Business Opportunities Weblog

November 11, 2009 by Rich Whittle | 3 Comments

Brian Spaly’s quest for the perfect pair of pants led him and former roommate Andy Dunn to start a Web-only clothing company that wants to sell men’s trousers that fit — without the need for fitting rooms writes The Associated Press.

Mass-market pants, the kind you find at chain stores, are often baggy and frumpy, with lots of extra fabric around the thigh, Spaly says. High-end designer pants, meanwhile, are expensive and too tight.

Bonobos aims for the comfy middle ground. Its pants, most of which cost $118, have a curved waistband, less fabric in the thighs than the frumpy pants its founders frown on, and a slight boot cut. They come in classic men’s colors, but also in orange, pale lavender and jungle green with bright flowers.

The company is so confident in its designs it accepts pants for return, free of postage for the buyer, no matter when they were bought and even if they’ve been washed, worn and hemmed.

Bonobos pants were born when Spaly used his girlfriend’s sewing machine to rip apart and hem his store-bought pants. As a business student at Stanford University in 2005, he focused on pants even as his classmates turned their eye toward technology. He was soon selling the pants to classmates.

Photo by Bonobos.

In Ecommerce, Fashion, Niche, Start Up | 3 Comments