In my last Ask Magpie series, several readers asked for packing suggestions for European travel this spring and summer and a subset of those readers specifically requested dresses that can work for day or night. I loved this challenge and wanted to share some stand-out picks, plus how to style more casually versus more formally.
I am specifically obsessed with the easy, iconic polka dot looks I’ve pulled together below — wow! Love the way the two gals on the left have dressed these looks down, and the two on the right have dressed them up. So incredibly chic! A few great polka dot dresses to consider adding to your suitcase: this Ciao Lucia, this Anthro, this Aritzia, this Zimmermann, this Doen, and this Self-Portrait.
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By: Jen Shoop
I love matching sets for spring and summer — effortless, but somehow make me feel like I tried just a little harder. Above, wearing my favorite Frank and Eileen linen set (which I own in white and the sand color above), but I will say I wore this gauze set (shirt, pants) layered with a SoldOut tank on my travel day down to Orlando last week and felt chic and also insanely comfortable. Like wearing a cloud. I find sets are fantastic for travel. Worn together, they feel intentional and polished (great for travel days), but you can also re-style the separates to maximize your travel wardrobe.
I just picked up this hot pink linen shirt and shorts set from Aligne. I would layer over a swimsuit, style the shorts with a tee or tank and a big necklace and heel for dinner — so many options.
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By: Jen Shoop
Above, wearing a Hill House Cosima dress but Target has some really great looks for less, including this and this! Sharing this and a few other great Target finds below…Note: I am obsessed with the recent Kate Spade x Target collaboration (lots of items sold through in 24 hours but have since become available again / possibly returns? restock?), as well as their new home arrivals!
02. Per my comment at the top of this post, I love the blue print on this mini sundress. Serious Hill House vibes (compare with this). Side bar: speaking of HHH, did you see the latest Cosima pattern that just dropped?! OMG. I do NOT need another nap dress, and specifically not another Cosima, but this one is SO GOOD. I just got the green and white stripe though…speaking of, this $35 dress reminds me of mine in the green and white stripe!
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By: Jen Shoop
When we left for Florida last week, our lilacs were in bloom. When we returned four days later, the fragrant blossoms had vanished, leaving an unpunctuated, lush green. I mourned their absence; in my personal lexicon, lilacs are a signifier of things remembered. But the next morning, I ran my usual route through my neighborhood and discovered that we’d entered peak azalea season, which —
Mother Nature never fails to deliver the right message at the right time.
I am in a time of transition. My daughter is switching schools next fall, my daily writing flow is now forked between my blog and my book (!!!), and there are other changes afoot in our family life that I trust I will write about in good time. Add to this the ocean turbulence of perimenopause and, well, my world feels slightly askew.
I know I will find my sea-legs. I trust myself. This, a great gift of age: the awareness that life continues, and so do we. As we sat by the pool in Orlando making vacation friends, Landon was talking about UVA basketball, Tony Bennett’s departure, the team’s performance last season. Our new friend said: “Well, you can’t win every season. I’m sure they’ll be back.” We all tutted in agreement; it was a perfect expression of “the long view” that forty years on this earth will bestow upon you.
So I find myself leaning with surprising dexterity on this and other well-worn crutches — foremost among them, getting outside and looking to nature for reassurance. (“When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness, I would almost say that they save me, and daily.” – Mary Oliver.) She did not disappoint this past weekend, as she waved to me from the azalea bushes, telling me:
Don’t linger on the lost lilac;
there is always something good growing.
The azaleas of late April, the roses of mid May, the hydrangea of June —
+Love this little brown-centric curation I put together from Shopbop’s new arrivals. How cute is this “ciao” tropical print set with the skirt and matching top?! I would wear this head-to-toe look, complete with these $118 sandals!
+I know a lot of Magpies are “anticipators” (vs procrastinators) — if you’re already thinking ahead to peak summer wardrobe, how great is this under-$200 dress for FOJ?
