If you’re accustomed to a green gator embroidered on your polo shirts—or maybe, if you’re feeling really crazy, a personalized monogram—let us introduce you to an alternative: Psycho Bunny, whose rabbit-skull-and-crossbones logo manages to look oddly cheerful. Cute, even. But above all, eye-catching—and for many of the 16-year-old brand’s devotees, that’s the whole point.
The first Psycho Bunny store in Northern Virginia opened this spring in Tysons Corner Center; previously, the NYC brand was available only on the racks of department stores, like Nord-strom and Bloomingdale’s. In this stand-alone shop, you’ll find an even bigger array of its polos, shirts, swimwear, and knitwear, aimed mostly at guys ages 25 to 55 (though women have been known to make Psycho Bunny pieces their own), in sizes from toddler to 6XL Tall.
The logo is no mere gimmick. It may have been once absent-mindedly scribbled onto a napkin back when the founders were trying to get a clothing company off the ground. And it may have been accidentally spotted by a store buyer, who admired it, saying, “That looks like a psycho bunny!” And the rest may be history. But now that it’s part and parcel of the label’s identity, it’s taken with great care, like the rest of the materials that make up the high-quality casual sportswear. More than 4,000 stitches go into each Bunny logo, which adorns everything from premium T-shirts to swimwear to work-appropriate knitwear.
“The bunny logo is a big attractor,” acknowledges marketing director Matthew Morein. “A lot of people love it and want to collect everything they can with that logo on it.” Other customers, says Morein, are drawn to the label’s high quality and stay for the vibrant hues. “People who might come in with a very basic, classic polo in black or navy might, over time, wear some of our other colors,” he says.
Those classic polos are built to last, in diamond-knit pique, made in Peru from 100 percent pima cotton. Even casual tees get taped shoulder seams, so their luxe pima cotton holds its shape.
For fall, Morein is expecting premium hoodies, hats, and polos in richer tones; long-sleeve tees and quilted outerwear in French terry, nylon, and fleece; and the return of an old favorite: a sweatshirt adorned with a chenille bunny design, like a varsity logo.
“I think we attract both people who want to stand out in the way they dress up and also enjoy classic style reimagined,” says Morein. “The logo is absolutely a little wink. There are certainly some customers who, even though they aren’t necessarily comfortable wearing ‘louder’ pieces, having that little wink is an alternative.” Tysons Corner Center, Tysons, psychobunny.com
What’s in Store
1. Warwick Sport Polo, $105
2. Alston Stitched-Logo Track Pants, $108
3. Men’s socks, $15
4. Men’s Baseball Cap, $35
5. Men’s “Barbon” Graphic Tee, $75
Feature image by Christin Boggs Peyper
This story originally ran in our September issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.
