bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

What to Wear to an Outdoor Concert: Our Stylist Returns!

So! And the return of our house stylist!

Dear Bunnyshop,

Help! So there's this amazing Incubus concert which I'm all psyched up for next Friday and I have absolutely no idea what to wear. It's an outdoor concert, on a field, which rules out all my flats (mud! terrifies me.) and my thong slippers will get lost in the mosh. Also, I'm not sure if a tank top and shorts will suffice... I'm going with a tres cute boy and I want to impress. (Even though he probably won't notice.)

I don't live in the States but in a little tropical country. Please help.

Our stylist says!

"What makes this really tricky is the shoe. You've ruled out flats and thongs—both of which, by the way, would be my go-tos What else? Chucks? They wouldn't be my first choice on a date. Wellies? Too Glastonbury, really, even if you weren't in a tropical (thus, steamy) country. I would personally be very unhappy with any sort of heel at an outdoor concert. Dilemmas, dilemmas. I would say to sort of give up on the shoes, and to wear something cheap, basic, and practical." Old Navy canvas skimmers, $16.50

"Everything else I think is also ruled by practicality, and cuteness. I would wear short, tailored shorts with a volume-y, cute top. I would prefer that this top were a different, brighter color, but otherwise it has what I want, which is a simple, loose shape, with pretty details at the top. (Here, the crochet.) Obviously this isn't what you want if you're going full-on glam or something, but from your description—well, this is what I might wear, anyway."  Ella Moss Cecelia top, $88

"And I'm looking for tailored-feeling bottoms, like these from Topshop—still casual, but definitely a step above the usual cutoffs." Topshop shorts, $56

"And then I'd love to see this accessorized with something cool and unexpected, like this wood-cube necklace from APC." Multi-color cube necklace, $65

"And then if it were me, I'd wear ballet flats if it was sunny and there was a low chance of mud—I might also swap denim for white shorts, and a brighter color shirt for the black one, plus bigger, bolder jewelry—basically much like this photo of an adorable Milly top, with quiet gold thongs and big gold jewelry. I've maybe played it a bit safe here."

We remind the reader that this is the person who once advised a letter-writer to wear a Charlotte Ronson romper to a company picnic. And as always, we welcome input from anyone else.

Ask the Stylist: Revengewear!

Sadly, our stylist is like the rest of the world and on vacation. So, we will step in for our stylist and try to help our dear reader who is having a struggle. She is about to see her cheating wanker of an ex-boyfriend at a party (her words, not ours. We would never appropriate British slang because we are from New Jersey and it just sounds odd) for the first time in a year, proving to cause a wardrobe dilemma.

                        She wonders:

"Do I show up in a laid-back outfit that evokes the vibe 'I don't give a fuck about what anyone thinks, especially you, you cheating wanker', or do I wear something a bit more flattering that reminds him of what a mistake he's made?'"

We have been in this situation, and we have tried both roads. One road ended up being dark and itchy and uncomfortable - making us twitch for the entire evening. We would suggest a gentle compromise. Wear something you are comfortable in, that you feel you look great in. If you are anything like us, this would make you happier than something new that you are not used to and damn if you didn't notice the pokey tag in the back of the neckline.

Regardless of the kind of party, we would inevitably end up in skinny jeans (we are hypocrites, we know), a pair of boots or Havianas, a clean/snug/not old black t-shirt and silver hoop earrings. This, in fact, is what we wear whenever we want to 'knock 'em dead' (whoever they may be), and we always feel good about it. If we are feeling especially saucy, we will wear red lipstick. But then we smear it and. Well. That's for another time.  Either way, the best revenge is feeling awesome about yourself - which our reader certainly should - and that will come through if you are wearing a sack or a spandex dress.

Does anyone else have words of wisdom here?

Above: Gap Favorite Tee, $14.50

-Lil' Bunny

Ask the Stylist: The Pool Party

In today's Ask the Stylist:

BS!

Need advice super-quick. I will be quick: Pool party, under $50, bikini, sunglasses and shoes. And I live in the middle of nowhere, so am limited to lame big-box stores. Can you help?

We can try. At least our stylist can.

