bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

Jocasi Discount Month: The Dagger Bag

We just wanted to remind everyone that November is Jocasi discount month! This week, our featured bag, more or less, is the A-Line Dagger bag's small version. Lovely! And temporarily 10% off!

So, that's: the Dagger bag, formerly about $170, with discount code "bunnyshop", about $153

We also have a belt of the week. We love belts, except when they are all shift-y on how tight it's getting. Sigh. Pringles! Argh. Teardrop hip belt, was about $120, with discount, about $108

Hurrah, Belts (Again)

Belts! We have been talking about belts practically non-stop these days, and that is because they are, to our view, utterly ubiquitous. Lately we have been doing this thing where we'll say to ourselves something like, "Belts outside the coat? And how is this done?" and then going and finding photographic evidence of it actually being done. As above, at Burberry Prorsum. We are thinking that all we need to do this is (a) a belt and (b) a nice coat. Well, we're waiting for (b). But: belts!

Here's the original version. Burberry Prorsum quilted belt, $275

We don't know. It just seems so freaking random to have a belt around your coat. Doesn't that look a bit random? We'll, you know, play along. But we maintain that it's random.

Marc by Marc Jacobs webbing belt, $98

Shiny Things Are Nice, Especially in Belt Form

Shiny things! Occasionally so much nicer than not-shiny things. We are pretty sure that our nightmare is, like, seeing a shiny penny on the ground, trying to pick it up, and then falling prey to one of those pranks where some moron yanks the penny, and then we chase after it, so we look like coin-addicted losers. This is maybe not a common nightmare. But it is ours.

Anyway! Shiny belts. More correctly referred to, in this case, as patent belts. Above: isn't that quite a bit of "graphic impact," as they say, for $46? We are not entirely sure about the proportions in the rest of this look, but we do, as we say, like shiny belts. Hanii Y patent belt, $46

And then this one is winning our shine-to-dollar contest, even if it is not quite as chic. Forever 21 patent belt, $8.80

This is quite a bit more but we're thinking this—wear the nice dress and the $9 belt; wear the nice belt and the $9 dress. Or wear the $9 belt and the $9 dress. Realistically, that is probably the direction we're going, but we'll keep hoping for the, er, $300 belt, too. Elegantly Waisted patent leather cummerbund belt, $275

This is a totally nice-and-normal belt that might, actually, just a little too nice and normal. The price, however, is delightfully so. Aldo patent belt, $30

And then, finally. With the right nipped-in, retro-sort-of dress, we'd be all over this. We like how it's really not asking that much of us. We're not wild about it, but it could do wonders for the sad, lonely, beltless dress. Orciani patent leather belt, was $215.71, now $129.42

Two Years Later

We are just wondering: Couldn't Oprah organize the rebuilding of New Orleans? Could someone ask her about this? All we know is that if someone destroyed Brooklyn, and the president didn't do very much about it, we think we would ask Oprah. (We will say here that we recently had a very disturbing conversation with an actual South African about the efficacy of the Oprah school there, but that we are resolutely living within our pro-Oprah bubble.) Or Mayor Bloomberg. Etc.

Anyway: We are so anti the anniversary notice, especially with something like this, because it is always like: So sorry, but is this not a problem every day of the year, in addition to this one? We are falling into our own trap today, and we are sorry for it, but we think we are going to take the entire BS enterprise south this fall and revisit this at a less obvious time. In the meantime, though, we are where we are, and below, some questions to, and some answers from, one of our very favorite NOLA designers: Heather Elizabeth of Heather Elizabeth Designs.

Above: Rebuild NOLA belt, $90

BS: What can every American do to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans?

HE: They can come down to volunteer. They can go here to find out how to volunteer in our area and see what kind of services are needed. Additionally, they can support New Orleans businesses online. Since we have lost much our tourism, it is crucial that we get outside support. You can go here for a listing of online retail places to shop. I encourage everyone to shop New Orleans for the holidays.

New Orleans Watermeter belt, $90

BS: What do you love most about New Orleans, pre-Katrina or post?

