Bonobos

I bought a jacket for my husband for Christmas online. It turned out to be a bit tight in the shoulders so we went to the Guideshop to see if we could figure out a better size for him. We figured out that the standard size fit perfectly but it was sold out online! The team also thought they did not have that size and color at the shop anymore either but went the extra mile to dig through boxes and actually found the perfect size/​color! We were thrilled! We love the jacket and the service. Will definitely keep coming back!

First time buyer and I was very satisfied with the options available and my purchases. The clothing and accessories are sophisticated and well crafted. The customer service in-​house is also spot-​on. It’s always a relief when a salesperson not only is outright helpful but also possesses polished knowledge regarding fit, material, style, etc. I worked with Brandon and he knocked it out of the park. I look forward to my next purchase.

Bonobos stores are just for trying on the clothes, you still have to buy them online and shipments take a week to deliver. So given this, you’d think the store experience would be awesome, but it’s so-​so. For example, I scheduled a visit but had to wait awhile before they would attend to me. I don’t want anyone to attend to me, but you need someone to get you the clothes in the size you need in order to try on. Given that you have to interact with this person, it would be nice if the person was easier to talk to. My attendant seemed asleep and like they were reading from a script.
The clothes themselves are nice quality, but they don’t live up to their supposed origin story. I was told that the founders wanted pants that fit athletic builds. If you do squats, these pants will not fit you well. Either the butt is too tight or the waist is too big. They’re focus is on slim fit pants and some of their styles come only in that fit. They are focused on stretchy materials like women’s pants.
You don’t have a mirror in the fitting rooms, so you have to awkwardly walk out into the middle of the store and try to look at your own behind.
The clothes are nice quality and well-​priced if they actually fit you.

Really poor customer service! Clothes are great, but the level of service is a joke. The folks that work here have some knowledge about men’s style, but their basic customer service and store management skills are severely lacking. I have been to get fitted twice, both times with different associates. Store associates don’t listen, give incorrect information, have one laptop to work on, no customer management system, and seem unable to recommend accompanying items.
On my first visit, I was fitted, and ordered a simple pair of pants, assured they would arrive in 2 business days. They did not come for over 10 days. Plus the measurements they took and the styles I liked were promised to be emailed to me — I never received them.
On my most recent visit to buy suits for my wedding party we were told that Bonobos had full inventory for the sizes we needed for the suit we wanted, but then (despite confirming the sizes we needed multiple times during our visit) found that those sizes were not available when we went to purchase less than twelve hours later. I called the store and they said — sorry, we must have run out — maybe buy a smaller size and see if you get it taken out. Essentially we found the perfect suit, spent an entire Saturday have everyone measured and confirmed, and now we have to start from scratch and buy all our suits elsewhere. This could all have been avoided if they had simply said they don’t carry the correct sizes instead of assuring us that not only they do carry them, but they have a full inventory. Buy from Bonobos, but don’t expect customer satisfaction here!

Bonobos has an interesting business model:
Their sales are 100% online, but they still have a handful of stores. You can’t make purchases at the stores, but you can go to try things on. Their salespeople are incredibly helpful too and will make sure you know what size to order.
Overall, this is hands down the best way to buy men’s pants. Their approach is perfect for me: make just a few kinds of pants, but make them really well and in a ton of colors.
Their core item is the men’s chino. The fit is perfect. If you go with their stretch chino ($ 10 extra), the little bit of stretch in them makes them the most comfortable nice-​looking pants I’ve ever worn. And did I mention they look great?
Other items I’ve tried here include shirts and shorts. Their button-​up shirts are decent — the fit isn’t as good or as consistent as the pants. Their shorts are awesome — made exactly the same as their regular chinos. There are technically no «stretch shorts», but their line of golf shorts is supposed to be stretchy. I haven’t tried those yet.
All in all, this place is great! A few of my favorite things:
— The fit is super consistent with the pants and shorts (shirts not as much). So once you know your size, there is zero guesswork involved with ordering from them in the future
— They are constantly coming out with fun seasonal and limited edition items… think red and green pants at Christmas time, flannel-​lined chinos for winter, or flower-​printed chinos for summer
— They offer 20% off to new customers
— They have an awesome return policy: 90 days to get your money back, or up to a year for store credit
And my only complaints:
— They have some inventory problems. Maybe this is a sign that business is really picking up for them, but they always seem to be sold out of items I want, and there isn’t a good way to predict when items will be back in stock (some are seasonal and don’t come back until the following year)
— Their default free shipping method comes from the east coast and is super slow (their expedited is very quick at least). This is frustrating when you’ve been spoiled by Amazon Prime
— Shirt sizing has been inconsistent, and I’ve found the fit just isn’t great for me (in comparison, J Crew is less expensive and their slim shirts always fit me perfectly)
Give Bonobos a try!

