Will Bonobos' Alternative-Retail Concept Catch On in Georgetown?

Known for their soft pants and self-described ninja-like focus on customer service, menswear e-tailer Bonobos is bringing a retail experience of sorts to Georgetown.

As Patch.com's Shaun Courtney reported, starting today, the company will open the doors to a guide shop at 3320 Cady’s Alley to give potential customers a chance to see and try on their clothes for themselves.

Tucked away behind M Street, across from Kafe Leopold, Bonobos' guide shop is not a typical retail experience. Customers make an appointment through the company’s website or over the phone prior to visiting. Once there, a Bonobos guide will provide a tour of the company’s product line.

While the shop includes a representative range of pants, suits, shirts, bags, ties, shoes and other menswear staples to see, touch and try on, it does not contain retail stock. Once you find something you like, Bonobos can place an order for you at the store and have the item of choice shipped for free. The concept is more showroom than retail store.

CEO and founder Andy Dunn explained at the guide shop’s opening soiree that, “what we realized is that people still want to touch and feel clothes.” Starting today, residents and visitors to Georgetown will have their chance.

The question is, will men take to a retail alternative that requires some explanation?

Dunn told me the reception has been overwhelmingly positive in the six cities where they have chosen to open shops -- from Boston to Chicago to San Francisco -- and said that he sensed "an outsized enthusiasm for the brand" in Washington.

Having met with guides twice now -- in the company's holiday pop-up shop on Bethesda Row and last week in Georgetown -- it is clear that Bonobos offers an intimate and enjoyable, if somewhat unusual, experience.

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For a photo tour inside the DC showroom, see Modern Fellows’ preview of Bonobos’ Georgetown Guide Shop.

Photos courtesy of Bonobos.