged. And, of course, you have a free pair on its way to you. Wear ‘em well!

But there’s more to this story. There was one other name, a close second behind touchstones, that we felt properly caught the ethos of our trousers. Matthew Olson gave us the name “sand dollars,” and the description “our twill chinos are… just as soft and supple as the sun-drenched and stone-washed echinoids kind enough to lend their name to these trousers.”

The elegance and concision of those words really struck a chord with us, so we decided that our soon-to-be-launched khaki shorts will now bear the name “sand dollars.” The newly-named sand dollars are the same luxurious stretch twill as our awesomely popular khakis, and are perfect for tee time (or tea time, for that matter) or a stroll along the beach. And there’s a pair en route to you, Matthew.

In the meantime, we’ll do our best to heed to the wise wordplay of Touchstone, Shakespeare’s fool in his romantic comedy As You Like It. The Bard may not having been thinking of pleated fronts and greedy markups when he gave Touchstone the line, “The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly,” but that’s what we think of every time we launch a new pair of bonobos.

Bonobos is having a pants party this Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Il. It’ll be hosted by legendary Bonobos partner Michael Lorenzen. The address for the show is 304 East White St., in the rear party room.

Michael is going to have a sample kit of Bonobos with him, so if you’d like to see any of our stuff in person, and you’re near Champaign, be sure to check it out. Feel free to send around this invite to all of your friends in the area, too. RSVPs to Michael Lorenzen at MichaelJLorenzen@gmail.com  are greatly appreciated.

It’s time for another Bonobos contest.

To the winner? A free pair of our new stretch brushed organic lightweight twill. In the color stone. We call them, for now, Stone Twill.

You can do better than that. What do you call them?

(You don’t have to write the description as well to win the contest, but descriptions will be taken as a factor. Just see our previous contest on the Navy Bleus to see what we mean.)

This weekend was my maiden voyage to the Hamptons. Ok, ok. I get it.

Saturday night I attended a birthday party in Watermill. There, among other people, I met Julia Allison, who had nice thing to say about my floral print Bonobos. I had not met Julia before - though I had seen her column on dating in Time Out New York way back when there was a story on Bonobos in that magazine.

Imagine my surprise when, the following day, the below photo turns up on the iPhone of one of the girls I was staying with in the Hamptons. Julia put the picture up on her website - which is called NonSociety. Click here to check it out.

Julia is a self-made internet celebrity, on the cover of WIRED magazine this month. I admire what she’s doing - using the internet in a clever and creative way to build a business. At Bonobos, we are trying to do the same thing. Except we make great trousers.
I did introduce Julia to the research of John Gottman. I figured as one of New York’s premiere dating advisors and relationship specialists, she ought to know about things like the four horseman of a relationship and the 5:1 ratio praise to criticism. Brian and I talk about Gottman often. As single guys, we are experts on relationships.

If you don’t get to see Julia’s site, this is what she had to say about my Bonobos:

HOW AWESOME ARE HIS PANTS?? I’m a big fan of men who have the balls to wear outfits like that.

These pants were so loud I was a bit nervous about wearing them. But pairing them with a simple button down and a black tie silk belt calmed me down.

Should we make more floral print Bonobos? Would you buy them? We have a handful of samples at the Bonobos loft which we may be putting on our website before long.

Before I go, two more happy snaps from the Hamptons. Fantastic party. Fantastic weekend.

Now back to the Monday grind in Manhattan.

Football season is so close, you can taste it. School is not back in session, but it’s time to buy your supplies. The heat of summer is still with us, but the evenings simmer down as we slowly creep toward what we at Bonobos like to call FWS. Fall. Winter. Spring.

We’ll miss day games at Wrigley, but that’s about it.

So what do you wear as the sweaty summer days make way for the decrescendo of balmy to cool August evenings? We have the answer. Dress well this late summer/early fall with what we at Bonobos call late summer stretch wool.

We took some exceptionally lightweight stretch wool, and we lined it with silk. Introducing the Jive Cats and the Jackson Brownes. The end of summer. The end of sweaty pants on hot summer nights. The beginning of you thinking about how to transition from one season to another in style.

(This message is brought to you by our the slightly more supple brethren of these two beautiful brown trousers, the latest in our gray wool line - the G5s. Not quite as lightweight, but not far behind, our customers are already picking these up in droves and wearing them in the summertime with a smile. We thought we’d wake you up when September ends on these… but who are we to say when you should wear em?)

After the success of the inaugural Bonobos contest, we decided to up the ante. Over a hundred of you threw out names for a shot at a pair of navy shorts and Bonobos fame. So, we made a second call for creativity. The part wool, part cashmere, and all luxury Dark and Stormys are the jackpot of pants. With the stakes so high (we can’t just give away a pant so dear to our hearts) the challenge had to be tougher.

We found many Bonobos lovers could throw out names for our inspiring pants, but could anyone craft a story as memorable as these Dark and Stormys?

