bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

What We're Listening to at Bunnyshop HQ: Regina Spektor's Laughing With

We really want to say "We love this video!" We think we might only love parts of it. Like 65% of it. However, we love like 96% of the actual song.

Sale Item of the Day

It's 15% off of sale items at Urban Outfitters' online sale—but it's all over at midnight tonight, so move now for the skinny jeans and other hipster-y things. Our pick if you click on the sale item of the day.

DDF @ Gilt!

We've posted a bunch of times about how much we love DDF products - we love them even more when they're not so expensive (though they are worth every penny they normally cost). Gilt has a DDF sample sale starting today at noon. We don't know what they'll offer, or at what prices - but when a very similar site ran the same sale a couple of weeks ago, we picked up the Brightening Cleanser (which we know and love) and Daily Matte Moisturizer (new to us, but fingers are crossed), plus shipping, for $35.

If you need an invite to Gilt, shoot us an email before 11:30am EST!

-LB

Cheap Thrills

So, we've done reasonably well with our self-imposed summer challenge of not spending money. We have had to revamp the rules a little bit. We tend to be a pretty extreme person - not, like, BMX riding and whatnot (we fear falling down) - but we are fairly black and white. When we went vegetarian, we didn't mess around - we went vegan full stop (it doesn't sound like much now, but 18 years ago, in a small town in NJ, it wasn't that easy or, well, acceptable). When we quit smoking, we didn't try the patch, or gum, or hypnosis. We. Just. Stopped.

Unfortunately, we can't just stop spending money. We have to buy food and things like toilet paper and dog food - this screws up our extremism and we've found that we find that we will end up thinking about buying something completely, totally unnecessary just because we want it, talking ourselves out of it, and then forgetting to buy the toilet paper. We should note that we absolutely, a million percent realize that we are very, very, very fortunate to be in a position that we can make the decision to buy or not buy something. This is definitely not a lament about society and how hard it is to stop shopping - it's more about how ingrained it is in our brain and how we try to wrestle with that.

A wise friend once told us, for every X you buy ( X = shirt, bra, handbag, shoes, etc) throw out or donate at least one that you have. We've decided to bend our no-shopping rules just a little bit, and we're adding this in there. For every new bag we bring home (these are definitely our completely unnecessary weakness - we saw a Foley + Corinna tote for about 75% off and we bought it - and then found one for 90% off and bought that, too), we'll either sell one we have, donate it, give it away - or if it's wrecked, toss it out. Our no-shopping rule now has a caveat; there are several things that we will always buy, if we're able to. It's not that they're necessities - honestly, nothing we write about here IS - but they are things that we can justify without TOO much effort.

We love lipstick - this is no surprise. But sometimes, honestly, it's just too much effort. We don't like light colors, and the precision required in putting on red lipstick is just not something we always have. We really, really like this gloss from Sephora - we got it in Red Velvet. It's lightweight, easy to apply, not super sticky - and it's not super heavy, which is kind of awesome for the summer. Best part? At $10, it's a really nice treat without being regrettable-purchase expensive.

Sephora Brilliant Shine Lipgloss, $10

We feel a bit creepy putting up a picture of a model in a bra - but this bra is honestly the best one we've ever found. Since it's on sale online and in stores (which is the #1 reason we tried it in the first place), we're nervous that it's going to be discontinued. We generally like GapBody products, and this bra is comfortable, it fits well, and it doesn't budge/stab you/suffocate you/slide like other ones we've had.

Gap T-Shirt Zero Visibility Low Cut Bra, $14.99

And, finally, mascara. We can get by, quite happily, with just lipstick or gloss and mascara. Actually, we never wear anything else. We have a ton of mascaras - from the cheapies, like Great Lash, to the not-so cheap, like Fiberwig and Diorshow. While we appreciate the expensive ones, the cheap ones are usually just as good, and we replace them when we should rather than when we run out. Great Lash has always done right by us, and we'll always love it. And for $5, someone who hasn't used it can try it. We prefer blackest black, but we've heard good things about all the colors offered.

It looks like Drugstore.com has a buy one, get one offer - but the wording is kind of unclear.