Wow, this is by far the best shopping experience I have ever had. The guide shop fitting followed by online ordering is a great model for me. Their styles are very modern, and the price is very reasonable for the quality of clothes you get. But the best part for me has to be the customer service! The person helping me in the guideshop has been immediately available by email ever since our appointment, and the customer service via the website has been the best online shopping customer service I’ve ever had. I cannot recommend Bonobos strongly enough, and in particular, the San Francisco guide shop.
One thing to note, although fittings are by appointment only, you can come by the guide shop any time you like to browse the clothes.

Great clothes, professional service (both in person and virtual) with friendly staff. Super-​convenient system and a super convenient location in SF.
Only negative is the price to quality. The shirts are about 20% to 50% more than they should be in my opinion. The 20% discount you receive on the first visit helps make this a fair bargain.
The system is the following:
Schedule an appointment (or just walk in) at one of their locations. Try on anything you like from their selection of clothing.
A knowledgeable Guide will walk you through the entire Bonobos line and help you find your perfect fit.
A Guide will place your order and it will be shipped directly to your home or office. No baggage necessary.
Great return policy: 90 days cash back and up to a year for store credit.

My husband had been wanting to check this place out at the recommendation of a friend. We had an appointment months ago, but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. We were in the city a couple weeks ago and hubby called to see if they could accommodate us. They told us to head over in about a half hour. It’s a small shop upstairs where they have just a representation of what they have online so you can find the size and style you want and then order it online. They were a little busy when we arrived, but we were still able to get a decent amount of help and my husband was able to try all almost everything he was looking for. There was a guy there who supposedly took notes on what my husband liked and said he would send an email to him so he could order later from home (we had to leave to make our dinner reservation). Well, no email ever arrived, so minus one-​star for failing to follow through on that promise. Luckily, I took several notes in the catalog my husband brought with us, so he was able to figure it out and order what he needed. The clothes haven’t arrived yet, so no word on how well they worked out yet. Overall, I’d say it’s a good concept, but they seriously need to follow through on their emails if the point of the place is to help you pick out what you want and get it ordered for you. Definitely set an appointment if you are planning on going here, they’re a little harried if there’s too many people there, but kudos to them for accommodating us last minute the way they did.

Great service, great clothes, and (on sale) they’re fairly well priced but they have now TWICE ordered the wrong thing. I specify one thing, and the sales rep chooses something else on the checkout menu. Truthfully, this is partially my fault because they send you an order confirmation but I guess I was too trusting of the sales rep and didn’t double check. In short, the first time they misordered something I ended up not being able to get it because it sold out by the time I realized and now I’m leaving the US so I don’t have time to exchange, so no luck there either. Learn from me and double check your order!
Tl;dr wrong pants, twice, but even the wrong pants are good pants.

Love these guys. Great concept. You don’t leave with anything in your hands but it shows up at your door in a few days!

Stopped in without an appointment and was greeted and helped my Melissa. She helped me pick a style and sizing. Great attitude and atmosphere. Very helpful and friendly. Would go back and recommend the guide shop to friends.

My first visit to the Bonobos Guide shop was amazing! I loved being able to try on the different fits and sizes to order the perfect size and not have to deal with the hassle of returns. I’ve been hooked on Bonobos ever since I received my first pair of chinos! (I may or may not have just ordered like 5 pairs of shorts cause Davis is hot) I’ve been into the Guideshop another time without an appointment and I still received relatively personalized service. I’d call and make sure you aren’t going during a time when they are double or triple booked for appointments though.
The fit and quality of the clothes are amazing. You really are paying for the fit and quality. They offer different promo codes for new customers so its definitely worth checking out. And ask for Melissa, she is amazing! She’ll help you work out outfits and suggest different shirts and pants that will look aesthetically pleasing.

I dropped in because I was in the area. Even without an appointment, the personalized service was great. You can even use them as personal stylists to an extent, which is nice if you don’t have an eye for that sort of thing.
I really like the model a lot. This is really more an extension of the online store than an actual retail store in its own right. It keeps overhead down for them while still giving consumers a chance to try things out for fit.
The clothing is great. Relative to what you pay, you get much, much more with Bonobos than you would with brand X at Nordstrom’s. That’s the benefit of cutting out the middle-​man. Alas, their pants don’t fit me (my thighs are far too thunderous), but I really wish they did.