HE: I love my city because of the people. The people are the kindest and warmest you would ever want to meet. Some are taken aback by the warmth of my people, but being friendly to strangers is second nature to us. Next I would have to say I love the food and the music. Our food is known the world over and I can’t find it anywhere except in New Orleans! Our brass band music is so energizing and I am so grateful that I can go and listen to these bands anytime New Orleans. Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler!

Faux pearl charm bracelet, $59.95

Mega Sale of the Day: Tangerine

Tangerine: The whole site's 35% off. That is the kind of discount we can live with. We've already discussed the really-very-big selection of CYDWOQ belts, which is definitely our favorite thing there, but it might also be worthwhile for basic tank tops (like above, Splendid's shadow-stripe cami, was $42, now $21)

It drives us crazy when stores put reasonably nice pieces of clothing on ugly Barbie-type plastic mannequins, but ... 35% off is quite a bit. And in any case, here's another CYDWOQ belt—though! Going fast!

CYDWOQ hammered gold buckle, was $96, now $39

Sale of the Day: CYDWOQ Belts

We love CYDWOQ belts, particularly when they are like 1/3rd of the price they usually try to charge.

CYDWOG teardrop buckle belt, was $118, now $39

Bunnyshop Hearts: Elegantly Waisted Belts

Last fall we bought a $200 belt marked down to $49 at Anthropologie, and we were even thinking that $49 is at the upper limit of our belt-budget, but that belt has solved so many problems (including what to do with a shapeless $15 dress from Oasis) that it may be one of our very favorite accessories ever. Here: shapeless dress rescued by amazing belt. (The dress above, btw, is Paul & Joe, but sold out everywhere we've looked.)

We were thinking maybe this Elegantly Waisted was related to this Elegantly Waisted, but it is not.

Very sadly no longer available in the brown but available in the black: Elegantly Waisted belt, $286

We are also sort of into the double-ring belt ($355) if not quite as much.

When $100 for a Belt Is Not Ridiculous

Anthropologie belts: some of our favorite. Too expensive. We are still working our head around the idea of a belt that costs more than $100. There are so many other things that could be bought with $100. But then we bought a belt that was once $179, and we got so many belt-compliments, something we had never previously known existed, we thought: We are totally investing in nice belts from now on. We are not sure if this is true. If it is, we would certainly spend our money on this one, because it is red, which means it'll go with basically everything, except green, at least for the next six weeks.

"The Perfect Waistbelt," $128

Suze Orman, we are thinking, and we think about this quite a bit, would not approve.

Jocasi's Summer Sale

Honestly, if we had more than $13 in our checking account—er, if we had more than approximately $130 in our checking account—we would blow it all in the Jocasi summer sale. We hesitate to even mention it, because at some point in the future we hope to have more than $13, and all we can do is hope and pray a few sale bags will be left at that point. Of course, it'll probably be 2008, so really, not much to seriously worry about.

This one may very well be our favorite. Java bag, $140

This is so similar to the Jovovich-Hawk belt we were just talking about but $100 cheaper. Gatecrasher belt, about $50

We have no idea how big this bag is, because we have only a vague idea of how long 37 centimeters is, but we mostly like it and we'd be pretty happy to wear it with the red polka-dot dress and black leggings as here. Visage bag, about $95

Note this is actually only available in black. Santana bag, about $130

We actually saw a girl here wearing this belt, with the buckles turned to the back, over a very simple tunic-y top and jeans. It looked pretty fabulous. As we were typing that last word, we were like, "Did it look fab? Fabu? Or just fabulous?" Argh. Triple Exile waisted belt, about $50

And this one is really our favorite. We are just greedily hoarding it like we do everything we want but cannot have. Lombok bag, about $130

Bunnyshop Bazaar: Shi Studio

On Wednesday night, we washed our hair (not that that is so unusual, but stay with us) so that we would not need to wash and then blow dry it before a meeting Thursday afternoon with someone who deserved to see our hair in a relatively orderly state. And all day, as we watched our little dreams wither and die, we said to ourselves, "At least our hair is clean and orderly, because otherwise, this would be the shittiest day ever." And then, as we killed ten minutes before the meeting at a Sephora, we were once again lured to the Frederic Fekkai section, like a ship to the sirens. Sirens with rocks. The rocks, in this case, being his Glossing Cream. And because we knew that this Glossing Cream could render even the cleanest, sleekest hair an oil-laden wildlife trap, we applied the smallest, smallest dab of it to our bangs, in an effort to stop them standing at 45 degree angles to our forehead. We did. And we looked in the mirror and saw the same duck-killing oil trap the Glossing Cream always makes of our hair. Ugh, Frederic Fekkai: You beat us this time. We will not let you do it again!