Maybelline Great Lash, $4.49

-LB

Holy Bloomingdale's

We're not really a huge fan of Bloomingdale's; they're like the quiet girl in your French class you say hi to in the hallways. Nothing against, not much for, no reason to really think much about them unless you see them. We were looking for online coupons today (research for work, we swear) and we saw 40% off $500 or more at Bloomingdale's. We didn't think it was real - that's a hell of a discount, even in troubled times - but it is. There's a long list of exclusions, but we could definitely find something we wanted if we tried hard enough. The sale appears to be all over the site - no promo code necessary. Only lasts through 06/18, though!

Foley and Corinna Jet Setter, JR tote - was $528, now $317

-LB

Stars and Infinite Darkness Still Rules

Well, we can say that we did reasonably well during our first week of our self-imposed challenge. We did cave a little - we got a pair of $5 sunglasses and a new case for our phone. We also spent more on food that we normally do, but we finished the week feeling slightly victorious. Slightly is the operative word, but hey, this week is another week!

Even though we're not actively shopping, we're still actively looking (our list of wants will probably never die) - we're just looking a bit more idly than before. We find that we're more and more drawn to sites that we've loved in the past, and Stars and Infinite Darkness is one of our old favorites. We mentioned the site to a friend of ours, and we think he thought we were telling him about some weird goth kid site. We struggled with how to describe it - the best we could come up with was a very edited Etsy. Unfortunately for us, our friend did not know what Etsy is, so we kind of fumbled through an explanation (our next reply was, 'it's like finding the best craft fair/flea market in Brooklyn', which he didn't get, either). We finally just sent him a link and called it a day.

We've bought things from S.A.I.D before, and we've always been really happy with everything we've gotten. And while we have a deep, deep love for Etsy, we have to say - there's something to be said for not having to sort through tissue-box cozies and steampunk jewelry.

We're really, really into this dress from ES_one of one. While we definitely would not wear it with leggings, silver flats, and sunglasses indoors (seriously?), we'd pair it with either bright tights and neutral heels, or black tights and black high, high heels. We fear slightly that people might think we have it on backwards (after all, it is called the Reverse Collar Dress), but we love the look. This is something we're definitely coming back to, after Labor Day.

Reverse Collar Dress, $99

We often have a hard time finding casual shirts that we like. We waffle between vintage/pseudovintage tees (we realize we're a grown-up and probably should know better), plain v-necks from American Apparel (we do not have the accessories to support this, unfortunately), and the same 5 polo shirts and tank tops we always wear. This shirt, from Protoculture, is a good in-between. We're assuming the shirt is American Apparel, we love the lily, love the color palette. We could definitely wear this with dark jeans and flats to work, or well, dark jeans and flats on the weekends. It's enough of a print to be interesting without being super young or flashy. At $34, we would definitely get our money's worth from this shirt.

Nouveau Eggplant Lily tee, $34

One of our favorite things to shop S.A.I.D for is jewelry! This is where the editing vs. Etsy is so, so, so key. Instead of thousands of pages of jewelry, there are just a few, very carefully chosen pages. We love this necklace from Hawkwind; it's funny, it's pretty, and who doesn't need a swooping hawk flying around their neck? Despite our genuine hatred for birds, we love this necklace. We may need to call in an owed gift for this one.

Hawkwind Necklace, $24

-LB

Our Self Imposed Summer Challenge

As we've alluded to recently, we're under a rather enormous amount of pressure at work. Our only saving graces/support/friends have left - within a week of each other, no less - leaving us in a pretty precarious situation. We are now doing the work of three people, and we can hang - really, we can. But we believe we're starting to crack a little bit. Some people drink under pressure, some people eat  - we, well. We shop. And not in a gross housewives of a city/state way - but it's almost as if our rationalization/justification skills increase tenfold with every bit of extra work we get.

This is how we found ourselves spending far, far, far too much on gifts for the aforementioned leaving friends from a store with a copyrighted turquoise box. It's also how we found ourselves spending $70 on underwear at the Gap. Honestly.

We realized we might have a problem as we tried and tried to justify a $12 pair of jeans (they were a weird color, unflattering fit [but they fit], and they would've needed to be hemmed). We didn't get the jeans, but we walked out thinking, really? We need a better coping mechanism.

