Bonobos

[FinanceGreg]

Necropost, but relevant.

Now that Bonobos has been picked up as a brand by Nordstroms, has opinion changed of the pants makers here on SF? I have purchased a few of their Travel Jeans in non-outlandish colors, and they do seem to accentuate the rear.

If I had to point a fit issue for me, I believe the thigh circumference is too small, all the pants are very, very snug on me. (Related though, I do lift weights and marathon run)

 

[prady]

Well I came here looking for an opinion too and i'm kinda surprised looking at all the hate. But then most of the posts are from 2008 so I don't know if opinion has changed.

I had an appointment at the guide shop here in NYC and I had a pretty good experience. The girl who was my guide helped me try every type of pant and shirt for me to get a good idea of their fitting. I gotta be honest that the fitting of their clothes was fantastic. Their slim fit pants were great and fabric felt great too. Slim shirts fit me very well and the Tailored Slim felt like they were designed for Mannequin body coz that was so tight on me that I couldn't imagine being in one of them.

Overall, I loved the clothing. I definitely was looking for SF opinion on it but I cant find any recent posts on it.

 

[beez]

I really like Bonobos travel jeans. This brand will only work for slim frames.

 

[Beane]

what´s the quality like of bonobos in general?

 

[BostonHedonist]

@Beane

I like the quality of Bonobos in general. Earlier on, when they were selling many other brands and building their collection, the quality of many pieces was suspect. I recently compared my older models to the newer versions in the Boston "showroom" and its clear that their NYC team has found better sourcing people.

Their construction certainly is not perfect across all lines. The shirts generally don't work for me (between sizes) and I've never really found any I absolutely love (except a few linen shirts I cycle through in the summer).

Their pants go from decent to quite nice for the money; flattering and made of some great wools and cottons. They really messed up this year by not manufacturing enough flannel-lined Chinos. They sold out pretty much everywhere.

I just picked up a Bonobos cashmere hoodie. I wouldn't have thought to buy this item from Bonobos, but they have the good sense to know that only Scottish and Italian cashmere is worth a damn, and buy the cashmere from the Scottish mill of Todd & Duncan (which they love to point out). It's only one-ply, but I've quickly grown very attached to it. Seems warmer and more durable than I initially thought.

 

[razl]

Just thought I'd chime in with comments as a first time Bonobos customer on some recent purchases...

I'm generally tall and on the slim/athletic side - 6'3" at about 180lbs, a 33" waist and a 41 - 42" chest and wear a 35.5" sleeve. Finding sweaters that are relatively slim and still have enough sleeve to work for me has been near impossible. I've seen plenty of ads touting Bonobos "slim" knitwear but generally disregarded since their other slim offerings - shirts and pants - have always struck me as too fashion forward. I wanted slim-for-me but still in classic proportions, nothing tight or cropped short.

When the end of season came around and their Merino sweaters were on about 50% discount, I decided to give them a shot. After inspecting the dimensions, I got a batch of 3 in Large+Slim. Shipping was prompt and everything was packaged well. I was very pleased to see that the colors matched the online representation very well (colors like "camel" have a wide variance across manufacturers). While their measurements were correct, the large+slim ended up wearing a bit too big on me. But, I thought the quality, price, and colors were good enough to return those and take a stab at the medium+slim.

By the time I had gotten to this point, what was remaining was on final sale (and actually a little bit more expensive than the sale I had purchased my first batch during). I gut checked, re-examined my measurements, and went for it. I was lucky enough to get the same 3 colors + another that I couldn't previously.

I just got them and they fit me perfect, I happen to be wearing one today and am very pleased. I've already made a note for myself to revisit them again next season for other colors (they must have had a dozen or more varieties this season). I can't comment on the durability, also I'm in Florida where these will only get light duty, but if I remember next year I'll try and revisit and update.

Hope that helps someone!