"I guess I'll be equally fast, since everyone seems to be in a rush. I think these shoes are pretty hot. The wedge heel is hot. These can be tricky on the calves but I actually think they flatter people more often than they don't." Target Mossimo wedges, $24.99

"Just to be clear, this is not my favorite bikini out there, but it is the only way we will get this all in under $50." Women's bikini, $25. [BS note: We made that picture sort of small on purpose. If you ask us, she's taking this budget thing a little too literally.]

"And I am buying these as soon as possible." F21 sunglasses, $5.80

We're thinking that's it for this week. Got a question for our stylist? She would be pleased to address it. Email us here.

Ask the Stylist: The Spring Dress

In today's Ask the Stylist:

Hey B.S.,

I know this isn't a major fashion emergency and whatnot and I'm not sure if it's totally worth your time, but I need a little bit of insight. I am a young, high-school aged (how ridiculous that sounds...), student, and I have a ceremony at my school coming up. It is a daytime, semi-formal event, and most girls will probably be wearing Springy-type dresses and such. I already have my dress picked out, it is from BCBG's Spring collection (I'm attatching a picture) and my dilemma is finding suitable shoes/acsessories. I should look pretty modest, so no 'hoochie mama'-esq jewlery or whatever. Also, I hve no idea where this comes from, but I kind of see it with beige, not-too-chunky, slingbacks or something. I know this is oddly specific, but we dont need to stick to that if you have a better idea (which I'm sure you will.) I appreciate your advice SO MUCH and I trust you infinitely.

-m.k.

P.S. I am on a relatively tight budget, so the cheaper, the better.

Well. We would stridently argue that there is no fashion emergency like a high school fashion emergency. The great majority of ours happened during high school, and middle school. Le ragazze are a lot smarter about this sort of thing than when we were una ragazza, and we spent our afternoons in J. Crew boxer shorts and oversized t-shirts. We were, in fact, just talking about the day that fitted t-shirts came into our lives. That was some day, indeed. We were at Urban Outfitters, and it was a black-and-gray striped shirt. Honestly. We should just give it a little shrine or something.

Enough, obviously, with the memory lane detour. This is a fairly straight-forward request, so here we go, to our house stylist.

"There are a lot of colors in that dress, so I thought it might be interesting to see how BCBG styled it." [Above.] Obviously, they didn't—and what they were thinking with that hat, I have no idea. I like the peasant-chic vibe of it—it was all over the runways, not least from Gucci."

[The dress is not available online, but is $168 at your local BCBG.]

"I also hate the shoes they paired it with. Comparatively, at least, I prefer how they styled another of their spring dresses, with the flat Grecian sandals and relatively bold necklace."

[Ditto online availability, but this dress is $158.]

"If you don't want to spend a lot of money, and you're not thinking of the shoes as an investment but as something you might only wear once, I really recommend Payless. Obviously you never want to be too match-y but since it sounds like you're attending a fairly conservative event, you'll probably want to pull a color from the dress for the shoes—it's hard to say without seeing it up close, but this turquoise might be nice—they also have them in a tan, and a white. These are really cheap."

Payless peep-toe slingbacks, $16.99

"This might be one of those situations where a metallic solves everything, but really—I can't quite tell from the picture, so you'd need to test it out."

Lumiani gold heels, $149.95

"And the wood wedge here might add nicely to the peasant-chic vibe." Kalista wedges, $14.99

"I am really trying to keep it super cheap, and these might be cute, if that's white and not cream in the dress." Mossimo heels, $19.99

"And for jewelry—I really suggest taking a twenty-dollar bill into Target or Forever 21 and coming out with at least ten dollars in change. I would just say, one of two ways—delicate and pretty and small, or super-bold and bright. The one thing I'd definitely avoid is a lot of turquoise—it just looks a little too retiree-hippie, for me, anyway. With so many colors involved in that dress, you'd do best to factor in your coloring, hair style, all that, obviously—so I'm just guessing with something like this."

Olivia necklace, $76

And so! That is all. Do you have a question for our stylist? Email us now, and we'll see what we can work out.

