bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

We Just Saw Someone Wearing This On The Street With A Blazer and Belt

And it looked awesome. Baffling. But we want! AA romper, $28

American Apparel Wins Our Microfinancing Campaign Contest!

As the product of immigrant(s, depending on how far you want to go back), we are very tuned in to this issue. (Er, especially when American Apparel is blogging about it.) Our American heart breaks a bit when we see countries of other nations waved at pro-immigration rallies in San Francisco, but—er, not so much "but" as a semi-colon—were moved by this:

"Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience."

We love that photo so much we had to post it four times. (It is also quite small.)

This is also our way of saying that American Apparel won the giant microfinancing campaign contest! As soon as the money clears through the system (PayPal users, you'll know what we mean here), we'll be back to announce the recipient of our micro-ly financed loan—made on behalf of the Bunnyshop community. Hurrah to every single person who clicked.

Previously:
Our Amazing Microfinancing Success!
The Bunnyshop Microfinancing Campaign, Continued

American Apparel Discount Code!

Okay, so obviously we couldn't pass this up: courtesy of B.:

American Apparel Coupon Code:
TEENVOGUE08
Discount: 15% off expires March 31, 2008

Hurrah! We don't know why we're always so suspicious of discount codes, but we just tried this one (suspiciously), and it worked! Double hurrah! For some reason, every time we go away, we end up spending about $80 on things at American Apparel we can "wear on the plane." We are sure we are going to do this before we go to Miami this weekend. We are hoping we plan just the tiniest bit in advance to take advantage of this lovely discount code. In any case, here's what we'd buy.

We have been very happy with our AA pantyhose, and now it's 15% off. Opaque pantyhose, $14

Last night we dreamt we were on a roller derby team, and we were wearing shorts quite like this. Satin charmeuse roller shorts, $22

And this was our roller derby top. Satin charmeuse night jacket, $45

We love this dress even though it's not particularly flattering. Tri-blend pocket dress, $36

And we really just want a normal, stretchy tank top. This will do nicely. Cotton-Spandex camisole, $16

We Want to Know, Part 2

So, we know we've been talking a lot about this birthday we have coming up. We are going to start the celebration this weekend in our favorite city with a brunch with Dear Friend and then a shopping extravaganza with Close One. We, sigh, are not comfortable in many of our jeans anymore (we're working on fixing that), so we've been relying heavily on jeans from Forever 21 and leggings. We save the jeans for the work week because we can't wear leggings to our office (we can already hear the 'why is she wearing stretch pants' comments), so when the weekend comes, we live in leggings.

However. Our Saturday will be spent walking outside. The leggings we normally wear are not quite thick enough for this (neither are the jeans we have, really). So! We want to know. Does anyone have the Winter Leggings from American Apparel? Are they actually warm? Or should we save our $40? We have to admit, we are completely entranced by the idea of leggings that are warm enough to not feel like we are half naked.

As always, we thank our readers for offering up advice we wouldn't get anywhere else!

Winter Leggings, $38

-LB

Sale Items of the Day: Tank Tops and Rompers

American Apparel on sale! We were thinking the other day about how we have moral qualms about both Abercrombie and AA, but how Abercrombie have always seemed to us like a bunch of racist twats, while the AA thing just very pervy and dirty, but how apparently we can live with the latter and not the former. These are online-only prices, by the way.

Anyway: tank tops on sale! Stock up, we're thinking. We can never have too many tank tops. Tank top (unisex, so order a size down), was $15, now $10

And this, for the record, is the sort of outfit our stylist last year suggested wearing to a company picnic. We miss her so. Velour romper, was $38, now $19

Dilemmas, Dilemmas: Abercrombie or AA?

