bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

80/20 Deenies: BS Hearts

In today's reader submitted Bunnyshop Hearts (again, our favorite kind—submit yours here!)

Dear Bunnyshop,

I found these lovely shoes while shopping in the Haight.

I'm not sure why they look so odd on the model, but they're divine in
the reals'.

—C.

The Haight! We do sort of miss San Francisco. We feel like our time there may have been unfairly prejudiced by our lack of a car, and our dislike of sharing public transportation solely with drug addicts and teenagers yelling at their fellow passengers.

Anyhoo, what we find very interesting about this shoe is that C. supplied us with the link to 80/20's page—absolutely the thing to do, of course. But then 80/20 linked to five online retailers—and what we found surprising (but obviously shouldn't have; we're just intolerably naive sometimes) was that there was no less than a $33 swing between the lowest and highest priced versions of the exact same shoes. The price winner was Urban, which has them on sale, but still: We're so continuing to Google everything we buy online, because that is just not cool.

Deenies, were $78, now $49.99

Artomatic: BS Hearts

In today's reader submitted Bunnyshop Hearts—as always our favorite kind! please send us yours here!—we have this note from K.:\

Dear BS,

I'm not really sure if I'm in the minority of D.C. based readers, but as a heads up to others in the area there's a huge art festival going on there...  I may just be out of the loop here, but anyways, BS seems the place for artsy/culture/music-esque things... so check out artomatic.org.  I'm going to go myself because the art + music + workshops and book signing factors seem to being calling my name. 

Oh and it ends on the 15th!

-k

Awesome! We are that place. Or at least we aim to be. Anyway, if we were in D.C. this weekend, we would totally go to the PostSecret show. The image above is from their website (we really hope it's okay that we're showing it here—only in honor!) and it just gives us chills. If you don't know it, you're missing out. Don't miss out! The PostSecret book, meanwhile, is here.

We started our "book tour" in D.C. last October, and it was just so hysterical. We had our very first one in the Dupont Circle Olsson's, and about 15 people showed up, and we went to the car and cried and cried because the crowd was so small—of course we had no idea at the time that except for our hometown reading, that would be our biggest night(!). (Interesting fact: Every bookstore's readings coordinator will have a story about how some big celebrity—Newt Gingrich, Jenna Bush, etc., did a reading at her store where no one showed.) Anyway, the next night we were at the Olsson's in Arlington, and literally not a single person showed up except for this one homeless man, and after we read just a bit he literally was like, "Read more!" so we did, and then we stopped and were like, "Okay?" And he stands up, says, "Okay," and leaves. Thank God we take a lot of yoga classes because we swear to God we just laughed the whole way back to NY. Not about the homeless guy, mind, but the distance between our expectations and our reality, and how it was all going to be fine anyway.

Er, moving on: We meant to say that if you are in the neighborhood, definitely check out Olsson's, our favorite bookstore in the hood.

Lorac Tantalizer: BS Hearts

In today's reader-submitted Bunnyshop Hearts (and please send us yours!)

Lorac Tantalizer: It's a bronzing body lotion with some shimmer in it. I love it because I'm ghostly white and used to be addicted to spray tanning, but that sometimes looks unnatural and uneven. I just rub Tantalizer onto my legs before I head out the door; it dries very quickly and gives just the right amount of natural-looking color with a hint of shimmer. Also, this is kind of gross, but if you don't lather up your legs in the shower, it lasts for a couple days!

Above: Lorac Tantalizer, $32

Hawks by Geren Ford at Urban Outfitters: BS Hearts

We totally love Geren Ford's color-block dresses. We cannot afford them. We can just about afford this diffusion collection for Urban Outfitters. Like these shorts! Totally adorable. Hawks by Geren Ford shorts, $88

We also sort of like this top, but it doesn't quite get us the Geren Ford color-blocked dress we always wanted, unfortunately. Hawks by Geren Ford top, $78

BS Hearts: Sonia Kashuk Make-up Brushes

In a reader-submitted Bunnyshop Hearts—as always, our favorite kind:

Big love for Sonia Kashuk make-up brushes at Target! This weekend when trying (stress the 'trying') to apply some blush or eyeshadow, I was reminded how very incredible Sonia Kashuk's brushes are (and at Target). There are some wonderful, inexpensive sets for not a big investment. They are fabulous ... luxury for a little—yes, 5 stars!!