Thank God, thank God, thank God, the evil month of March is ending. Julius Caesar was right about that shit.

Moving on: It's Bunnyshop Bazaar Friday! We're totally into these Shi Studio brocade belts. If this week hadn't been an awful, miserable, Frederic Fekkai-influenced disaster, we would have sent over some nice little questions to the designers or something, but to be honest, we were wishing we could drink ourselves into forgetful oblivion versus 1/2 a glass of wine-induced slumber. We're not quoting from the press release. Moving on. Shi Studio belts with brocade belts, about $100

Er, did we mention they're custom? Like, you choose the shape, fabric, belt color, etc? No. We didn't. Argh.

Bunnyshop Bazaar runs every Friday, and always features work by independent designers. Do you make things? You should share them. We can help. We know that sounds like an insurance commercial. E-mail us with info here.

Oh, The Frenchness Of It All

We were at a restaurant called Masala Zone the other night, when a couple speaking French sat beside us. "What is this?" they said, pointing to our plates. "The Grand Thali," we said. "Le Grand Thali," we almost said, but did not, because we generally try not to be total assholes showing off our pathetic French. Then, there was a kerfuffle at the table, as the couple attempted to order their own Le Grand Thalis. But what was lamb? The waitress says, "What country are you from?" The couple ne peut pas comprendre. Mais: We can! "What is this, the lahm?" they are saying. "L'agneau! L'agneau!" our head screams. Because we want so badly to be the Multilingual, Helpful Girl at the Restaurant, but we want more not to be the Girl Who Freaks Out When People Speak to Her in Other Languages, Before They Inevitably Revert to their Own, Perfect English. The couple orders the lamb, shrugging their shoulders. Five minutes later, when it can be of absolutely no use, we say, "Lamb, c'est l'agneau." "L'agneau?" the man says. "Blerg blergh jkhgfdjkshkdjfgh sdjfhskjhf sdf." "De rien," we say, hoping our confusion will not manifest itself in the kind of facial movement that will eventually require Botox.

In short, we would like, very much, to be French. We are quite sure that these pieces from A.P.C. will help.

Above, the kind of sweater that you look at and you're like, "Don't get it," and then a French girl puts it on and you're like, "Duh, right." Belted pullover, $201. Also in "chestnut brown."

We've shown this dress before so we will only restate our love for it. Dress with crocheted neckline, $163

This is one of those things we'd be loathe to buy, and then we would (rarely, but occasionally), and then we'd be just delighted with ourselves for us prescience. Bustier with thin straps, $126

Honestly, these wedges are just excellent. That is all. Wedge sandals, $251

As is this similarly-patent belt, $76

Honestly, this kind of looks a little fugly to us, but if we owned it, we'd wear it all the time. Annoying. Striped silvery waistcoat, $314

We hesitate to say anything should be worn with skinny jeans, because skinny jeans are the devil's work. However: This should be worn with skinny jeans. Otherwise, we can't handle the volume. Flower-printed tunic, $201

Store of the Week: Lucky

We know: fucking Lucky! It's not like so super couture, exactly. But we are from New Jersey, and we shop at the mall from time to time—gleefully, we will add—and when we do, we require places to shop that are neither "PacSun" nor that asshole frat-boy shop with the delightful cashmere sweaters we would be thrilled to link to if they weren't all asshole frat boys there. So: Lucky it is.

The good thing is that no matter how deeply skeptical we are about 75% of what they offer, there are some perfectly reasonable options in that other 25%.