This was my first visit to a Bonobos showroom so I wasn’t sure what I was in store for. I’ve seen the advertisements and catalogues, but never went in. I decided to check it out, and made an appointment online. I got there a little early and was advised to look around until a stylist was free.
Some things to keep in mind… You should make an appointment online. They didn’t turn people who didn’t make appointments away, but you get less personalized attention if you don’t register. My Bonobos «guide» was Faye and she was great to work with.
Most of the available shirts and sweaters to try on are in medium slim fit or small regular fit — which luckily worked for me. They have a variety of pants, chinos, knits, ties, and suiting gear. As far as I know, they don’t sell shoes. Their shirt patterns are particularly awesome. They have your standard gingham and stripe, but they also have funky floral (at least for spring) and color block pieces.
I believe this is an all-​year promo, but if you’re a first time customer, you receive 20% off your total purchase which helps because the brand itself isn’t cheap.
When you try on clothes, you have a dressing room, but the mirrors are in the common area — which was a bit strange. But I figured they did that so the stylists can see how they fit on you… and possibly to show off the display clothes to other customers. (That’s my business’s strategy guess!) I actually liked this because it created a communal feel and made shopping somewhat more enjoyable that way. Now having tried on the clothes, I went home and purchased them online with peace of mind.
Overall, I was really impressed. Great concept, Bonobos. I’ll be back!

I’m not really a fan of online shopping for clothes since you can never be sure about the feel, fit, and finish. The Bonobos Guideshop is a great way to get an idea of what the online shop promises.
While I am trying to refresh my wardrobe, I was more interested in how this new online/​in-​person shopping experience would be. I made an appointment online through Bonobos’ website. It’s as easy as it should be. The guideshop is located on the second floor of a downtown building. The guideshop is almost exactly what I had pictured. Almost everything Bononbos is well displayed in a touchable manner. There are a couple of fitting rooms in the back with flattering mirrors only on the outside of the fitting room. I would’ve liked some mirrors on the inside of the fitting room so I could check out my out ass without having a Bonobos witness.
You get to try on everything you’d like to. I tried the casuals, dress attire, and a suit with different mix and matches. My Bonobos guide-​r was helpful in suggesting different options and styles. I would say that since you’re dealing with a Bonobos representative they do try to sway you towards purchasing on the spot. I can’t fault them for that. Ordering at the guideshop is essentially the same thing as ordering online but with a Bonobos guide-​r behind your back. They said that if you order only through the guideshop you’ll get 20% off your first order. But the truth is that you’ll get 20% off your first order no matter what. I believe orders will come 1 – 2 days after online purchase.
I did like most of the pants I tried on but I wasn’t a fan of the way the suit felt and looked. Most of the shirts didn’t feel worth the price. Although I found the Bonobos Guideshop experience to be good, I didn’t entirely fall in love with the clothes once I tried it on. I’d love to see more details in the clothing and a less standardized look. It’s all subjective. It’s not entirely my style. More flavor? I’m not sure how Bonobos is that different from Gap or H&M or other retail online shops. I could easily go to the many other specialized boutique stores in SF and try on equally priced clothing. But that’s why I try on clothes in-​person, instead of purchasing online.
Even though I didn’t buy anything that day, my Bonobo guide-​r did email me everything I liked along with the fitting sizes. We created a Bonobos account and added the clothes to my shopping cart, however when I logged back into my account the next day I found that the clothes were not saved. This was a bummer since I probably would have easily bought some of the pants on impulse.
Some things that would help with the Bonobos Guideshop.
1) Use tablets or custom designed workstations instead of MacBooks to give it a less «in your living room» experience.
2) Have a guidebook at the guideshop to show all the color swatches. Maybe a takeaway so I don’t have to look at your website. Maybe have already built wardrobes ready to go so I can pick and choose from the start, rather than build from scratch?
3) Give more incentive to buy directly from the guideshop rather than online.
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If you’re on the fence about Bonobos there’s no reason not to try the Guideshop. I’m still not 100% sold on buying clothes online but this is a good start.