We are still obsessed with our new search box. Today we asked ourselves the question, after asking ourselves
where we had put the waffles and why our apartment is still such a mess: With which brand do we have more serious moral aggravations: American Apparel or Abercrombie & Fitch? They're both peddling sex (and we finally got to write "peddling sex"! Is a classic cliche we now embrace). It's only, like, AA is peddling it to art school students, and A&F is peddling it to Spring Breakers. Given our academic allegiances, we need to go with the former, but queasily. What we really want is a clothing brand that doesn't advertise at all, like that No-Ad sunscreen. All we know is we saw a yogurt ad on TV yesterday that featured not one but two models in bikinis, and it's like: Can we not immediately move somewhere there is neither TV, nor models? We will, however, keep the yogurt.

Today's searches!

American Apparel
Abercrombie & Fitch

By the way, can we just say we love this AA ad, because everyone in it seems at least almost-fully dressed? Talk about shocking. What we really think we might just go buy right now are those mustard tights, $14

One More American Apparel Related Item

We just saw this on Agency Spy, which is about to become our favorite blog for all things advertising-y. The graffiti reads: "Gee, I wonder why women get raped."

We're sufficiently convinced that we're not linking to any of their stuff today, even if we are still, very conflictedly, really enjoying our new t-shirt. Argh.

AA: The Final Inquiry

So we were wondering, and in follow up to this question from last week's American Apparel mini-travaganza:

Am I the only person who refuses to shop at AA because of the creepy/pervy owner guy and its vaguely pornographic adverts?

Now we must say: A few weeks ago we were driving down to Austin with our friend K., who wanted to get a yogurt for breakfast. (Apparently our Snickers \ Pringles \ Twizzlers combo wasn't good enough for her. Can we add: We have never eaten a Twizzler without regretting it about ten minutes later. And those ten minutes are not good enough to warrant the outrage our stomach always registers.) We drove forever, through nowhere, when we found a Walmart. 'Hurrah!' we said. It's not like we're some big Walmart fans. We're not. We believe in unions, even when they mean we are being deprived of our poor, precious Prison Break. (Come back to us, Michael Scofield. Come back!) K. was all, 'Are you fucking kidding?' Luckily there was a Kroger's across the street. This is just to say that we, too often, fail to match our apparently insufficiently held political views with our consumer decisions. In this case: We are so aggravated by these American Apparel ads. But we shop there more often than we shop almost anywhere else. Erg. In fact, this shirt was our only clothing purchase for all of November, thus far, and we're totally into it:

Above: lightweight sheer rib raglan pullover, $32

So we ask: Who's boycotting AA? Even if it's not an either-or, perviness must win out over sweat-shop-using, surely (as A. pointed out in the comments last week?

And we close with this lovely picture of a dog, bizarrely from the American Apparel gallery. We have no idea why it's there. But we love it.

American Apparel Day: Part II

Because American Apparel is known for their, shall we say, eccentric things - we bring to you our favorite picks of things we would never, ever wear. We often wonder who WOULD wear? But here are the safest-for-work, most outlandish things we can find!

When would one EVER need to wear fluorescent tights, let alone with two different colors? Who? Perhaps a - you know, we can't even think of how to finish that sentence.

But, if you're into them, you get them for $16.

Opaque Two Color Tights, $16

>

Obviously, when we go to the gym, we wear lame shorts. Doesn't everyone? Could you imagine getting sweaty in these?

Lame Workout Shorts, $28

Ok. Let us make two things know. One - we actually like this top. Two - it was one of the only safe for public viewing/non lame things we could find that frightened us. There is either shocking or awesome. There is no middle ground with American Apparel. The thing is, though. They call this a dress. We would wear this with pants - and only with pants. Perhaps leggings. But without anything? Honestly, we couldn't even imagine.

With pants, alright. Without, yikes.

Fine Jersey T-Shirt Dress, $26

-LB

American Apparel Day: Part I

Ugh there are few things that irritate us more than when our computer eats something we've done.  So we bring to you, slightly late, our declaration that today is American Apparel Day! We were shopping last night, and we were looking for something bright blue. We've decided this is our favorite color right now, and we have three articles of bright blue clothing:

A zip up hoodie our mom bought us in the grocery store that has holes in it
A t-shirt with camping, glow-in-the-dark bears on it that we wore with our sister on Mother's Day
A scoopneck shirt that is the prettiest color but horribly unflattering

We realized that when we want something solid in color, relatively fashionable, American Apparel is the way to go. They have a bunch of new styles, so here are our favorites!