So, we are putting ourselves up to the test. We've spent our last disposable dollar. From here on out (well, until the end of the summer), we. Are. Not. Shopping. Our heart actually just palpitated at that sentence. There are exceptions, of course. We will still:

1. Buy coffee on our way to work (we cannot make it, we've tried.)
2. Spend money on food (we can't cook, and cooking for one is more expensive than takeout)
3. Continue to buy necessities, like allergy medicine and Diet Coke
4. Only buy clothes for a life-changing event (wedding, funeral, job interview)

When will we buy things? We've figured two scenarios; if we sell anything on eBay, we're allowing ourselves to use that as spending money. The second scenario is a planned excursion with Dear Friend - we've had it in the works for months, and we tend to shop when together. We're hoping by the time that rolls around that we're like a newly-found organic eater who's disgusted at anything with corn syrup in it, and not like sugar addict in a candy store.

We bought some last minute things to get ourselves through this challenge (see, with the justifications?) - here are our presumed last purchases until Labor Day at the earliest. Don't worry - we'll still continue to talk about all the things we want, the deals we find, the designers we covet. We just won't be buying them.

Our last minute purchases were definitely last minute, perhaps a bit desperate - but we think we'll love them nonetheless.

We've been looking for a hat for a little while. We don't love to wear baseball caps - with the short hair, we've been assumed for a boy more than we'd like to admit. A sunhat seems a little too pretentious for all the time, and the only thing we don't like about straw hats that we've seen is that they get destroyed REALLY easily. This hat from Fred Flare might be the solution to our problems - it's cheap, it's crushable, and we will not look like a boy.

We can't wait to see what it looks like on. Oh! Best part - Lucky magazine partnered with them this month, so you can use a promo code of luckybreaks7 and take like 35% off.

Cafe Habana fedora, was $24, with promo, $16

We try not to post about underwear too much - after all, it's a necessity, but it's a pretty private thing. We hit a good sale at the Gap, and a bunch of bras were marked down to around $23. We're happy with what we've got - and hey, a bra and a hat, we're in good shape.

Lightly Lined T-shirt bra, $25

These jeans are $13. We've been wearing them almost every day for a year, and we finally bought a backup pair. We cannot recommend them enough.

Forever21 Jeans, $12.50

And with that, we're ready for summer and ready for our challenge.

Wish us luck!

-LB

A Few Of Our Favorite Things

We think that most people have a continually rolling list in their minds of things they'd like to buy, given the opportunity/disposable income/proper discount. We certainly do - it didn't even occur to us that this might not be normal until talking with an acquaintance who looked at us and said they've never heard of such behavior, and perhaps we might want to talk to someone about being a bit too compulsive. Pshaw, we say! It's not like we're out spending our last dime on something unnecessary. We just firmly believe in the hunt of desirable things! We often end up buying them, and returning them with a guilty financial conscience.

While we have a list of standard things we want, here are some of our newer favorites that we really, truly, wouldn't mind having.

We've always wanted a plaid bikini - we had one when we were young, and we loved every second of it. This madras suit by A.P.C looks a bit weird flat - we admit. The ruffling at the edges seems a bit odd, but we're willing to bet it flattens out when you put it on. We love the color, we love that the bottoms are not insanely revealing (we're not prudes, we just feel like a pudding in anything too bare), and the price is so low that we had to read the description several times to make sure it's not a misprint or a child's suit.

Doesn't appear to be!

A.P.C Madras Bikini, $60

Ok, we admit - we just came across this dress while searching for something on our regular list, but we really like it. We love the idea of strapless dresses in the summer - we just never wear them because we either look/feel like a sausage, the top doesn't stay up, or the midsection has absolutely zero detailing so it just sort of screams, look! flattened and squished and lumpy, oh my!

We think this dress might avoid at least two of those three issues. The top looks like it's cut NOT to dig into you, and the rusching at the center keeps the eye moving, at least a little. This is the kind of dress we would wear everywhere all summer long. We do wish it came in more colors than, oh, navy (way to be adventurous), but we'll take what we can get.

Shopbop Basic Short Tube Dress, $86

We've had a bag from Valhalla Brookln on our covet list for a pretty long time. We've never actually seen or touched one in person, but we imagine them to be the kind of bag that takes your breath away when you actually touch it. We've been needing a new black bag, and we've found they're some of the hardest to find. Sure, there are black handbags everywhere - but black is so boring that it needs some life added to it. Sometimes, that life comes in the form of bad rhinestones and gold plating. Or, perhaps, funny things added to the zipper pulls. This bag has just enough life and detailing to keep it from being basic, but the highlights add to it, rather than make you look like you're insane.