L.A.

Can't beat the price, we're thinking: SK brushes, $12.99

BS Hearts: Frederic Fekkai's Wave Creating Spray

In today's reader-submitted (as always, our favorite kind!) Bunnyshop Hearts:

Hey bunny!

I just wanted to share some good news for all the wavy-haired ladies (and gents, perhaps) out there. After years of searching for a product to enhance waves and many, many disappointed trials, I have found the greatest stuff! Most products leave my hair stiff, dried-out or looking like I just came out of the ocean (in a bad, salty way). However, Frederic Fekkai's Wave Creating Spray is superb. Instead of leaving nasty residue behind, this spray leaves your hair very soft, natural AND deliciously wavy! No more crunchy waves! It's a godsend, I swear! 

Yay!

E.

We used to work at a Bumble & bumble salon, and all the stylists would talk people out of buying the B&B Surf Spray because they thought it was basically like spraying chunks of salt on the hair. We are, of course, delighted to find an alternative to actually dunking the hair in the ocean for the post-beach effect.

Frederic Fekkai Wave Creating Spray, $19.50

P.S.: There is nothing we love more than suggestions from readers, so if you have one, totally email us.

Sophie Calle: Bunnyshop Hearts

Perhaps the only bright moment of our interview at the Royal College of Art (wait-listed, though we're unsure if this is actually good or bad news) was the few seconds we spent talking about how much we love artist Sophie Calle. If  you don't know her, she is totally insane in all the right ways, and one of her super famous pieces is about getting over a guy but in the best, most artful way possible. She is like the reason we're going to art school. She was the reason we went to art school, even though we didn't know it until we were a year in.

Anyway: We got to Paris today and literally jumped up and down when we saw that she has a show up here, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Then we stooped over and picked up the digital camera that fell out of our pocket. We were going to see the Bayeux tapestry, but we'll have to get it next time. (It's like 900 years old. It'll be there this summer.)

If you haven't seen her book Exquisite Pain, we recommend taking a look. (Even if we can't afford it.)

Bunnyshop Hearts: A Small Collection By Alyson Fox

We can't believe that while mentioning our Alyson Fox piece in Nylon that we neglected to also mention her amazing clothing line, A Small Collection! It's super eco-friendly and gorgeous. So definitely check out her website, not least because it is like the most awesome fashion-line website we've ever seen—usually they mess it up when they put video in, but this is totally genius.

Bunnyshop Hearts: Gray Jeans

They are feeling a bit 2006/7 to us, but still: gray jeans! They go so nicely with all of our favorite spring colors: lemon yellow and cobalt blue.

Above: MiH Oslo jeans, $220

And the version that costs about 15%: we're sure these are cuter on than they look from the image. They sort of look like something you'd wear on a hayride here, we're thinking. Forever 21 straight-leg jeans, $29

Found My Animal: BS Hearts

In today's Reader Submitted BS Hearts:

These leashes are designed by an artist named Anna Conway, who has a lot of nautical touches in her paintings. Anna has two rescued dogs and wanted to get the word out about rescuing others and so she contacted a sea captain or something (he made all the ropes in Master and Commander) and he personally makes each rope that her leashes are made out of. The leashes have brass rings on them that you can hook the ends on, and so you can wear the leashes as a belt. The combination of the brass and the color of the rope are pretty great together, a bit of a Marc Jacobs vibe, I think. Each leash also has a little numbered brass tag that says "Found" and then a number so you can walk youred rescued pooch with your head held high and all that.  Also, proceeds from each leash go to the Louis Animal Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to spaying/ neutering and providing homes for animals who have not yet 'found' their people.  I just adopted a dog yesterday and I'm telling you this leash is amazing. Anna says she sold one to a woman on the street the other day who didn't even have a dog. She just wanted to wear the leash as an accessory!

S.

We would like to point out that the person who submitted this is one of the most brilliant writers on the planet, and you can find more of said brilliance here.

And, of course, more of the leashes photo'd above here.