We really like the Jersey Double Breasted Cardigan. It looks almost like a sweatshirt, but nice enough to wear to work. Not bad for $39.50, right?

This vest could be awesome or awful - it would depend on the fit. But again, it looks super comfortable, it'd dress up a polo shirt for work, and we are kind of feeling the Mod thing, just a little.

Baby Rib Vest, $24

Ugh, we totally just realized that model is not wearing a shirt. Gross. Anyway, we completely love these scarves, we have two. And they now come in three-packs which means: save money, and no decision making. Pretty perfect, in our book.

Jersey 3 Pack of Scarves, $36

-LB

Bunnyshop Hearts: AA Vintage Eyewear

In today's Bunnyshop Hearts:

Dear BS:

I know you think American Apparel is totally pervy, and it is, but aren't these eyeglasses cool? I love them.

XO,
G.

WE do, in fact, think AA is totally pervy. We do, however, wear much of their clothing, so so much for putting our money where are morals are. (This was amply demonstrated last week, when we tried to make our friend K. shop at Walmart, where she steadfastly refused to do.) Anyway: We like these alright. But just alright. We sort of prefer their vintage sunglasses collection. They are a bit hipster-ish to us. Here is another, more hipster-ish view:

She looks quite happy, but we don't quite trust them. Above: AA's unisex Vue eyeglasses, $50

We are pro-unisex frames, though. When we get our glasses replaced, after seven years of abusing our old pair, we are getting these, which are amazingly Daniel Liebeskind-esque, and we could not be more excited about them. Miracle of miracles, they were also one of the cheapest frames the store carries. Specsavers plastic frames, about $80

Comfort Is Key

We are sitting here, waiting to leave for our first of two eye surgeries this week. We are nervous, as we always are before important things like this. We have made our loved ones promise that they will not leave us if we end up more visually impaired than we are now (they have)promised, we are hungry and thirsty as we've not been able to eat or drink, and we are tired because we had dreams last night of missing our appointment.

We are dressed, and ready to go. Getting dressed was more of a challenge than we thought it would be. When the nurse called us yesterday, she asked that we wear something 'short sleeved, button down and loose fitting'. We laughed nervously and told her we actually didn't have anything that fit all three criteria. We think she thought we were joking.  We were not. We've just discovered button down shirts, and loose fitting? Really?  Instead, we are wearing a baggy, baggy tank top (so it can be pulled down rather than over our head), a short-sleeve zip up sweatshirt, jeans, and flip flops.

It's very, very close to to what we wear when we need comfort - the only difference is that we'd normally be wearing our lovely, worn American Apparel hoodie. Which leads us to - what do YOU wear for comfort? Not necessarily when you need to be comfortable, but - your clothing version of chicken soup.

-LB

Things We Would Actually Wear from American Apparel

So we know we just spent time complaining about how we always feel larger, geekier, and a little dumber every time we go into American Apparel. But that's not to say there aren't items that we absolutely love. We have this one pair of sweat pants that we have in three colors, and we wear them pretty much all the time between September and March. We have yoga pants that we have actually worn out and about. We have running shorts that we have actually (!!) gone running in. Simply put, there are plenty of AA products that we really, really like.

Like this Baby Thermal 3/4 Sleeve Scoopneck. We have this (in Melange Olive), and we quite like it. However, we wear ours with pants and a bra. Maybe that's not the intended use. Either way. It's cute, we love it. It doesn't keep us warm, but it looks cute. And it's on sale!

