Bonobos

Okay, my denims are having a tough time adjusting to their new neighbor. But hey, that’s tough because there are some new pants hanging around who are making those jeans nervous for their lack of substance and style. I told them that I would not be replacing them but that “the organization is going in a different direction.” I did not have the heart to tell them that they may not be seeing much playing time. This season, or next.

I am going to need more closet space now. I actually bought two pairs of Black Swans, nervous one might get hit by low-flying sea gull shrapnel at the beach or end up in that place where lost socks go.

First time I slipped on the Bonobos it was like form met substance and style in a secret rendezvous. You know, like a place I had always known existed but had never been? Putting on a pair of F. Scotts, I found myself dancing inside about the fit and the color. Orange. Yep, the orange F. Scotts are as amazing as the sun kissed fruit. These pants are all class and their fit may have you writing a Bonobosgram. I did.

Back in the 1920’s gentlemen were going places. Some fast and some slow. Whether you tried to Gatsby with your last and first dollar or write a great novel, whatever you wore had an understated style and it was made with substance. Come the end of the day you may have put on your Bonobos (if they had only been around) and sat down with F. Scott himself for a few short glasses of aged Inspiration. Your pants fit you right where they were supposed to and they knew it. Your body knew it too. No one was spending millions telling you what you already knew.

Substance is real; it is tangible and not ethereal (like the prices of some of the fancy labels in my closet). Some of us cannot fly to Milan this weekend to shop and that’s okay. We just need to get our shoes cobbled right. These pants need no introduction and they always work (while you play) or share the spotlight that seems to be flooding the room.

Finally some folks have listened to the Muse (and Men) and have created a line of pants that not only looks amazing but also works. Thank you gentlemen. I only suggest that they add a cautionary label: “WARNING: these pants will become your go-to pants.”

When I put them on, I was looking to go some place else already. Know that impatient but so excited feeling? Like, when is the next flight to Caracas so I can get back to that tiny café? Or let me get out of Boston for the day and slip “down to the Cape” and walk on the tiny strip of quiet beach in Wellfleet.

I am not sure when denim jeans became sport utility pants. These Bonobos are lightweight, but they are not lightweights. They are workhorses that are eager to be saddled up for a gallop or simply walked.

Look around and you will see which folks are wearing and living by choice. Lemmings do their thing but would not if they wore Bonobos.

Okay. I am now done. And my new Bonobos are just part of a beginning. We are grown ups wearing grown up clothing so let’s stop looking for a happy ending and remember the importance of a great many beginnings.

Life is more than segments of five minutes of joy.

These guys have gotten it right.

It’s up to you now. Take it one leg at a time.