While most of you folded, a few tried. Some were way off target (MRG’s pre-disco ritual) and others were quite convincing (Roby, Ronnie, and Sparky). But, it was ultimately Marcus Coe who caught the essence of these pants best. And for that, he will forever enjoy his new Dark and Stormys. And the rest of us can forever enjoy his story (at least until the pants sell out):

Bermudian winters can bear faint resemblance to the lapis skies and gin-clear waters of summer. Storms roll in, bringing a touch of soggy reality to this fish-hook shaped island in the Atlantic. But no matter, you and your cloudy concoction of Black Seal and Barritt’s Ginger Beer simply change venues: from the front to the back porch, perhaps, where the covered deck allows an afternoon of daring backgammon victories.

Deceptively simple yet layered with intrigue, you and your drink are cosmic brethren. You appreciate the gusto of the occasional hurricane and realize that one must embrace challenge. An endless parade of perfect beach days and pina coladas is not interesting. Weathering 60 knot gusts on the bow of your sloop is interesting. An island that used to be populated only by wild hogs is interesting. Your pants are interesting.

The Dark N Stormy, a buttery concoction of burnished-teak-colored wool with the soft hand of cashmere, is here to help you amble through the cooler, damper climes of the sun’s retreat. A pant to help you weather its namesake, it is perfect for cocktails on your deck overlooking Harrington Sound, a Bloody Caesar at homecoming or grand rounds at Man’s Best Hospital. An orange silk liner keeps your pockets happy, and the herringbone weave encourages admirers to take a second look. My, there’s a lot of depth to that fabric.

You know there’s no reason to mourn the passing of the height of summer. Armed only with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and a slicker, you grab your pants and head out into the storm.

Jealous of Mr. Coe’s new pants? We’ve had so much fun reading your Bonobos-inspired stories, we can assure you another contest will be coming soon. If you can’t wait, we don’t blame you - we’ll let you buy them here.

In light of how popular the “name the Navy Shorts” competition was on our blog, we’re launching competition #2 for all you aspirant scribes out there.

Everyone knows that the Dark N Stormy is one of the greatest beverages known to mankind. Nothing like some Zacapa Centenario expertly mixed with Bermudian ginger beer. A lime wedge on top adds the final touch. Best consumed at the tee on hole #5 at the world-renowned Mid-Ocean Club.

The Bonobos Dark N Stormy resembles this classic drink in a number of ways.

- It’s super smooth: a warm milk chocolate brown with a generous amount of cashmere

- It’s lined in brown and orange: not too dissimilar to the color a great aged rum takes on

- It’s versatile: at the bar, at a party, or in the boardroom, you can drink one anywhere… and wear these everywhere

- They’re of a rarefied air: just as ginger beer and Gosling’s black rum are hard to find; these Dark N Stormy’s won’t stick around for long, just check out what happens to most Bonobos.

We need the new description for these Dark N Stormy’s. 250-500 words that will go right up on the product page. The winning entry will incorporate facts about the color and fabric, but will bring the pant a personality all its own. Winning entry gets a pair. Experience tells us that existing customers are able to wax nostalgic about Bonobos most effectively. So get involved! Post right here in the comments section.

Best of luck and, by the way, the winning entry may make no entry of rum. Or maybe it will?

189 comments later, we are excited to announce a winner to last week’s navy shorts competition.

First, the honorable mentions:

Jack McDonald for “Ian McGuires”. Rick Wittenbraker for “Poop Deck”. Will Hutchinson for “Navy S.T.E.A.L.S”. Mason for “the Ben Franklins”. Tod Nocella for “The Spartans” - which accurately describes these shorts. And AJ Crane for “The Pool Boys” - the witty, terse prose which which had us rolling so much so that it bears repeating:

In a job where great buns are a prerequisite, a good pair of shorts is second only to a long pool net when it comes to success. The fit of these shorts will guarantee a good show for all the babes at the pool while the color will protect you against embarrassing splashes to the crotch.

But we don’t fancy ourselves handsome, womanizing, vapid summer lovers - it just didn’t fit. Ah well.

So who is the winner? 1st place - M. Dugan, of Rockville, Maryland, perhaps? Your submission was our favorite. We are naming the shorts the Navy Bleus and using your write up on the Monnets as the brand identity. Below is Mr. Dugan’s original submission.

The Monnets (As in EU founding father Jean Monnet)

With his country in mortal peril, Jean Monnet rose to the occasion. Although his audacious plan to merge the nations of France and Britain in the opening days of WWII simply ran out of time, Monnet spent the rest of the Second Great War as he did the first- coordinating Allied production and organizing vital supply shipments across the Atlantic.

Monnet also knew a more relaxed side of life, traveling the world selling his family’s brand of premium Cognac: a one deal at a time re-education against the mass market mark-up behemoths of the day. Charming professionally and socially, he would live happily ever after running off with a beautiful Italian painter 19 years his junior.

Thus, a salute of purposeful navy bleu yet able to compromise with a relaxed lining in a pair of Bonobos shorts that will put everyone enough at ease to negotiate a European Union.

Saving the world at sea, high adventure in finance and trade, absconding to Switzerland- make waves behind the scenes with your Monnets.

 

We loved the write up, but thought that Navy Bleus, from the story itself, was a better name for the shorts than the Monnets. Today we ate our cake, and had it too.