Baby Thermal 3/4 Sleeve Scoopneck, was $26, now $12

We don't love the blue on blue here, but it is the least sexualized photo we could find of these shorts. The others made us uncomfortable. Anyway. We own these, we love them, we wear them far more than we should. Now that we have decided to run on a regular basis, we're going to get a few more pairs. Is it pairs or pair? We don't know. We will get MORE.

Interlock Running Shorts, $22

We have these sweatpants in three colors, and we have worn them out of the house. We don't know how else to convey how awesome we think they are.

California Fleece Pants, $32

Finally, our favorite shirt. We have considered buying multiples of this shirt just in case we lose the one we have. It's a poly/cotton blend, which is our favorite, because it holds its shape and the gray is seriously the best gray in the entire world. We have one friend who is always like, 'I got the same shirt at Urban, it's totally the same thing and whatever, it's totally the same, it is.' And, like, we know it is not. Because we own other shirts that are similar and they are not nearly the SAME. This is also the same friend who will only buy designer/trendy underwear (not like Calvin Klein 3packs, like the American Apparel briefs and Diesel something or others), and who will match his underwear to his SHIRT. Which will then often match his shoes.  So, no matter how much we love him (which is a lot) we don't always believe him. Oh, and apparently this shirt was in French Vogue. Odd.

Tri Blend Short Sleeve Women's Track Shirt, $18

Cotton Spandex Jersey Placket Leggings (at top), $28

-LIL BUNNY

New From American Apparel

We admit, we like American Apparel. Even though every time we walk in, we feel like the geekiest kid in class. And when we get to the dressing room, we feel like we should be performing at Sea World. And we always feel a little dumber when we leave. But for some reason, we always go back. Here are some of their newer pieces.

These are called the Vegas High-Waisted Hot Short. We do not know when anyone who does not take their clothes off for money would wear these. If you have any idea, please let us know.

Vegas High-Waisted Hot Short, $28

We once worked with a girl who wore these knee socks with EVERYTHING. Her outfit was dressy shorts (which make us want to vomit), a fun top, these stupid knee socks and boots. Perhaps the socks would've been ok if there weren't holes in them. Perhaps we wouldn't have hated her so much if our boss' boss hadn't said part of why she hired Rotten Girl is because Rotten Girl reminded her of us. And Rotten Girl was about as smart as a box of tacks. Or maybe if she didn't compare things like carrying a beagle to carrying a surfboard. Or if she didn't have a mullet. So many maybes. Either way, we didn't like her, but we do like these socks. When worn with pants. Or a skirt. Or gym shorts. But dressy shorts can suck it.

3-Pack Unisex Stripe Calf White Tube Socks, $21

Now, this dress has a pretty stunning review-rating on the AA website. It's mind-boggling how a woman who is 5'6" and 112lbs LOVES the XS, and a woman who is 5'7"  and 125lbs is loving the L. AA sizes make our eyes leak and our head hurt. We do have friends in all shapes and sizes who have been raving about this dress, so it might be one of the few AA items that looks great on everyone. We love the Autumn colors, and we'd probably wear it with opaque tights or jeans and boots.

Melange Jersey Sleeveless Funnel Neck Shift Dress, $34

-LIL BUNNY

Our New Favorite Most Ridiculous Thing From American Apparel

We're sure these are flattering on all body types.

Lame work-out shorts, $28

The Bunnyshop Halloween Costume 2006

The Bunny "We freaking hate this freaking holiday, as it is not a holiday, it is only an excuse for bazillion iterations of the 'Dirty [Fill In Occupation]' costumes" Shop Halloween costume:

Part 1: Unisex knee-high tube socks, $10

Part 2: Interlock running shorts, $22

Part 3: Sheer scoop neck t-shirt in white, $22

Part 4: Lame triangle top, $26

Part 5: Cooperletter letters from Dutch Trade Shop that read "UNDERAGE," two sheets at $8 per sheet

Part 6: 32-oz. spray bottle for instant wet-t-shirt American Apparel shoot, $2.99

Part 7: American Apparel model "costume," composed entirely of items we already own, except for the kneesocks and the spray bottle, which we are sure we will find some reasonable post-holiday use for, priceless.