This cowboy shirt is nearly as good as the Blumarine one that costs like $400. There's sort of a trend here, right? It's not exactly what you want, but it costs much less, so it might do. This theory is so dangerously extrapolated to serious relationships every single day, but it's okay for clothes. $84

This scarf looks like some kind of bleached-out intestinal tract here, but once you put it on, it looks a lot less digestive. Particularly alluring with a dark coat beneath it. And even less digestive. Hand-braided scarf, $58

This belt is like half as cool as a Hollywood Trading Company belt, yet it is only 25% of the price, so we're thinking the math works to our advantage here. Studded western belt, $48

This denim jacket isn't as cheap as we'd like it to be, but it is fitted nicely, and apparently that costs extra. Annoying. $98

Somtimes it's like for every good thing, they have to have one heinous thing. For example, this sweater is not heinous. This one is — it's the sweater equivalent of that Halle Berry Catwoman movie, which could totally be projected on to an art gallery wall as some sort of conceptual art piece about self-satire. Is this what people mean by "zero-sum game"? We think this one here is adorable, tho, v. just-back-from-vintage-shopping-in-Stockholm or something. $148

Belts: Good

We've come around on belts: We used to think they were like those ridiculous "warranty" things at Radio Shack, where someone recently offered us a $15 "protection plan" on a $25 pair of headphones. "But who protects us," we said, "from your bullshit protection plan?" But belts, we've learned, have a purpose beyond holding up pants (like stupid Lee Jeans, which has the most bizarrely sized, narrow-thigh, gigantic-waist fit in every pair they sell). Belts provide a considerably larger degree of polish than we had ever considered possible. We found ourselves standing next to this women at a store last weekend, and we enjoyed hearing all about how her boyfriend was taking her "to Baja" while she ignored a cashier to focus on her cell phone call. But she was wearing a belt, and we were not, and we were still jealous of her, despite her obvious hideousness (psychological, clearly and sadly, not physically). Did we mention how much we are enjoying our exile in a certain city in California?

Anyway: belts. Good! We are going to ignore, for the moment, our past favorites: Hollywood Trading Company (despite the Jessica Simpson fandom) and the deliriously beautiful Presh.

Above, Beals Cowboy Buckles. Totally cowboy. Maybe even a little too cowboy, like a little too ready for Halloween. Like, it would be very weird to pair it with cowboy boots, or a cowboy-detailed shirt — sort of like the female equivalent of Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy. (But if you're the kind of girl who's throwing on a cowboy hat to go out night ... we say go for it, because you probably already look like an idiot.) They're pretty bad-ass, though. If this one wasn't $550, we might get it.

As it stands, in a world where we just saw a tank of gasoline for $3.85 a gallon, we're going to have to sell our clothes just to pay the Con Ed bill. We'd be more likely to get this Big Texas Star Buckle, which is a comparatively minimal $75.

The Kama Sutra freaks us out, and we don't want it on our buckles.

But the rest of this designer's belts are cool, like this bee belt, $80

CYDWOQ belts are beautiful. They remind of so much of belts made by that asshole-ish company we will not promote here, due to their tendency for making asshole t-shirts to be worn exclusively by assholes. We totally know we were talking about belts here. This one is $99

Belts: Good

We've come around on belts: We used to think they were like those ridiculous "warranty" things at Radio Shack, where someone recently offered us a $15 "protection plan" on a $25 pair of headphones. "But who protects us," we said, "from your bullshit protection plan?" But belts, we've learned, have a purpose beyond holding up pants (like stupid Lee Jeans, which has the most bizarrely sized, narrow-thigh, gigantic-waist fit in every pair they sell). Belts provide a considerably larger degree of polish than we had ever considered possible. We found ourselves standing next to this women at a store last weekend, and we enjoyed hearing all about how her boyfriend was taking her "to Baja" while she ignored a cashier to focus on her cell phone call. But she was wearing a belt, and we were not, and we were still jealous of her, despite her obvious hideousness (psychological, clearly and sadly, not physically). Did we mention how much we are enjoying our exile in a certain city in California?

Anyway: belts. Good! We are going to ignore, for the moment, our past favorites: Hollywood Trading Company (despite the Jessica Simpson fandom) and the deliriously beautiful Presh.

Above, Beals Cowboy Buckles. Totally cowboy. Maybe even a little too cowboy, like a little too ready for Halloween. Like, it would be very weird to pair it with cowboy boots, or a cowboy-detailed shirt — sort of like the female equivalent of Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy. (But if you're the kind of girl who's throwing on a cowboy hat to go out night ... we say go for it, because you probably already look like an idiot.) They're pretty bad-ass, though. If this one wasn't $550, we might get it.