CoverGirl LashBlast: Bunnyshop Hearts

In today's Bunnyshop Hearts:

I was reading your post to CH where you were discussing the different Dior mascaras. I am seriously no mascara expert and I never had any brand loyalty to any mascara until now: After trying so many mascaras under the sun, I have discovered Cover Girl’s Last Blast Mascara. Zero clumps, lengthens beautifully and the brush is similarly big to both Benefit’s BadGal and Dior’s Diorshow. It is amazing and I’ve already bought my second tube of it (which is a pretty big deal for me.)

Anyway, since you are supposed to change your mascara every month or so anyway, it is great to find a brand that makes me feel OK about buying a few at a time. You know, you don’t have to think, “Really? $70 on mascara?”

At least, that’s how I feel.

L.

We've been having a difficult time with mascara lately—someone recently said to us, "Why is it all black under your eyes?"—and we have yet to meet the mascara we won't smear all over our face. We remain hopeful, however.

We just realized that this Drew Barrymore commercial is for this mascara:

In any case: CoverGirl LashBlast mascara, $7.65

Melissa Joy Manning: BS Hearts

Melissa Joy Manning is totally our new favorite jewelry designer. Above: sterling silver chain, $190

And we're not a ring person but this is the coolest one ever:

22k gold coated druzy ring, $485

By the way we totally had to look that up and "druzy" means "a fine layer of miniature crystals filling a cavity or coating a matrix." Fair enough.

Bunnyshop Hearts: Matt + Nat

In today's reader-submitted Bunnyshop Hearts!

i heart beautiful bags: http://www.mattandnat.com/

and the best part --> they are vegan and cruelty-free! i'm saving up to get one (i've been eyeing the 'kravitz' in earth/dark brown for a while now).

All best,
J.

We almost literally shed tears of joy when people send us things they love: partly because it expands, you know, our horizons, and partly because it means less working for us. Though, remarkably, it is more the former than the latter. Share yours here and earn our ever-lasting devotion.

The Johnny, $140

BS Hearts: A Variety of Things From a Trusted Source

We are delighted to present a BS Hearts from this member of our community, who also happened to be the most fashionably dressed attendee of any of our readings, anywhere. (Though she may have been tied by our friend T., who we once spent four days following around a Mexican hotel, hoping to get a glance of her Marc Jacobs bag.)

Anyway: the recommendations we are happy to share from someone whose taste we surely trust:

Phillip Crangi's gold-and-steel stackable rings ($265)

Boots Botanics lip gloss ($7.99) [BS note: Target's not really showing pictures, but the shade looks delightfully Benetint-y.)

We love when people tell us what they love. Send us yours here.

BS Hearts: Moss Mills

We keep confusing Moss Mills with French Frost. This may be because Moss Mills makes us think of Kate Moss and, er, maybe Heather Mills, but definitely British blonde people. Moss Mills is different, and honestly, we prefer them.

Anyway: this necklace. We have been looking—well, we were going to say "here, there, and everywhere," but that would be a lie. We have been occasionallyl glancing around for a heart necklace, and this may be our favorite of all of them.

Audrey necklace, $238 (for gold)

BS Hearts: Frozen Peas

Ahhhhhhdorable, is what we're thinking. We are definitely of the position that a clever $32 necklace is really and truly every bit as good as a $1000 not-clever necklace. We are just absolutely, positively convinced of this.

Oddball Paul the Pony necklace, $32

We have shown these before and we could hardly love them anymore than we already do.

Hugging polar bear wallet, $30

And we file this under things we absolutely do not need but for $6 really don't have to get too anxious about it.

Small wooden pin, $6

BS Hearts: Origins

Origins is kind of like the quiet, subtle sister of Aveda. It's always been in the background of our skincare brain, and the few things we've tried we've really, really liked. We're complete suckers for the mint gumballs they have, so we always plunk down a quarter when we walk by. When we worked near an Origins store, we remember that being the first we'd ever heard of white tea.

This past weekend, we were walking by our local Origins counter and we smelled ginger (ick), saw gumballs (had a soda) and then, oh! What's that? A canvas tote? We LOVE canvas totes! We love collecting them, using them for lunch bags, gym bags, grocery bags, ANYTHING. The Origins woman quickly started talking about the bag, and we heard "ten dollars, donated, farmers".