American Apparel in Park Slope

Apparently we live three blocks from an American Apparel. This is wonderful news. Apparently it has been here for several months, and we had no idea. That is slightly disturbing. When we are back in London in a week and a half, we are going to weep with longing for our neighborhood American Apparel. Perhaps even more than we will weep for bagels, doughnuts, and those little plastic containers of Ritz crackers and peanut butter.

In any case, American Apparel is the only place where we have absolutely no size pride. Seriously. They're like, "Want a large?" which normally would send us into paroxysms of rage and\or mouthy-shopgirl-hatred. There, we're like, "Hmm? Are you sure? Maybe an extra-large? Any extra-larges back there?"

Because, really, this:

Is too much. Mesh shorts, $18

Ha!

This just showed up in our mailbox, and it is pretty funny. Everyone gets all mad at us when we say Dov Charney's the perviest guy in fashion, but we remain unconvinced he would take this as an insult.

BS: Covering your American Apparel-satire beat, 24-7-365.

PS: Sometimes we wish we didn't choose a name for our blog that, when abbreviated, is a synonym for "Made-Up Crap."

Further Evidence That American Apparel Chief Dov Charney Is The Perviest Guy in Fashion

1. Masturbating in front of Jane staffer Claudine Ko.

2. Plus, there's that pesky sexual harassment lawsuit. Er, lawsuits.

3. Those blissfully perved out shots of barely-legal-ish girls in shorts and knee socks? Yeah, he took most of those.

4. And the most indisputable evidence of all: these purple go-go hot pants (above), spotted this weekend at our local American Apparel.

They remind us of the wardrobes for one of the gangs in a 1970s movie called The Warriors, which is excellent. And you can trust us on that — for two years, at least, we wrote (truthfully) "film critic" in our occupation line on our taxes. Anyhoo, these are the Boppers, and they would love these hot pants, wouldn't they?

Summary: Purple go-go shorts are bad, unless you are starring an exceptionally camp 1970s gay fantasia gang-movie. We would probably not want to work for Dov Charney. American Apparel makes the best freaking running shorts we have ever worn. Left to right, the thick-knit jersey PE short ($17), the California fleece short ($25), the interlock running short ($22), and our favorite, the loop terry running short ($20).

Bottom line: Intense conflict

A President's Day Salute to America(n Apparel)

The whole aesthetic is just so, so pervy — enough underage girls in their underwear, fashion merchants of America! — but we'll still buy American Apparel — and now, we present our favorite purchases in some sort of loose shout-out to, er, President's Day. Is it weird that we think their advertising campaign is so gross and yet we love their clothes so much? Has American Apparel completely outsmarted us?

We want to put a picture here of the Hot Short, which is so excellent Bunnyshop actually hiked up a dress to show them to Honey Bear, but doing so would mean adding a picture of [an even more] nubile youngster in panties to her website, and that's just too morally quease-making. $12.

We've read how AA wants to become, like, the Gap of the 21st century, and we support this, but don't they have a long way to go? Seriously, all they make are t-shirts and various items made of cotton jersey. Where are the sweaters? Confusing.

Not confusing: we love this rainbow shirt, even if it fits a little like a loose, rainbow-striped sausage casing. $28.

We almost feel pervy putting up these shorts. Why does everything here look like it's from the costume department of å Todd Solondz pedophilia movie? See how small they're cut (natch) — we bought two sizes up, and they're not quite so pervy. $20.

This shirt looks totally basic, but we saw it in a shop and came back every few days, trying it on and annoying the sales staff. It's perfect in its own unique way. $29.

And finally, the gold standard of tank tops. Why would we blow the bank on James Perse when these satisfy us in every way, at $16? It'd be like trading in a thoroughly excellent boyfriend for a thoroughly excellent boyfriend who had the unfortunate habit of stealing cash out of your wallet.