Here are a couple of our favorites:

Regardless of if you’re going casual or dressing it up, layering (clichè but oh so true) is key in the Fall and Winter. For this casual look we paired a comfy oxford with a v-neck sweater and topped it off with a sturdy waxed cotton jacket from the Jack Spade Fall ‘10 collection (coming soon to www.bonobos.com). Waxed cotton is probably one of the best additions to outerwear since…well, I don’t know when. It’s ideal for protecting against rain, sleet and snow and as you wear it, it forms to your body for maximum comfort. As far as bags go, you don’t always have to stick to the standard messenger or tote. Change it up and give one of these duffles a try.

For effortless workwear, go tonal and keep in mind a full suit isn’t essential to make your look office appropriate…unless of course you’re in banking where Mad Men Chic is the day to day standard. Here we paired a slick grey pinstripe wool trouser with a dress shirt, tie and cardigan. We opted to ditch the suit jacket altogether and instead wrapped it all underneath a charcoal grey peacoat from Oliver Spencer’s Fall ‘10 Collection (also coming soon to www.bonobos.com). Think of it as a new age three-piece suit: pants, cardigan, coat. Which classic, iconic pieces or ensembles have you made your own?

Be sure to check out the rest of our Fall Look Book and stay tuned for new releases to round out your wardrobe this Fall and Winter.

]]> http://www.bonobos.com/blog/uncategorized/fall-2010-sneak-peek/feed/ 15 http://www.bonobos.com/blog/uncategorized/#post-anchor-6098 http://www.bonobos.com/blog/uncategorized/fight-the-good-fight-against-mandals-that-is/ http://www.bonobos.com/blog/uncategorized/fight-the-good-fight-against-mandals-that-is/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:04:58 +0000 cforsythe http://www.bonobos.com/blog/?p=6063 Summer is upon us in full, sweltering force and lots of guys have pulled their summer sneaks out of storage to stay cool. Canvas sneakers are my go-to but there are tons of other, equally appropriate summer options out there to choose from so can somebody please tell me why these continue to haunt me:

The dreaded leather, velcro strap sandal (also known as the mandal) is something that, despite its obvious style handicap, refuses to fade to black. Footwear during summertime is highly debatable and the fight between sandals and sneakers has raged on for centuries (well, maybe not quite that long) and I’d like to settle it once and for all. This year, leave the mandals at home and go for some of these tried and true summertime alternatives.

The Classic Jack (Converse by Jack Purcell)

Sperry Topsiders , Timberland has some great options as well and you can get ‘em right here on bonobos.com!

Vans Authentics

The time has come to update your wardrobe with some new, albeit classic styles as mentioned above or maybe try a saddle shoe to class it up a bit and check out the Ace Hotel shoes for another casual option. Regardless of what you choose, do your part to erase mandals from our immediate memory. Please? The only thing that gives me panic attacks more than the sandal that shall from now on remain nameless is when it’s paired with…anticipation building…baggy cargo shorts! The mental image is enough to cloud the nightmares of any smart shopper!

Check it out:

The Montauk consists of some Bonobos summer essentials: the Rojopolo; the Nurples; the Belted Cow Lobster Belt; and a pair of white Generic Surplus Plimsolls to round it all out. If you purchase the entire look, you’ll save $40! The discount is applied automatically at checkout so it couldn’t be easier. Supplies are limited and the discount offer expires on July 16th, so act now if you want to rock The Montauk.

If you’re out east this weekend, stop by our shop.  We’re open from Friday, July 9 through Tuesday, July 13.  We’re having a little event at the shop on Saturday from 6-8 p.m., so stop by and have a drink and some bites. And catch some great live music next door at the Memory Motel starting at 10 p.m.  See you there!

Well here’s one more to add to the 2 + 2 = 5 equation…

A classic American shoe brand synonymous with preppy lifestyle teaming up with a designer renowned for his eye towards tradition and authenticity, but with a “push-the-envelope” streak?  What you get are shoes with one foot (pun intended) deeply rooted and true to the brand history, but with one squarely in the future.

Such is the case with Mark McNairy (former creative director at J.Press, creator of his own English made shoe brand and now at Woolrich Woolen Mills) and the eponymous Bass Weejuns.  If you don’t know the history behind Bass, you should.  They “exported” (aka copied) a very popular Norwegian slip-on shoe and brought it State-side in the 30s and The Weejun (after Norwegian) was born.  In the 50s, prep-students looking to make a fashion statement took to inserting a penny thus spawning the name penny loafers.