Amazing, attentive customer service.
Important: this is a guideshop. Bonobos sells everything online. Imagine the website came to life in a real-​live store with awesome stylists to help you pick out the right items. You buy everything through the website, but you get to try on all the fits and see the colors.
I’d been eyeing Bonobos for a while; seen them online and in Nordstrom. They’re simple, classy, and trendy, so that definitely appealed to me. Finally saw an awesome sale online with pants starting at $ 38. But how can I tell the difference between light blue and faded blue? I went into the guideshop on Grant St. to try out the different cuts and see which colors I liked.
Elizabeth was uh-​mazing! At no point did I feel any pressure to buy things I didn’t want. I told her I was only interested in sale items, and that was fine with her. I guess that’s the benefit of exclusively online transactions. We tried on the straight versus slim cuts, then washed chino vs. Oxley, then all the different colors. How awesome is it to have a dedicated stylist for a whole hour?

I’m a huge fan of Bonobos clothing and was looking forward to using their new Guideshop. I arrived for my appointment on time and was barely acknowledged by anyone. The women working here seemed very disorganized. The selection was sparse and no one was available to answer questions or find sizes and styles. It was not until after I’d already tried on my items that I was approached by someone asking if I needed anything. She tried to apologize for her poor service but by then I was ready to leave.
Don’t waste your time here. Instead — just buy everything you’d like to try via normal website and return the items that didn’t work.

I am a Bonobos Brand Ambassador. Not a paid one. Don’t even work for them (not yet… Bonobos — hint hint).
Yet, everywhere I go I tell people about just how awesome I think they are. Pants, shirts, you name it. I have battled with ill-​fitting pants my entire life — nothing ever looked right.
My first pair of Bonobos was a wardrobe revolution!
One visit to their NY Guideshop (and headquarters) last summer and my closet began to look like a full page spread for them. (NOTE: how I missed writing a review on the NY guideshop I do not know — be looking for that review shortly).
The online shopping concept that Andy Dunn has been preaching is great, but I also respect the fact that they have changed course a bit and started opening guideshops.
I truly believe guideshops are the key to the future of fashion retail. Walk in — try it on, place an order online, and like magic your clothes arrive the next day. It’s brilliant.
Ok — so enough preaching. The SF shop is small, but off to a great start. I’ve been in twice in the past week: once for a last minute «need a shirt and slacks for b-​school interview pronto!» and another time because I realized I just need some new jeans.
The staff has been incredibly friendly, very helpful (even when trying to work an appt that showed up) and informative.
Definitely stop by, try on some pants, a few shirts, and prepare yourself for the assault on those less than perfect pants you’ve been wearing every day.

Heather was very helpful in picking out the sizes. They allow you to try on their clothes before buying it online which is awesome if you are on the edge of buying their pants but unsure of the fit. At the end of the appointment, you can add items to your cart and they send it to you like regular online checkout (free 2 day shipping with $ 100+ spent), and they also send you all the size you would buy if you needed to reference it again when shopping with them online.
Their pants fit amazingly well and they look very flattering. In addition, their pants are very comfortable fabric-​wise. Their clothes have better measurements (more tailored fit) compared to regular department store clothes such as Macys.
Highly recommended for their clothes but at the end of the day, I did feel a bit pressured to buy more than I wanted/​originally intended.
Look good, feel good.

I absolutely LOVE Bonobos. I have been stalking them online for a while and finally bought some pants. I love shopping online but wanted to try the pants on and did so at their SF guideshop. Giovanna was very helpful and friendly. She was incredibly helpful as I looked at pants, suits, coats etc. I liked the ability to have a 1 on 1 session with someone helping me pick out clothes. I happened to have my girlfriend with me but if you are a single guy this is like having a girlfriend with good taste in clothes helping you out. My problem in the past had always been that pants were either too tight or too baggy. My solution was Hugo Boss clothes or Banana Republic slim fit but even Banana had shirts that were a bit too long or just a bit too baggy. I recently purchased $ 200 jeans at Nordstrom and I found that I liked my $ 80 Bonobos jeans much more and they fit way better. I have found that as Americans have gained more weight the sizing of pants followed so the fit of pants and shirts was not ideal for me at 5’10″ and 180 lbs. I consider myself athletic and wanted clothes that were not super tight but fit my form well. If you are a 32×32 for pants you should be in luck as they may have your size as the samples in the store. Bonobos nails this fit concept. I love their jeans and chinos and I am currently drooling over the purchase of a Gramercy top coat and their Navy trench coat. Price-​wise the jeans are moderately priced. I consider cheap jeans to be $ 30-​$ 60, middle priced $ 60-​$ 120 and high end at $ 120+. Bonobos jeans are around $ 98 and they usually have sales so it’s a great price point for me and the fit is AWESOME.