Larch bag, $255

We'd love to know what everyone else is looking for - tell us what you've got on your list! Or, if you don't have a list and you think we're nuts!

-LB

Reader Mail! The AA Question, and Not the Kind with 12 Steps

Ok, we know we've been sporadic at best with our posting lately. It's like we're in the last weeks of high school, post finals and college acceptance letters. However, it's not that we don't care; it's quite the contrary. Your regularly scheduled writer is toiling away on our redesign, and we, well. We have a job that is rather demanding, and our 2-man team recently just dropped to 1. We are busy beyond all belief, and when we're not being paid to look at a computer, we generally refuse to.

We are doing the best we can, and we thank you for sticking with us. We will, however, always continue to take reader mail; let's face it. Readers get answers, we get off the hook in trying to think of what to talk about. Totally win-win.

Today's question!

   

Dear Little Bunny,
     I have a $35 credit to American Apparel, and I don't know what to get. I looked; most of it seems pretty         plain or basic. I know you talk about them a lot - what would you recommend?
    Thanks!
   
Now, we have made our love for the Leisure Dress very, very apparent. We won't mention it again at the risk of boring our regular readers (but we will note that we have 4, and wear them throughout the summer and winter). At $34, it fits the bill.

We've also talked about our love for the Deep V Neck shirts, but none of that is really exciting, or new. We're very intrigued by some of the recent arrivals, though - and we're going to hit up our local store to try them on. If someone gave us $35, here's what we would buy.

We almost can't quite believe how cute the Organic Baby Rib Cross-Back Sundress is. We know the cream scarf-belt is what's really lovely, but even without it, the dress has a great line to it. We think the top is perfect for the season, the skirt is full (or at least looks that way), and we genuinely like the color. Add some sandals, and you're all set.

OBRCB Sundress, $39 (ok, not quite $35 but it's like $35 and a latte)

Now, we post this with some hesitation. We've tried this bathing suit on, and we learned very quickly that anything but black was see through, and that if you're long-torsoed or tall SIZE UP. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, SIZE UP. We know several people who swear by this suit, Penthouse mention or no. We'll try it again; bathing suits are expensive. The only others we've seen in this price range are at Old Navy, and we can't handle any more stars and stripes bikinis.

Triangle Top One Piece, $38

We have no idea where we would wear this romper, but we know we'd want to wear it everywhere. We love the material, we love the color, we love the seemingly easy fit without being sloppy.

Tri Blend Romper, $28

-LB

Scrub Week, Day 2

Sorry we missed you yesterday - sadly, our day job can become extraordinarily busy and distract us. It's a shame when we realize 14 of the last 24 hours were spent at work, or commuting to and from. Anyway! Day Two!

Beauty product: Ocean Salt Cleanser

What Sephora Lush says it does: "Generous portions of fine and coarse sea salt line the rim of an enriching facial scrub to wash away everyday grime. Ocean Salt refreshes, nourishes, and tones, all while smelling deliciously of violet and lime. Butters of the avocado and coconut variety take the edge off, moisturizing and softening your face to reveal a brighter you. Try it on other parts of your body as well and take a trip to Margaritaville without the hangover."

What we think: This is one of our favorite scrubs out there, it's true. It's like it's made for our skin - but that being said, it may hit other people the wrong way. It's probably not for sensitive skin - the grains of salt are not what we'd call fine, exactly. It's not like scraping your face with sandpaper, but it's not unlike that, either. We're not sure we get the violet and lime smell - to us, it just smells like a bar, and heaven forbid you get it in your eye/nose/mouth/sensitive areas. Holy hell, does it burn! We've used it as a daily cleanser, and we've used it as a once in a while treat, and we're always happy with it. It leaves us feeling clean without feeling dried out, and we definitely don't feel the slime we mentioned with the Kiehl's scrub we tried. We have to say, we do adore the bright blue color (but be warned, don't taste it. It's not good). Our only complaint (other than the taste, which isn't an ACTUAL complaint because who eats face wash?) is that it's expensive.  Maybe we just use too much, but we go through a small tub fairly quickly.

Stars(!): * * * *. It does what it claims to do, it doesn't dry us out or leave us slimy, and we love it. Left off a star for cost, and because it may not be right for all skin types out there (though it should be noted that Lush has an excellent return policy - if you try it, it doesn't work, you can bring it back for a refund or credit)

Lush Ocean Salt, $18.55/4.2oz

-LB