Our mom grew up on a farm, and a Very Dear Friend's dad is a farmer. We love farms, and we will do anything we can to support them. Once we heard that, we were sold on the tote.

When we got home, we were shocked to see how big it is, and we're not sure if the text on it is corny or not. We do like that it's emphatic and not wishy-washy without being bitchy (we're looking at you, AH).  But $10 for a canvas tote is great, and giving back to farmers (and in this case, organic farm research) is awesome. Did we mention we once heard that plastic grocery bags kill seals? We don't know how accurate that info is, but we couldn't handle it. Plus, right now they have free shipping on all orders - so really, everyone wins!

Organic Cotton Tote, $10

-LB

Bunnyshop Hearts: Homemade Headboards

We are not sure if anyone else is feeling our new headboard obsession, but we just found these instructions for making our own on Real Simple, and we are so on our way to Home Depot.

Bunnyshop Hearts: Bonspiel Creations

In today's Bunnyshop Hearts:

Bonspiel Creations.

I'm currently in possession of a Mulitpass Wallet and her Luggage Part Two bag, and both have brought so much glee to me. Handmade, handscreened, and Ellen is the most awesome Etsy-er ever.

M.

Above: the Multipass wallet, $56

We are also into the fox keyring, as you can never have, in our opinion, too many keyrings, or too many fox-themed accessories. Fox keyring, $10

Bunnyshop Sort of Ambivalently Hearts: Le Sportsac

So we have long maintained that Le Sportsac—it is so weird, we actually cannot hear anything in our head but "Le Sport Suck" ... ooh, copy writing job, here we come! Anyway, our friend \ soulmate K. was accompanying us on a sizable portion of our book tour, and, in the process, counting for a sizable portion of the audience and contributing a sizable portion of our emotional stability. We digress. In any case, she was with us for like five days, and managed to get everything in one nof her like nine LSSs she purchased last year at a sample sale. She had asked us to go to this sample sale, and we were all, "Pass," and quite snotty about it, but now, as with so many things, we are totally envious.

We don't know—sometimes they go a little Vera Bradley for us, but in general, we're totally into them. As K. says: "And it's good for like a few nights, and only $80! And not, like $200!" It's weird: We don't totally swoon over any of them, really, but if someone gave us one, we would be soooo happy. And by the way, their website is totally fun, as you can just choose a blank bag and then see how it looks with all the different patterns. We're easily amused.

Above: Le Sportsac overnighter in Beebop, $88

Isn't this one sort of weirdly Kara Walker, but without all the terrifying slavery imagery? She pretty much owns the whole silhouette thing, we're thinking. Silhouette Symphony overnighter, $88

Bunnyshop Super-Duper Hearts: Rob Ryan

We are a wee bit obsessed with the art of the paper cut, and Rob Ryan tops among all those who take the scissors to the paper. We have no idea why we're trying to talk like a leprechaun. Rob Ryan has done all these lovely things for fashion-y magazines, including this for Vogue Japan. It is not even our favorite, just one of a billion.

We mention him today because he has a new, very exciting website that we highly recommend, and also because he is now selling his work on Etsy. Hurrah, Etsy! But hurrah, in particular, Rob Ryan, for the ongoing excellence.

This is a screenprint rather than an even more exciting papercut, but beggars, choosers, etc. Rob Ryan screenprint, $300

BS Hearts: Benefit

We first discovered Benefit when someone we are related to brought home BeneTint. We, of course, had to touch it and use it, much to her horror. We liked it ok. We remembered the packaging as being neat. We didn't think much of it.

Fast forward a few years, and imagine us on the hunt for new skincare. We no longer can get the Japanese Washing Grains from the Body Shop. All the drugstore scrubs make our skin cry. We are filthy, we are tired, we are looking all over the city to find something that works. Like a beacon in the night, Sephora was there for us. And that is where we found Benefit's skincare line.

Don't get us wrong. We love all that Benefit does. We just don't particularly care for their cosmetics, save for BeneTint. It is just not to our taste. But then again, we almost never wear makeup, so spending more than $4 on something we won't use seems a bit foolish. Anyway. Back to skincare.