When Stylists Go Wrong

So yesterday our stylist handled a question on what to wear to a corporate outing. What we should have considered, prior to asking her about this, was that our stylist has never been to a corporate outing, nor worked for, in fact, a corporation. It is kind of like asking our beloved video teacher about filing income taxes. ("They just don't have time to track down everyone who doesn't get around to it.") Anyway, here's what the question-asker had to say after we went with the playsuit answer:

Dude I kind of hate your stylist. I mean, shorts, a t-shirt and chucks? I also think wondering if someone cares what their officemates think (1 - obv, as is work function, and 2 - obv as emailed bs for advice). No points addressing tattoo junk.

Man, just a disappointing bs stylist day. You need to chuck her.

Here is what I will probably wear:

1. j.crew short navy shorts

2. white gap t-shirt

3. blue striped f21 tank underneath

4. white chucks

5. LOTS of sunscreen

I love that nj shirt, but I do not understand it.

anyone who suggests you wear a playsuit to a conservative corporate event is way out of touch with the ‘real’ world.

Now, we would like to point out that the question-asker is wearing basically exactly what the stylist suggested, and that she tacked on the playsuit option as just that, an option. And that she has never exactly been part of the real world. So anyway: We thought we would open it up to everyone: Anyone have a better suggestion for what to wear to a corporate outing?

Our stylist responds: "I would totally wear a playsuit to a corporate outing." This is why neither of us have a 401(k) plan. She says: "I want to be in Pop!" She almost says: "La la la."

And then also, from the Stylist-Asking two weeks ago:

Hello Bunnyshop!

I am the girl that wrote in with the aforementioned elegance quandary. I just wanted to say that the advice was wonderful. I ended up getting these—

Oh, they are so beautiful on—and matching them with some cute little purple accessories and clutch bag, to spice up the black-top-and-pencil-skirt look.

The result was very well received, too—the event in question was a party at which a famous music group was in attendance. The guitarist in the band actually came up to me and complimented me on my outfit (how many men do that?), asked me to dance...and then tried to pick me up... I politely declined the offer, but was flattered all the same.

Thank you Bunnyshop!

Our stylist says: "Which famous music group!" We second.

If anyone has any non-corporate-related questions for our stylist, she would be delighted to hear them. Email us here.

Ask the Stylist: Corporate Gatherings, Outdoors-Style

In today's Ask the Stylist:

i just got word that we have a company golf outing in late june - and there will be other sports that actually require movement, like volleyball. what the HELL do i wear? i am not an athletic girl, but i'd like to be able to play volleyball or kickball if the chance comes up - so no skirts. i think shorts, save for american apparel running shorts, are an abomination of all that is holy. i don't do well in the heat, so i can't wear pants. also, i work for a fairly corpoprate company (think lots of ny+co button down sateen shirts, fleece, khakis) - so i don't need to hide the fact that i'm heavily tattooed, but i don't want to flaunt it, either.
do i suck it up and buy a pair of shorts? how short is too short? my last company outing was with anthro to a baseball game - everyone was dressed nicely, and went and got drunk and passed out in their seats.

And to the stylist:

"So there are really two questions here: One, what is fun to wear to a party where there are athletic events to be had? And the other, What is acceptable to wear with my co-workers? These are different questions, and it's really difficult for me to judge the latter, not having seen your office mates. So that question becomes, Do you care what they think? If you do, just ask your boss what she's wearing, and wear something less expensive than that. What I would probably wear would be a pair of not-snug tailored shorts, a cute t-shirt and equally cute trainers."

"I really prefer these shorts in the black (they obviously do, too, since they're $100 cheaper in the yellow), but the bright color sort of screams 'summer work outing.'" Johnson Millicent shorts in yellow ($143) and black ($255)

[BS note: We have overruled the stylist's independent t-shirt pick for this one:

It reads: "New Jersey: We don't pump our gas. We pump our fists." NJ: full-service, baby, 24-7-365. If there is one thing that truly joins us together as a state, besides The Sopranos, and laughing at the people dancing on the decks of summer-only clubs on the Shore, it's the bafflement of 17-year-old drivers forced to get gas in Pennsylvania, staring sort of bewilderedly at the pump. Ha! We love it. NJ tee, $26.99

Obviously this t-shirt can only be worn with cut-off Levi's or similar and has really not very much to do with a company's outdoor athletic day. Moving on.....]