But how do you put a modern spin on a timeless classic?  This was tasked to McNairy and the results are outstanding. While only a small part of the full collection, we are proud to offer two of our favorites, the Dean (The navy and burgundy leather combo is out-of-this-world) and Noah loafers, through Bonobos.com.  But what’s so special about them?

McNairy brought them back to their heritage – Handmade in Maine with the finest leathers from Horween, these puppies will only get better with age.  The real kicker though…Loafer upper + deck sole = extreme versatility. The fine leather looks dressed up, but the white deck sole brings it back to earth.  Perfect for weekend lounging or a Summer wedding (the picture below is from the upcoming Bonobos wedding lookbook…), you can’t miss with these shoes.

Give your dogs something to talk about here

I stick to my Southern roots when I’m putting together a seersucker look and try to keep it classic. Seersucker blazer and trousers, gingham pocket square and white oxford (go without a tie to keep it fresh). A pair of white bucks rounds out the look but if you’re going more casual, ditch the jacket, throw on some sneakers and tight roll the pants for an effortless summer getup. Seersucker is as versatile as it is comfortable so you can really make it your own.

This year, we first brought you seersucker pants, then we delivered blazers to match and now we’ve added shorts to the list. We recently decided to one-up ourselves, though, and at this very moment, we’re cutting fabric to launch two new limited edition seersucker suits mid-July. One’s a steely grey and the other’s a new blue and they’re comfy enough for any summer party and classy enough to don at next year’s Seersucker Thursday (we missed it this year but it’s already on our calendars for 2011).

We’d like to see the whole gang dressed in more Bonobos and now, with the expansion of our line and our “Stuff” section, it’s possible to get them really decked out.  Here’s how we’d dress the crew if we were in wardrobe.

Turtle: Turtle was already rocking the Montgomery Browns (pictured at right) from our line of washed khakis (three new colors coming mid-July) for most of the season premiere. As the sometimes under-appreciated friend, he’s known for taking the casual route but preppy-ed up our pants with a sweater vest. We thought he looked great. We’d keep him in the Browns but change the hat to a Yankees cap. He’s gotta rep New York and besides, Kangols are for Samuel L.

Vince: The main man, Vince is a big-time Hollywood actor with all the glamour that goes with it. Still, he sports a stylish but unpretentious look. We’d like to get him in some Great White Shorts while in between shoots, relaxing with his buddies and planning his next big project. When it’s time to hit the town, Vince can pull on our Corsica blazer, perfect for looking good and staying cool in that SoCal heat.

Eric: Eric occupies that weird place – on the one hand he’s got to be the best friend, on the other hand he’s the street-smart manager. We can see him in some Clermont Browns – they’re subdued enough for Eric’s chill demeanor, but stylish enough to turn Hollywood heads.

Drama: Drama, Vince’s brother from another mother, would be the most fun to dress. This d-list actor loves any and all attention, so we’d put him in our Palm Selicks. Perfect for schmoozing at those pool parties and telling those would-be models he’s a “producer.” Pair those with our Generic Surplus Ace Hotels for the complete look.

Ari: The fast-talking agent needs to look good at all time, whether it’s belittling his underlings or kissing up to clients. Nothing less than our Pocket Aces would do. The navy boot cut would look killer on him.

How would you outfit the Entourage cast?

Even if you don’t love tennis, let us put this in perspective for you: these two gentlemen (it is Wimbledon after all) played for more than 11 hours. In that time, you could have flown to London, gotten a cup of tea, watched the changing of the guards, met the queen, made your way to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, grabbed some strawberries and cream, found your seat and caught the final hour or so of the match. The previous record for longest match was 6 hours, 33 minutes and the Isner/Mahut match almost doubled that time.

We weren’t sure how it was going to end but those of us here at HQ were pulling hard for for the big man, John Isner!  John: if you are able to walk again after this marathon match, we have some pants waiting for you.