Boo Boo Zap is our #1 zit killer. We hate that it is $20 (up from $18, might we add), but we will always spend money on it. We once looked at the ingredients, and it seemed like something we could whip up. But it wouldn't be the same. But seriously, this stuff has taken care of spots we thought would go away when we were 75.

We also love the Honey Snap Out of It! Scrub. It smells good, doesn't wreck our skin, and we always feel clean afterwards. These are good things, we believe.

H.S.O.o.I! Scrub, $26

You know, this post would've been longer if Benefit hadn't discontinued some of our favorite products (we had this moisturizer once. It was the best of its kind - it had an SPF, we did not break out, and it wasn't oily. We cried the day it was discontinued. And they also seem to have quit the Queen For a Day Pineapple Scrub. We loved that stuff\), and if the prices didn't seem to have gone up yet again. Remember that quest we mentioned we were on years ago? Looks like we'll be starting it again. We'll always love the two products above, we will. But we're going to have to look for cheaper options.

-LIL BUNNY

BS Hearts: Aveda

We know we have had some issues with Aveda lately. But that does not mean we don't love them. They are like the jeans you've had forever, and sometimes you are tired of them. But they will always be there for you. They are almost like AAA, or pet health insurance. You hate paying for it, but you know in a pinch, they will be there for you.

We have very wavy/curly hair. We desperately wanted to get it cut short when we were young, and our mother's stylist said, 'ABSOLUTELY NOT. IT WILL LOOK TERRIBLE'. We said fuck you, basically, and went to get the most expensive haircut we've ever had. We made an appointment at Vidal Sassoon Downtown in NYC, hopped the train, and got a short haircut. It was probably the most amazing haircut we've ever had, and we were even offered beverages! Champagne! Orange Juice! We were, and still are, very unskilled when it comes to having attention paid to us. At VSD, it seems like each client had their own assistant to wait on us hand and foot. When asked what we wanted, we blushed, said nothing, and lowered our eyelashes. But we have not forgotten Stefan, our assistant.

Anyway. As our hair is wavy, short hair (and we mean short, like Mia Farrow pixie cut short) can be a challenge. Our stylist recommended a pomade to keep the wispies down and the curls at bay. She told us to try Aveda's Anti-Humectant Pomade. And we did! And we have always had a small container in our bathroom, and this haircut was probably 10 years ago. We do not have that kind of devotion to ANYTHING.

When we had short hair (up until last year), we used it to keep everything at bay. Now that our hair is significantly longer, it is the only post-shower product we use. No spray, no leave-ins, no gels, no thick stuff. This beautiful, light product smells fabulous and doesn't make our troubled hair greasy. We don't even like to travel without it, and we've forgotten our toothbrush before we'd forget this.

So please don't think we dislike Aveda. We don't. We love them. Mostly.

Aveda Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade, $18.00

Oh - it's currently out of stock on the website, but we bet it's still available in stores.

-LIL BUNNY

Bunnyshop Hearts: Fully Functioning Mascara

In today's super-relaxed-Friday-summer-publishing-schedule BS Hearts:

Dear Bunnyshop:

I have tried many many brands of mascara looking for the perfect one—one that actually lengthens like they say it will and does not make my eyelashes clumpy in a effort to "add volume"—who who wants THAT? I have finally found it (at Sephora, of course): IMJU Fiberwig. It's not a special brush—it's a special fiber filed formula. I was a little concerned that the only option is waterproof, which conjured up images of scrubbing and scrubbing just to get the stuff off. But, it's not like that at all, with just warm water it just slips off. It's amazing, really.

K.

Hurrah! We love mascara. We are bringing some to Mongolia. We are not sure we will use it, but at least it is here. We are not as excited about it as we would be if we had this one, though.

IMJU Fiberwig (and what is that name about? It makes us think of insects. But maybe that is just us), $22

Send us your hearts! They are making our day, our week, our year. Really. Sort of.

Bunnyshop Hearts: People Who Back Up Our Nivea Claim

We know this is like the 10,000th time we've gone over how much we love this deodorant, but: support! From South Africa! We're swooning. We would also ask everyone: Does anyone have a non-Nivea deodorant to which they are similarly devoted? Or is it really just us, and this lovely writer below?