Alternately you could fancy it up a little with a nice jersey—but really only jersey, you wouldn't want to be any more structured than that—top. I love this one—I'd need to see it close-up but I'm thinking it's casual enough to ride the line, especially if you're more concerned with cuteness than, say, hitting the actually being athletic." Black Halo top, $118

"And then, running or no running, I'd just wear a pair of Havaianas, but if you need to wear something appropriate for dashing here and there, I'd either go with Converse or some fun Nikes or similar."

Converse All-Star Low, $42, and Nike Internationalist, $55

"Okay—so that's what maybe you have to wear, in a reasonably coordinated way: reasonable shorts, cute tee, cute shoes. What I would wear, however, would be this, at the very top. That Karen Zambos playsuit is terrific, even if that is not Kate Beckinsale's best photo. And so that Charlotte Solnicki version might be a little short, I'm thinking it's fine for an occasion like this. [BS note: We are totally calling bullshit on that, unless you work ... somewhere other than you work, it sounds like.]

KZ jump-short, $315, and Charlotte Solnicki romper, $110

Okay, so ... here we are. Have a question for our stylist? She is here, she says, and ready to help. Email us here.

In last week's Ask the Stylist:

I have an engagement on Friday which I am rather looking forward to, and want to look devastatingly gorgeous for. I am from the Audrey Hepburn school of couture, in which I ususally go for the simple-but-elegant look. I want to wear this black cap-sleeved top (which is lovely on) and was thinking of wearing it with a black pencil skirt...but I fear that may be just a tad too much black. What can I do to break up the black and add a little bit of colour or interest whilst still maintaining the so-necessary-elegance?

For the answer: Ask the Stylist: Elegance, and Otherwise

Ask the Stylist: Elegance, and Otherwise

In today's Ask the Stylist:

I have an engagement on Friday which I am rather looking forward to, and want to look devastatingly gorgeous for. I am from the Audrey Hepburn school of couture, in which I ususally go for the simple-but-elegant look. I want to wear this black cap-sleeved top (which is lovely on) and was thinking of wearing it with a black pencil skirt...but I fear that may be just a tad too much black. What can I do to break up the black and add a little bit of colour or interest whilst still maintaining the so-necessary-elegance?

Ever yours,
R.
p.s. I am a destitute student, and consequently don't have much money. :)

Here is a picture of the top. We love it!

And now, to the stylist:

"First, I personally don't think you should be so freaked about going head-to-toe black—although even just to think of it as that—'head-to-toe black'—I can understand the perspective. It's all in the shoe, I think—you'd want to avoid a work-y, office-y heel (you absolutely want to avoid this) but also steer clear of the super-vamp heel ... and also, I can see where you'd be worried it'd look too much like an on-duty restaurant hostess. I guess my point is that I would neither embrace nor fear the all-black look, as seen on Audrey above and below. In short: low heel, sleek lines, etc."

"First, I need to say—you already have a beautiful top, and a black pencil skirt, so I would say vintage, vintage, vintage—a great shoe, or some big, splashy, costume jewelry. The suggestions below are sort of pricey but I'm just thinking of them as placeholders for what you might be able to find much cheaper closer to home."

[We need to add that the cat in that shot above is ridiculously perfect.]

"You obviously can't do much sleeker than this—it's nearly impossible. Note the understated makeup with the low-hanging earrings, drawing the eye to the neckline (which'll be great to do with the top you've chosen), and the de-vamping flats—I'll admit I'm never sure about flats and a pencil skirt, it's like oil and water in my opinion—but I might be biased."

"I love these but really if it were me I'd just go to Forever 21 or H&M and pick up something for a few bucks." Gilded cradle earrings, $128

"The obvious, easiest solution is to just play with the shoes—without being too, 'Look at my crazy shoes.' (Here is an example of what I wouldn't do.) Vintage heels would be a great solution—you want elegant, quirky, and hopefully not too expensive. It really depends how color-pop you want to go. Personally I'm against the red-shoes thing, but I do rather like these bright blue slingbacks. That is a hell of a lot of heel, by the way. Of course there are much sexier options, but " Azul slingbacks, $228

"You know, it's sort of like, what wouldn't go with a black top and skirt? I'm putting this in just to tip my hat, but I'm not necessarily recommending, even if that's a beautiful shoe. I'd just be happier seeing it with a pair of skinny gray jeans or really whatever." Miu Miu slingbacks, $385.