As it stands, in a world where we just saw a tank of gasoline for $3.85 a gallon, we're going to have to sell our clothes just to pay the Con Ed bill. We'd be more likely to get this Big Texas Star Buckle, which is a comparatively minimal $75.

The Kama Sutra freaks us out, and we don't want it on our buckles.

But the rest of this designer's belts are cool, like this bee belt, $80

CYDWOQ belts are beautiful. They remind of so much of belts made by that asshole-ish company we will not promote here, due to their tendency for making asshole t-shirts to be worn exclusively by assholes. We totally know we were talking about belts here. This one is $99

Studded Belt > Kate Hudson

Skeleton Key: not a terrific movie. Not as bad as it could have been. Not as good as it would have been if we hadn't spent Friday evening sitting next to a crazy woman, who did that whole little dance crazy women do before sitting down to enjoy a Kate Hudson supernatural thriller. We were a little concerned that she might smell a little off, to be honest, but she smelled like roses. We don't know what she was eating, but it was immense. Peanuts? Rocks? No idea. But she smelled like roses, and that's good enough for us.

The best thing, bar none, about this film, was Kate Hudson's studded belt. (Not visible in this image, or any of the nine million other shots of her in her panties.) Really, the belt should be out there doing PR, because it deserves some sort of award. Not the kind of horrible three-inch-wide Sienna Miller belt, but one of the ones that actually fit through belt loops.

Of course. the easiest way to do this would just be to buy one from the Hollywood Trading Company. The only problem with HTC is that they are so freaking expensive. It's like, hmm, groceries for a month, or belt. But the thing is, how many times have we bought healthy groceries and then completely forgotten about them? And then one month later, it's like, why did we buy these stupid blueberries, when all they were going to do is sit in the fridge and get nasty-mold on them? Stupid blueberries. So maybe belt is best. Above, two HTC belts: the brown, nicer one is $196 and the black, not as nice one is $230.

And growing up, we always thought Coach was so gross, mostly because all the aggravating rich girls at our school had one — which now sounds so ridiculous we can hardly believe it. We do like their sunglasses and other non-handbag accessories now, a conversion we're sure Coach is wildy excited about. Coach studded belt, $168

And one from Lucky. At least this one's a reasonable price ($48). Seriously, there's something so naff about spending loads of money on a studded belt, with its vintage and \ or rock 'n' roll [ahem] connotations. It's like buying those $400 "distressed" jeans with little paint smears on them, just like real artists have(!). So if we're going to be posers, we'd at least like to reduce our cash investment. The mother of pearl studded belt, $48

Hollywood Trading Company

Why on Earth would anyone buy something advertised "as seen on Jessica Simpson"? Seriously. Seriously. Seriously. We want to be nothing like Jessica Simpson. Seriously.

Now that we have that out of the way, let us introduce Hollywood Trading Company handpainted bags and belts. We love them. We are sure you will, too. Blaec must love them, because they stock them. Jessica Simpson, as we mentioned, loves them, but other celebrity fans include Bruce Springsteen and Mark "Garrafalo." Maybe he is Mark Ruffalo's brother. Or Janeane Garofalo's uncle. Who knows? Who cares? Bags, $340. We don't know why they don't say how much the belts are, but they don't.

Current Obsession: Presh

The problem here is that we weren't obsessed with Presh necklaces: We were obsessed with Presh belts. But we can't find the belts anywhere online and the necklaces, which we are pretty sure are made by the same person, are just as good, and prettier, and besides, we always end up losing our belts. But still, Presh, if you're out there, tell us where we can buy your belts — they're lovely, much like the necklaces here, with decorative fabric under glass, but bigger and better.

Above, our favorite of all. The more we think about these necklaces, the less we have to say about them, kind of like that Ani DiFranco song where she's all, "I like you so much, I talk to everyone but you." This one is $365, $1 for every day of the year we'd enjoy it. Er, if we only kept it for a year and then gave it away, which of course we would never do.

We really can't say how much we love this. This may be the necklace we've dreamt of. $390

Part of what makes this one so cool is that it only costs $120, compared to $300+ for the other ones we like so much.