Hi BS,

I know the Nivea contest is over, but I wanted to share this. This is the best deo ever. It is not an aerosol but a spray, so its kind of in between an aerosol and roll-on. The best part is that it is about the size of a wand of mascara, so very handbag friendly, but lasts as long as an aerosol.

And smells really good.

I'm from South Africa so we have Nivea products readily available. If you can you should try this. My older sister had bad dark marks and irritation from aerosol and this is really gentle but effective.

M

It is very similar to this one: Nivea Dry, only $5.99

Bunnyshop Hearts: Cheaper Thing Than the Shirt Immediately Below

We can also add here what we hate, which is people who take advantage—and we really mean, in this case, take advantage—of lowering their seat all the way on the airplane. We are small. We are munchkin size. We often brag that we like economy class just as much as first, because (a) we can fit in small sizes comfortably and (b) our seat was like $1800 cheaper. However. However. When seat-abusing motherfuckers—actually, all we will say is the guy in front of us did it, and we were so psychotic about it that actually took hold of the back of his in our hands, and pushed it as hard as we could, but in a way he could not be entirely sure it had not happened by accident. Isn't that utterly freakish \ psychotic? Ooh, we just cannot stand it, however.

On the other hand, things we like! Include cheap notebooks. Possibly convenient for providing paper, which could then be torn into small pieces and showered over the heads of anyone who interferes with our ability to properly open our laptop and watch another excellent episode of The Closer. (Love The Closer.) Or, you know, to-do lists.

We also saw this in Lucky. It is cleansing our palate from the shirt below.

Carrot and Stick striped notebooks, $4

Bunnyshop Hearts: So Many Things, But Not $100 "Yoga Shoes"

In today's Bunnyshop Hearts:

Dear Bunnyshop, I have to tell you about an unlikely BS Hearts I discovered this weekend. To give you some background, I am reasonably fit—I can walk up stairs without getting winded, I live in a city so I walk all the time, and I play/chase my dog pretty constantly. Casual running, yoga here and there—I thought I was in ok shape. Until (duh duh DUUUUUUUUUUH) I met PUNK ROCK BOOT CAMP. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's a fitness boot camp run by a punk rock/hardcore guy who is also a personal trainer named Brian. It's an hour of ridiculously tough workout (at least for people in my shape), backed by music you actually WANT to hear instead of terrible club music. It's held outside, and the other people who go are pretty much like you—so there's no feeling of not being able to keep up or being embarassed. I straight up fell over while running—like flat on my back fell over—and I got back up and kept going. Brian helped me up, my friend cheered me on—I had to stop just because I was laughing so hard. It's like adult gym class for the kids who were always picked last. It's only $5, and it's a good time and a great workout. So far it's only in Philly, but for those in the area, come out! It's an amazing, amazing time. There's not a proper website that I know of yet, but you can find their myspace at myspace.com/punkrockbootcamp Two days later, my muscles I didn't even know I had still hurt—and I can't wait to go back! xoxoxoxoxo jess

We were so baffled as to what little picture to put up at the top. Some punk band? Er, we were like the Violent Femmes \ REM girl in high school, which was not really punk. Hrmph. That's when we decided to go with the totally-missing-the-point-of-it Stella McCartney for Adidas "yoga shoes". "Yoga shoes." WTF WTF WTF WTF.

SMcC for Adidas yoga shoes, $119.95

Those shoes are ridiculous. But we generally don't mind her full line, so we wanted to mention this, above, even if it is way out of our budget. Those freaking yoga shoes. Argh. Stella McCartney funnel neck jacket, $995

Bunnyshop Hearts: Vintage Patterns

So! This is what we are doing in our free time, now that school is out for the summer: ineffectively constructing vintage dress patterns. We just thought we would share. We are avoiding the maxi dress on the right (strangely back in fashion, noted) and making the tunic on the left, without the bizarre lace trim and definitely without the extremely bizarre rainbow espadrilles. Cannot wait ’til we are stylish retro tunic-wearer!

Vintage patterns are so great, because there is otherwise just so much freaking naff out there. We spent ages looking through pattern books without finding what we wanted. Then: eBay. Problem: solved!

We are a little nervous about the darts. And then we are all: We. Will. Make it work!

We are going to quit at some point and just buy this: