bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

Our Three Favorite North Face Jackets: The Round Up

So we know summer is basically, if not officially, two weeks away, but we have learned our lessons, and we have been reminded anew of the wisdom in always having a jacket handy. And we have, equally recently, been thinking about how great North Face jackets are. They're like the functional opposite of all those thin, short-sleeve, completely impractical jackets we've been seeing, and which we know will just leave us cold and lonely in the long run. Also, these NF jackets have really chilled out on (too) omnipresent logos—we remember the extreme satisfaction a Scottish friend took in counting up all the NF logos on the way up the Eiffel Towel—which makes us very happy.

Above: We totally love this one, and even if it is May spent most of yesterday wearing it. It's cuter in person. Geographica jacket, $179

And this doesn't look like much online, but, as above, it's cuter in person. And they really have worked the nipped-in waist thing to our satisfaction. Bara jacket, $99

Being cold in the summer is ridiculous. Speaking of, we wonder who we can talk to about relaxing the air conditioning standards, nationwide. Has Al Gore taught you nothing, person who makes that decision at the Bridgewater Commons movie theater? Nia jacket, $129

Cheap Spring Jackets: The Round-Up

Jackets! They make life so much less cold. We recently received this message:

Spring has come and I have neither jacket nor sweatshirt. I used to have the world’s best jacket—it was a black cotton military style one from Brooklyn Industries. Tragically, I can’t find a photo, but it was perfect; I could wear it with anything to any occasion, it was form-fitting but not so tight that it wouldn’t fit over a normal tee-shirt, and it was under $100 by a long shot. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find anything comparable. Could you help? All I want in life is a basic, cute jacket that I can wear with jeans that I can afford on my civil service paycheck.

Thanks so much!

So annoying. We just feel like jackets should be free. Coats, okay, we'll pay for, but jackets are just so ... easily replaced by hooded sweatshirts. Which, by the way, are our jacket of choice. Or have been, anyway, because we've been desperate for a jacket. (Ever since it got cold again.) We couldn't decide on a specific version—bomber? track? cargo? etc?—so we just went with our favorites in a few different categories, all as close to $50 (and all under $100) as we could get them.

Above: track. This is, inevitably, what we end up wearing, if we're not going somewhere fancy. Or if we are. AA track jacket, $44

Jean: Of all the denim jackets out there (and there are billions), this is our favorite, because of the super-narrow styling and the wash. Ruehl jacket, $98

Parka: We totally love this one. So perfect for spring with the cuffed sleeves. This is the jacket we want so we're not cold when we go to Key Foods. Ben Sherman parka, was $139, now $89.99

Blazer: There are so many cute blazers out there, and we do sort of really like the crested schoolboy ones—that said, we love how cute and yellow and cropped this is. Tumeric jacket, $88

Swing: Love this color and the little ruffle sleeves. This would be such a great traveling jacket—easy on, easy off and all that. Roxy swing jacket, $49.50

And finally—would we call this a cotton bomber jacket? Maybe. Not entirely sure. It's pink but trending to gray, which we think makes it okay. That was not supposed to rhyme. Super cropped, there. Forever 21 jacket, $24.80

 

Shopping (and Dressing) in Paris: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear Bunny,

I see that you were recently in Paris - le sigh! I leave for Paris this weekend; it's my first time there. Since you manage to be sassy and fashion-y while being totally reasonable, I want to know: what are the must-pack items for gallery hopping, landmark visiting, marathon meals and general wandering about?

Lots of love,
C
Toronto

Oh, we just love the travel-y questions! First, we must say, our top top top recommendation for Paris will always be: Caves Saint-Gilles, a tapas restaurant in the Marais (our favorite neighborhood, btw.) It is amazing. It is so great we spent a birthday there, and our friend K. spoke Spanish to all the waiters, and it was amazing. We don't even mind using that word twice, it was that great.

We spent our time in Paris on the border of the 4th and the 11th, and we prefer this part of the city to any other. Maybe it's not the Louvre, but we love love love the Promenade Plantee, an elevated park tres pres de la Bastille—it's the prettiest thing in Paris, especially at this time of year. We were there a week and a half ago, and it was fucking snowing. But we've been there this time of year in years previous, and it's been perfect.

If you have any interest in contemporary art, we beg you not to miss the Sophie Calle show at the National Library.

Shopping wise, you have to hit Colette, Spree, and basically everywhere in the Marais—we are paper freaks so we adore Papier Plus, also in the Marais.

Anyway, this is clearly supposed to be about clothing. Three things hit us on this most recent trip:

1: We saw a million girls in swing jackets. Anthro swing set jacket, $118

2: High-waisted, wide-leg jeans. We didn't think anyone actually wore these, but we saw them all over the place and were totally jealous. 18th Amendment Colbert jeans, $218

3: Scarves. We could practice for a thousand million years and we will never be able to wrap a scarf like a French woman can. Topshop scarf, $30

The $1000 Gold Bomber Jacket: We Don't Get It

We just cannot believe that Members Only is back with $1000 gold "classic bomber jacket[s]". No? It's like Dockers coming back, in 2015, with lame hotpants. Or Eddie Bauer and silver-foil rompers. It's DIY: [staid brand] and [too-revealing clothing.] We totally don't get this. Who are they going for? Gossip girls? Someone out there, please advise. Because we do not see what this has on the sub-$60 American Apparel version.

Members Only gold bomber jacket, $990(!)

Shopbop Discount Code

Only good until midnight tonight! (Central time!)

We would be so happy if, next fall, we remembered we bought a really super-nice jacket half off six months ago. Milly brocade jacket, was $559, now $279.50 with discount code PLUS20.

This Week's Mega-Sale

You know those times when "sale" means "actually still quite expensive"? This is one of those times. But it's eLuxury, so we can't say we weren't warned, and if we learned one thing from working Fashion Week, it's that sometimes, as much as want to rationalize it about 100 other ways, we really need to spend a whole fuckload more money on clothes than we spend. Fucking fashion industry. But again: We can't say we weren't warned. In any case, if we had an all-out event that we needed an all-out outfit for, we'd rather get it on sale. (Or at Century 21. Can we just say: We're finally getting double-duty out of a dress we wore to a friend's wedding last year, and are wearing to our best friend's wedding in two weeks) and we are practically jumping up and down with joy. Century 21 was where we bought our lovely $550 Filippa K dress for $49.99(!)).

Anyhoo: final clearance at eLuxury! We don't think there's any getting around the fact that this is a gorgeous dress. Versace gathered dress, was $1550, now $697

These are basically the only jeans in the entire sale that we want. Or would accept as a present. J Brand straight legs, were $158, now $109

This may be the most beautiful jacket we've ever seen. Narciso Rodriguez wool jacket, was $2170, now $977

We love how weird and Marc Jacobs-y this is. Marc by Marc Jacobs silk chiffon dress, was $388, now $289

We have two things to say about this dress: (1) It is incredibly unflattering. (2) We can't stop looking at it. The fact that (1) is not enough to override (2) is our personal cross to bear. Karta bubble dress, was $334, now $199
 

Sale Item of the Day

We saw someone in basically this coat today, and an extra-long-sleeved turtleneck, and we were totally jealous. Our nature is to hope that she bought it full price, while we get it on sale, but we are trying to improve our clearly negative frame of mind.

MK2K bubble jacket, was $216, now $151.20

Chanel = American Apparel + Forever 21 (More or Less)

So this Chanel jacket, above, from SS08, is like this jacket from Forever 21:

Forever 21 wide stripe blazer, $24.80

And this cardigan from American Apparel that is somehow not made available online, but is adorable, and looks sort of like this one, but with stripes:

This one is: the unisex tri-blend rib cardigan, $40. And the one we love is $44.

Nothing on the Internet is Private, Including the Burberry Private Sale

Right? It's here. We are thinking it is actually a public sale.

In any case: There's plenty of Burberry stuff we'd love to own, but this, tragically, and expectedly, is not it. Of course, someone else might fare better than we did. Burberry 3/4 trench, apparently $1095. And this is supposedly on sale. The mind boggles.

Alice Temperley at Target

We are just wondering if anyone is enjoying Alice Temperley @ Target a bit more than we are. Which is to say, at all. Because we love real, super-classic, all crochet-y Alice Temperley, above. The problem is that this dress costs $1292. We mean, please.

But fake Alice Temperley isn't entirely doing it for us. And we've been in Target a billion times looking to be all seduced into buying some. But. No. These, in our opinion:

Are not her best. AT overalls, $39.99

We mean, we sort of like this coat. If someone was like, "Have our free coat." AT coat, $59.99

You know, we just spent ten minutes looking for something else to recommend, and we just can't do it. Disappointing. That the only thing in this post we would buy, if our kitchen faucet spewed gold coins (because we were looking for an alternative to the money growing on trees), costs $1200. Tss. We are wondering: Did anyone find something they liked?

Old Navy Does It Again

We want everyone to know that we do not believe that Old Navy is it when it comes to fashion. We know there are superior stores in just about every respect. There are some things we will always go to Old Navy for, like sweatpants and tank tops for going to the gym. They make these well, and we don't cry when we lose them for the millionth time. We don't often expect to go and see things over $25 that we would actually consider buying.

We were proven wrong this weekend when we popped in. We have been looking for a cute toggle coat for what seems like a hundred years. Part of it goes back to our affinity for Paddington Bear (we still love him, and looked for him while at Paddington Station. And we don't mean the statue). Part of it goes back to needing a coat we can easily get out of (there was a horrid experience when we were small involving a hand-me-down parka and a stuck zipper). We've not been able to find a toggle coat that looks cute, fits well, and is relatively warm until now. Old Navy came through for us.

It should also be noted that starting today, Todd Oldham is Old Navy's new creative director. We've loved him for ages, and we're pretty excited to see how this shakes things up.

Old Navy Toggle Coat, $98

-LB

The New 20% Discount: Active Endeavors

First: Hurrah! New week, new discount. And this one, we will say, was the popular winner when we asked everybody who they wanted a discount from. (Another idea? Please, please let us know, and we'll get in touch with them. We're happy to ask anyone.) Anyway: Active Endeavors! All 20% off. Discount code: "bunnyshop20".

We are always confused, when we have a discount, if we should buy inexpensive things, and really make out, or use it to buy expensive things we would otherwise really not be able to afford. Today, we go with the latter. And! We asked the lovely and excellent Abby for her fall splurge

We just absolutely need a coat like this. Rebecca Taylor shawl collar coat, was $473, with discount, $378.40

But we also want it in the supremely stainable white. Rebecca Taylor coccoon coat, was $548, with discount, $438.40

And then also the nice cardigan (at top). Apparently it's Rebecca Taylor day here at Bunnyshop. RT cardigan, was $440, with discount $352

Not quite as expensive tomorrow, we're thinking.

Sale of the Day: Penguin Jacket

We can hear someone—someone, say, to whom we are related, and roughly the same age—seeing this jacket and being, like, "Will you fucking take that off." And then we would say, "We like it and have no idea what you're talking about."

Original Penguin Emma jacket, was $260, now $100

Speaking of Patrick Robinson For Target

This ad, and this looks, reminds us of this picture from Garden State:

And not in an entirely good way.

At top: PR for Target linen jacket, $44.99, and rosette print tank, $22.99

We Heart Jackets

This jacket: It does not look like much. But we are positive it is the greatest jacket in the history of jackets. Narrow cut but not too narrow cut, and then if you fiddle with the collar a little bit it goes all very spiky and sleek. At least, we like to believe it is sleek. We are pretty sure it is sleek. It is also, however, the perfect not-cropped length, and exactly the right length (er, at least for people who are roughly our munchkin size) for wearing with reasonably low-waisted jeans. Also, after several months of not having a jacket, we find jackets excellently suited for not being cold all the time. Sometimes we are flabbergasted by things that actually work as advertised. Hurrah!

Fitted jacket, about $68

The Look We Want

We are currently being tortured by the number of perfect perfect trenchcoats we saw between where we are staying, so far outside of London it may as well be in another country and our yoga studio in Primrose Hill. Tortured. Three times we successfully prevented ourselves from asking women wearing them where they got them. Once we succumbed. And hers is above. But this look: slouchy jeans, spring-weight trenchcoat, and not those Diesel-y shoes (you know what we mean) but Converse. Oh. We are just not going home without the trench.

"Karen Millen." That is what the woman said when we asked her where her trench coat was from. No online shopping but there are a grand total of seven shops in the U.S. That is a green trench from the S\S collection.

We are in love with these jeans. That is a perfect blue, and they are boot cut without getting too out of hand about it. Earnest Sewn Keatons, $198

This is much cuter in real life. Topshop trench, about $130

And we haven't seen this many of these since high school. Plus ca change, etc. Chuck Taylor All Stars, $41.99

Juicy Couture: Killing Us From The Inside Out

Oh, we hate those fucking tracksuits. And the prices aren't great. But there are some things we really like from Juicy Couture. We really feel like that's saying: "But there are some songs we really like by Ashlee Simpson." Our mind boggles. We just saw this amazing movie about a women who blenderizes one lobster and electrocutes another, and we are so sad we haven't thought of anything that clever yet. Maybe we're just jealous because one of the Juicy girls got to marry John Taylor, and we didn't. If we were 11, we'd hate her guts.

Anyway: Juicy. The more we think about it, the more we realize the one thing we like, at least that's available online, is these jeans, because they defy our skinny jean tendencies and look, say, comfortable, which, one of these days, is going to be enough to make us wear them. But $178? Hmm. Hmm. JC boot cut jeans, $178

At the end of the day, though—and we need to admit that we are figuring this out as we type it—they do one thing well. Tracksuits. Fuck. We're just so conflicted. Maybe we feel about this the way we do about a Marc Jacobs handbag: It's like that itch that you resist scratching for so long—as far as JC is concerned, what is it now, four years?—and then one day you're just like, 'Oh, fine. Whatever." We feel like we're reporting from 2004. JC velour track jacket, $92

And we do need to say that we truly and without reservation love this trench. They do great outerwear. At least the fall collection had a lot of great outerwear. We're much more meh on the few spring pieces we've seen. But this, we love, unreservedly. We just wish the model didn't look quite so naked. JC trench, $350

The Right Trench?

This model looks a little naked to us. Nonetheless, we are thinking that this may in fact be the trench for which we have searched so long! Appropriate tan color: check. Reasonable lapels: check. Reasonably short length: check. We're a a touch iffy about the sleeves, but our hopes are high.

We are still so aggravated by Juicy Couture, in concept and tracksuit-actuality, but past the hoodies we actually quite like a lot of their stuff, even when it costs a little more than we'd ideally like. For the right trench—staple! staple! is what we keep telling ourselves—we'd probably pay. JC 3/4 sleeve piped trench, $350

Dilemma

We are often confounded—in general, but also in particular: What sort of coat is the right sort to wear with a tunic and skinny pants or leggings? Our head says cropped, to keep all the proportions [sort of] right, but we only like that look when the front's kept unbuttoned or zipped (to keep it clear that you're wearing a tunic over pants and not a skirt, which has for some reason always bothered us) or the whole thing is super narrow to avoid bulk. And then sometimes we think the jacket \ coat should be longer than the tunic. Or that it should only be a combo worn in warm weather, to avoid the jacket conundrum entirely.

Anyway. We could try to work this out for days, and we are not sure we would be any closer to the answer. But here are a few ideas, which we poached from Topshop's glorious LFW coverage. (Do be sure to watch the Unique fashion show. Love the belts!)

Before We Completely Write Off Behnaz Sarafpour at Target

We were feeling very meh about this whole collection—something about all the "jewels" on the t-shirts just looked very glue gun to us—but then we finally actually went in to Target, and after making our way through all the red and white Tord Boontje screens—which are about to do this impossible, which in this case is make us hate Tord Boontje—we discovered the twill trench. This is a really great trench coat we're thinking, in that it is cut quite narrowly and despite the double-breastedness less prone than usual to making us look like a twill-encased whale. It's sold out online, but both of our local targets had a semi-reasonable selection.

Behnaz Sarafpour twill trench, $49.99

Marc Jacobs And His Wool Coat

This is the jacket we featured last week as part of our plaid jacket spectacular. We actually love that oversized neck. Something it just seems a little off to us. Maybe it's the matching bag and gloves. Maybe it's the trousers. It sort of looks like one of those picnic blankets you store in your trunk, and then on the Fourth of July, you're like, "Oh, this is so great, I totally forgot about this blanket in my trunk!" Can't really figure this out, entirely.

Swing Jackets

Swing jackets! Not even sure what they are. Looked them up in Wikipedia, and got something about golf. Not what we expected. We are thinking to define thusly: three-quarter sleeves (or not) and maybe cropped. Quite short, anyway. Love them! Just excellent with longer t-shirts and skinny jeans or any number of the Biba dresses we are so desperate to buy. Okay, maybe not exactly with Biba dresses. We just really want a Biba dress. Ooh, look at that silhouette. So the sleeves and the bottom hem are roughly at the same ... er, line of latitude. Maybe this makes a swing jacket a swing jacket.

Above: We imagine Madonna wearing this wearing galloping across the fields of heather, possibly cradling her new African child in her arms. Burberry wool swing jacket, $850

This is a little weird to us. We would be happy to wear it with a fancy dress, however. Especially blue, or gold, or white. Juicy Couture faux-fur swing coat, $350

Jacquard! That's jacquard, if you look closely. More closely than perhaps the image allows. We looove this jacket. Sixties jacquard swing jacket, about $100

We really only sort of like this. A little shirt, no? And the flared sleeves just look a little too flared to us. Theory swing jacket, $395.

We're not sure we love the look in general, and there's something a little ... fluffy about what we'd expect to be a streamlined piece, but still: swing! + Marc Jacobs! Love the buttons. MXMJ swing jacket, $458. Good God these are expensive. Sheesh.

25 Best Stores in SF: Minnie Wilde and Their Dress, Denim and Jacket Goodness

Love Minnie Wilde. It, and Painted Bird, are the two bright lights of our San Francisco shopping lives. And! Unlike Painted Bird, anyone can enjoy it, thanks to the miracles of the Internet, and Fed Ex. Or UPS. We once read those Motley Fool books, during a moment of extreme financial security, and they tell you to invest in companies you use all the time. (Which for us would be Topshop, Kiehl's, PopTarts and whoever makes Red Vines. Now there is an investment strategy.) We were all, "We must invest in Fed Ex!" And then we forgot. We're pretty sure we would have made money. If we hadn't forgotten. Of course, we would have spent it all on Topshop, Kiehl's, PopTarts and Red Vines, so ... pffft.

Isn't this dress beautiful? Look at the draping on the shoulders. Love it! Also love the haircut, now that we are haircare professionals. Angel dress, $225

We don't completely adore this in gray, but we would be exceptionally excited about the black. And again: love those bangs. Frenchie trenchie, $325

Both the jacket and the jeans here. Especially the jeans. This is an example, one of the rare ones, we think, of skinny jeans not looking ass-y. Moto-Nouveau jacket, $215, and Jordache slim fit jeans, $145

Here is a better picture of the jeans:

Ooh, we totally want them. Jordache just seems to offer all of the denim loveliness without any of the Citizens-Paige-True Religions-etc-bother. What is wrong with us that we're thinking, "$145? Really quite budget."

Fall = Plaid Jackets

We're horribly cold and in this horribly cold city, so this marks the start of our coat and outerwear mini-extravaganza, cognizant of the fact that that is, itself, a horribly moronic oxymoron. But: coats! So much more effective than cardigans, even when worn cape-like, with just one button buttoned, that one being the one closest to the neck. That, and we have some experience with this, just looks ridiculous.

We're just putting this one up to say something like, "$3,400?" Hahahahahahahahaha. But it is awfully beautiful. Sigh. That costs more than a car. Of course, we don't have a car. This might mean that we should have the coat. Marc Jacobs plaid wool coat , $3,400. (Hahahahahahahahahaha.)

When did coats get so expensive? This is what we want to know. We should say: When did the coats we want to buy get so expensive? We love this coat. But $638? Tss. Really. "With wide lapels, gumball buttons, and silk satin lining." We expect it to be lined with dollar bills, at that price. And from Anthropologie! If we can buy it in a mall, we want it to be roughly within the buying power of someone who might conceivably have dinner at Sbarro's. Brindleburr tartan coat, $638

We find Juicy Couture just so whatever, and we don't get the "velvet detail at right shoulder," but ... we would really quite like a belted mini-trench. JC trench, $425

We were going to put this in as a [tragically, not really] low-cost option, but then we remembered.... [Miss Sixty plaid jacket, $199]

that there is a god, and she is called Forever 21. Until H&M gets their online act together, it's love. Plaid jacket, $37.80

Three for Fall: Plaid Blazers

Plaid! Mad about it, etc. We're also newly infatuated with blazers, seeing as how they are warm and lovely and everything, and plaid ... it's a little too much to look at, with our summer-trained eyes, but we're thinking that come Labor Day, along with the seasonal affective disorder, we'll be focusing on plaid. Plus blazers. Equals the obvious.

L.A.M.B. goes a little apeshit sometimes, which we suppose is your right when you are hot superstar, etc., but this isn't so overboard that it scares us. And we love the super oversized collar. Those arms look excessively skinny, but otherwise, we're totally pro. L.A.M.B. Sweetheart Blazer, $485

This costs about half as the L.A.M.B. Why? Only because of the lack of the hot superstar etc.? We cannot say. Collar slightly less oversized, plaid slightly less pleasing. But love the brass buttons.  Anthropologie plaid jacket, $218

Finally: the silhouette here is less curvy \ less fun, and we're not totally in love with the piping. It is a lot harder than we thought to find three, never mind five, plaid blazers that we did not think