Watching the match got us thinking about athletic apparel. What brands do you guys wear when you play tennis, golf or maybe even cricket? Technical fabric or cotton? What about shoes? PF Flyers resurrecrted a tennis classic with their 1947 Sumfun reissue. I’d like to get my hands on a pair of those, stat. We’ve been toying around with the idea of an athletic line for a long time and would love some input so send it our way.

Cheerio!

The second thing I noticed was, of course, the fashion sense of the city. The general style was everything I expected from a metropolitan city that hosts its own Fashion Week but there was a shockingly large number of old, baggy cargo shorts. Maybe it’s because it just got warm enough to wear shorts and guys are still cleaning out clothes from years past and haven’t upgraded, but wow. Unless you’re in the military or are planning a week-long hiking trip, you most likely don’t need pocket space for 13 pounds of equipment. Utility: yes; stylish: no.

The once-thought-to-be-extinct baggy cargo short still rears its objectionable head in Manhattan, but I haven’t seen cargo shorts in such vast numbers as I did last weekend in quite some time. What can explain this phenomenon? I blame Abercrombie and the years 2000-2004 myself, but some additional insight would be excellent so please share.

Don’t get me wrong; cargos aren’t all bad. According to Details.com, they can do wonders for guys with less full-figured calves. However, slim fitting pin stripes and other flat front alternatives can do the same (see slide 18) and will provide you with a much more up to date look and style. If you’re at a loss, check out our line of Bonobos shorts. We’ve got more coming this week so stay tuned for new additions.

This brings me to my next question: do you know anyone who brings out the cargos year after year with no signs of stopping? Maybe stowing an extra large stash of tater tots in your side pocket is a guilty pleasure of yours? Either way, if you send us your cargo shorts, we’ll give you $15 in store credit per pair to put towards a pair of Bonobos shorts. Limited time only, and even if the rest of your repertoire needs an upgrade as well, treat yourself to a step in the right direction.

Email the Ninjas (ninjas@bonobos.com) to learn more.

We’ve been a little behind when it has come to blog contests as of late.  We were on a roll in Fall ‘08 with contests left and right.  But lately, we humbly admit, we’ve dropped the ball on that one.  We’ve been awash in new product launches, exciting new formats for product pages, hazing on-boarding new team members, and praying for warmer weather.  Frankly, we’ve been hard at work fast-tracking products you’re asking for.

Wanna help us out?  Harkening back to August ‘08, we’re letting you have a crack at crafting the story behind these two new pants.   We’re adding colors to the washed khakis collection and the two we are most excited about are Gargamel’s Revenue and The Redrums, both of which are launching just in time to spruce up your closet.   We named them.  YOU describe them.  Besides, all work and no play makes Bonobos a tired crew.

The winners receive a pair of the pants they described, and their novella (emphasis on “la”) will live on our site in perpetuity.

(L) Luminox Navy SEAL (blue), Generic Surplus White Plimsols | (R) Luminox Navy SEAL (white), Generic Surplus Navy Plimsols

Need some help getting started?  For some guidance, see the Royal Defenders example here:

“Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Many a great team has used this cliché to dance through the month of March. There is simply nothing else like a full court press: hands waving, jumping up and down making hot air snowmen, panic-on-the-dancefloor level frenetic hustle. An observer would guess there’s only seconds left in the game but it might just be halfway through the first half. So we’ve made a pair of pants in honor of the great defenders of our time, not always hailed by the media and the fans, but often recognized by the more astute critics of our times; we loved this recent Michael Lewis article in the NYT about Shane Battier.

The Samurais and Shoguns wage their war against denim in a full frontal assault. These new royal blue Bonobos, however, forge an impregnable defense against the tyranny of jeans. And the Defenders look awesome paired with just about anything you can find in your closet, save baby blue.”

Tell us a story.  Talk about the origin of the next best-selling, better-fitting men’s pants.  And give some style advice. You’re not stylish, you say?  Yes you are.  You wear Bonobos.

Hopefully our pop-culture references here aren’t lost on everyone.  If they are, you need to watch more TV – it’s good for your brain.

Leave your story in the comments or email us at blog@bonobos.com – you have until Friday, April 2nd.  May the best man, woman or child win.

P.S. – Like the shoes? Get the white canvas shoes and navy canvas shoes on Bonobos “Stuff.” Like the belts and watches?  Stay tuned, my friends, stay tuned…

UPDATE – THE LUMINOX WATCHES ARE NOW AVAILABLE!