+BOLD SUMMER PLAYLIST: If you’re looking for something peppier and zestier than my “soft summer playlist” (as I was compiling mine, I was imagining what kind of music I’d want to have wafting in through open windows while enjoying a glass of rose), you must check out Cadets’ Songs of Summer and Summers Past. It’s perfect for an outdoor BBQ, a pool hang, etc! I have actually been listening to it while putting together a bunch of my summer shopping posts this week. And of course Cadets’ resort collection is the perfect attire for the playlist!
+READING AND EMPATHY: I loved this quote by George R.R. Martin I came across this week. How spectacularly true?! Good readers are deeply empathetic.
+BOAT SHOES: Falling hard for these chic boat shoes, reimagined. The laces make them, don’t you think?! This under-$150 pair has a more feminine silhouette that I also find chic.
+THE DEAREST FRESHNESS DEEP DOWN: This stanza from Gerard Manley Hopkins leapt right out at me. I love the description of nature, the “dearest freshness deep down.” It’s exactly right: the sense of things welling up, the nascent or budded beauty of it all.
+EYEING + BUYING: On my radar this week, in addition to the boat shoes: longer-hem jean shorts?! Who am I? Why do I covet these Gap jean shorts?!
SUMMERSALT SWIMSUIT // STRIPED MUG // LINEN TOP AND SHORTS // STRIPED SWEATER // GHIA NON-ALCOHOLIC SPRITZES // RATTAN DRINK COOLER // LOEFFLER RANDALL BOAT SHOES // GAP DENIM SHORTS // YSE BANANDA PRINT EYE PATCHES
+”HOW PEOPLE DO LIFE”: I was also struck by this lovely sentiment on Instagram: “I love seeing how people do life. The messy and the specific to them.” I think this is a big part of why Instagram was, initially, so intriguing, although it has evolved to be many different things since. It reminded me of a Magpie reader who commented that she liked the way, in 2025, I have been exploring “the messes around life and love.” I have been thinking so much along those lines — about how we’re almost always in the murky middle of something, and how much easier life becomes when we’ve cultivated the competency to wait, hang tight, be present in the in-betweens.
+BESTSELLERS: This week’s top seller: these CHIC gingham pants! Planning to do a micro-post with different ideas on how to style them soon.
01. GINGHAM PANTS // 02. TORY BURCH FLATS // 03. J. CREW SARDINES TEE // 04. SCARF // 05. SHORTS // 06. ROXANNE ASSOULIN NECKLACE // 07. GAP CROCHET BAG // 08. PISTOLA SELENE TEE // 09. LOCCITANE SHIMMERING ALMOND OIL // 10. CESTA SCARF // 11. DOEN SHIRT // 12. TUCKERNUCK DRESS
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Hi Jen! Do you have suggestions for men’s boat shoes, or maybe loafers? My husband has some beautiful tailored white shorts but none of his shoes look right with them. What is the men’s summer shoe? Not flip flops. I was reading a thing about how Gen Z never have their toes out! If I can’t think of anything I might get him Venetian slippers or something.
I just bought brown shorts at Max Mara that I intend to wear with the black vest from Quince! Love the two tone. I’ve been eyeing the fringe miniskirt in Cadets collection, the red is so festive. Not easy to get over here though!
I think you’re great at getting magpies to share how they do life! The chore systems, the junk drawers, the pool bags, the minutiae that make up a life. I love to share details about my home with friends (my new sheets! My color coded hangers for the kids! My favorite candles and linen spray! The recipes my kids actually eat!).I want to see more mess and striving and dreaming from the people I love.