"And then of course you could do something extremely crazy like some sort of headwear. I'm just throwing it out there. Depending on where you live, this may be entirely impractical. It's very Prada turban in its way."

"And I would say: no belts! I love a non-black pencil skirt with a white shirt and a belt, but with a sleek top like that, I'd say you'd want to preserve the long, lean line and make the most of it."

Oooh, we hope some of this is helpful. Do you have a question for our stylist? Email us here.

Ask the Stylist: Doing As Reese Does

In today's Ask the Stylist:

I can't stand Reese Witherspoon! And yet I really loved her look in that photo from yesterday [above], with the tiny little dress and the big cardigan. Could your stylist give me some more options?

We have to say, we don't really feel either way about her. Every interview we've ever read with her makes her sound exactly like her character from Election+children+[formerly]perfectspouse+millionsofdollars, which is not, we have to say, our formula for our bestest friends. Our stylist, however, we do like, and here's what she had to say:

"I agree with you about Reese Witherspoon on both counts. And this look is also great in that it allows you to get some extra wear out of a maybe-fancy dress—maybe even something you bought to wear to a wedding or similarly dress-centric [BS note: we love a wedding can be considered "dress-centric" rather than, you know, "marriage-centric"] event. Pairing it with a big cardigan just sort of chills it out, so even if it's quite fancy, it's not inappropriate for a casual afternoon out. I know you've been talking about mini skirts and loose tops, but maybe this actually gets my vote: mini-dresses and big cardis. It's also great, by the way, for making use of a warm-weather dress while it's still intermittently chilly."

"I like this look more the more it's just slightly sloppy and pulled together. The one thing I would say is to keep the silhouette long, if not exactly narrow—it's not bad, just different, if you have a slightly boxier top. Instead of matching, let's just talk about a couple cardigans and a few dresses—and then it's whatever works best. I love these two for different reasons: Vanessa Bruno's is gorgeous and loose and super French. The Splendid one is like under $70, and you can't go wrong with an unstructured one like that. I'd also completely advocate just pulling one from your closet you really love and spending the money, if possible, on the dress."

Vanessa Bruno cardigan, $413. Splendid cardigan, $63

"Now the rest of the trick is just finding mini-dressees you're excited about. I love this one, currently on pre-order, from Rachel Palley—I would just pair it with a gray or taupe, I'm really over black, red and white at the moment and especially for spring." Rachel Pally dress on pre-order, $225

"I also love this Julie Haus one." JH dress, $396

"Obviously this is a great place to work with a print, since going two solid colors might read a little flat unless you're really playing with the textures. There are plenty of DVF dresses I'd be happy to see here, but I'm also really love Maya Hoffman's prints at the moment. Just be careful not to let the tie-backs drop down in the back like that. It looks ... unfortunate." Mara Hoffman dress, $275

"And just like with Reese's dress, this is a great place to play with color-blocking—it also mirrors her use of the sweet, deep v-neck. I'd love to see this with a cream cardigan to offset the deep colors." 12th St X Cynthia Vincent, $198

Ask the Stylist: The Wedding As Party

In today's Ask the Stylist:

I'm getting married this spring. Whee! Right. But I don't want to buy a horrible wedding dress. It seems like it'd be a lot smarter to buy a regular designer dress, which will be beautiful and unbelievably not even much more money. I'm not looking for classic white either—it's going to be warm where we are, so I'm looking for something super bright, that'll pop—a special party dress. As for money, I'd like a range, please. What do you have?

Of course we had to have the stylist answer this one, since we have said so many times that we will marry not in ... whatever it is that brides wear, but Balenciaga. We can honestly say it is the only part of the day that we really actually and truly look forward to. Anyway. To the stylist:

"I also think this is a really fabulous idea, and obviously one of the only ways you'd actually get multiple wears out of the dress—if that's something you want to do. In any case, I've always loved seeing brides in non-traditional dresses like these—I suppose purists might be concerned that a friend or similar could one day wear the same dress to another event ... but I say, who cares. I wouldn't. If I marry I'll marry in jeans, so that's my perspective. But I think this is a great idea and I fully support it."

"This is a beautiful dress and if you have the skin tone to color it off, it'll be brilliant." 3.1 .Phillip Lim dress, $815

"Pink and black is a crazy combination but a really unusual one, and it's a real shortcut for something memorable." Michael Kors silk dress, $1595

"This sort of pains me post-the insane Elizabeth Hurley Indian wedding extravaganza, but it's beautiful and modern and sort of amazing. The brocade might be a little too heavy, texture-wise, if you'll be out in the heat, however." Michael Kors brocade dress, $1995

"This is really a little mermaid but also totally beautiful, and a great option if you want to go long." Milly gown, $385

"If you're looking for something light but not white, I love this Julie Haus dress. Simple and spare and so pretty." Julie Haus Interview dress, $357

And so! That is what our stylist has to say about that. Do you have a question for our stylist? She has loads of time on her hands these days, and awaits your questions. Email us here.

Ask The Stylist: The First Day At Work

In today's Ask the Stylist:

I am starting a new job in a couple weeks. The office dress code is casual – everyone was wearing cotton sweaters and leviswhen I interviewed. The girls were dressed in NY + Co. and Gap – where my taste tends to hit more strong Anthropologie/pseudo urban hipster. I have a few pairs of jeans I can wear, but not sure how else to dress. Also, it’s my first first day at work since I was in college. Can you help me make the right impression and not stand out like Sienna Miller at a debutante ball?

First days at work are so weird. They are even weirder than first days at school, because you are probably spending significantly less than 40 hours a week at school, allowing ample opportunity for going home and sort of propping yourself against the wall and mumbling things like, "Those people are so fucking weird." Well, that's what we did. Anyway. We will note first that there really are a couple of non-heinous things at the Gap currently, including this shirtdress, which we can almost say is "flying off the racks," since we say like 30 at our local Gap and there were three when we went back two days later. But you know: Twice we have tried to link to that product page, and twice that motherfucking Gap site has made our Safari quit. Which is possibly the thing we hate most in the world, when we have not saved a post such as this one, and have already rewritten it once. So fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, Safari-killing shirtdress.

Anyway. Our reader requested the Shopbop stylist (it is your choice! Very exciting) and here is what she had to say:

It is important not to stand out too much in the workplace, but you don’t want to ignore your personal style. You can blend in well with your clothing, but amp it up with fun accessories. I recommend basic Theory and Vince tops and cashmere sweaters. Both lines are great for women who want to look tasteful and trendy. You can then wear fun accessories from Rachel Leigh and Kenneth Jay Lane.

Ooh, we love Vince. We are pretty sure we have always stood out in the workplace, for being the only one not wearing Yohji Yamamoto pants and re-gifted couture hats. But that is what you ask for when you work, for four years, at a fashion magazine that is very popular in Europe and totally off-the-radar here. Anyway.

We do love our cardigans. Cardigans are pretty much our work-style, like Pam on The Office. Vince cardigan, $195

Sigh. Cashmere. Even appropriate in the summer due to air conditioning issues. Vince cashmere sweater, $280

We infrequently buy rings. This is our question: Why aren't the diamond-selling marketing teams doing more with the reaching out to people who are not married? We're like more than half of the population. It should be like: Broke it off with the boring boyfriend you sort of liked but not really? Earrings! Or something. We only wonder, we do not endorse, necessarily. Kenneth Jay Lane ring, $88

Now we looooove this necklace. "Designed exclusively to complement Dahl." Rachel Leigh Ciao necklace, $247

And now we just need to show another Dahl dress. Because we love this one, too, while we are on the topic of loving various things. Dahl Mable dress, $313

And finally: We are sure that everyone needs a pair of new black pants on their first day at a new job. No? It's like a new lunchbox. These are our favorite black pants on the planet. Alvin Valley Grace trousers, $270