+And don’t miss Cecil and Lou’s just-launched FOJ collection! I picked up this dress for my daughter and this shorts set for my son. Also couldn’t resist this “grandpa hat” for my boy! Pieces are surprisingly already selling out in sizes — lots of forward-thinking moms! All my picks from the collection here.
+Speaking of my daughter, I’ve been having a tougher and tougher time finding outfits she approves of. She really loved these shorts and this shirt from La Coqueta, and she recently selected these white jeans shorts with this tee. What I’m finding is that it’s crucial to buy her a shirt to go with a pair of shorts; she’ll always wear them as a cohesive set if they arrive coupled together.
+Just got one of these mini wipes sets for the car. I am forever reaching in to my glove box to pull out half-opened/semi-dry wipes! Hoping this is a better solution.
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By: Jen Shoop
I often think — how lucky I am that some things didn’t work out. How fortunate that I didn’t get into my first choice college, that I broke up with my college boyfriend, that I did not get that job in San Francisco, that we closed our first business, that our first offer on a house in DC was rejected. Those endings opened my life up to the beautiful shape it has now taken. As we often say, rejection equals redirection.
Each time I think of these “failings,” I float into a zen-like state. I find myself swinging my arms a little more loosely. Letting the day be what it is. Sitting more comfortably with the version of me that is here today — imperfect, but trying. I see myself as a body of water, lapping and occasionally spilling over its banks, and my experiences and emotions are the lively creatures within it. I am the water, though, I must remind myself; not the fleeing or spearing or furious fish within. Which is to say we are not what happens to us, and we are not our emotions, either. We are the sky-giving, liquid body that holds those things and persists.
Each time I write a post here on my blog, WordPress prompts me to tag it with various keywords. I realized recently that my most-used keyword is perspective. That this is the bullseye towards which my writing forever aims. Today, another shot at the target.
P.S. – I am loving this lightweight barrier rescue balm! After multiple days in the Florida sun and two airplane rides, I felt parched all over. I love that this is a very lightweight balm formula – not as unctuous and sticky as, say, Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream. I put on my lips, forehead, nose, nail beds!
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By: Jen Shoop
+THE BIG QUESTION: How about this quote from Mary Oliver for a little andale today?!
+AMY POEHLER ON CRINGE AND TIMING: I have this interview between Amy Poehler, Matt Rogers, and Bowen Yang queued up for a morning walk (with my weighted vest) this weekend, but I’m already loving some of the snippets I’ve seen circulating from the podcast, seen below — especially her entreaty to “climb cringe mountain.” Yes! You might as well…! My friend and collaborator Caroline (she helps me with some aspects of running this blog) often tells me: “The world needs your art! Keep creating!” Get over the cringe! Don’t play it cool!
+FRENCH CHATEAU ENERGY: I wrote a week or two ago that I want my 50s to be “my French chateau era” — not literally, just in ethos. A big open kitchen; doors through which a dog wanders in and out; sun and tomato vine and that endless summer feeling. I realized this week that I have been subconsciously clinging to the lifestyle of long time creator Vivi et Margot — her Instagram feed seen below! Wow! Goals for my 50s.
+FOR LAUGHS:Playground designers…lol. “So the kids are just like shouting into the void?” “Yeah, that’s good.”
+OUR SIGNATURE SUMMER SCENT: We burned The Hamptons candle all summer long and my sister later described it as “the Shoop signature scent.” Yes! Hotel Lobby just restocked and I secured a bunch for the season ahead. Also make great gifts.
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By: Jen Shoop
This week, I came across this old post from 2018 (…!) and almost didn’t recognize myself in it. I mean — I still love some of these things, but not all of them, and I try to avoid the word “should” as much as I can nowadays. I would never title a post this way in 2025. (What good has “should” ever done? It’s a guilt-inducer, a shame-chute. And nothing grinds my gears more than someone telling me: “you should have done x”!) But the past is a foreign land; they do things differently there. And 2018 was pre-Bethesda, pre-COVID, pre-Hill, pre-second-apartment-in-NYC, pre-coming-into-my-own-at-40. So much has changed. One of Landon’s mentors talks frequently about how things tend to happen in clusters of four year periods, which she calls epochs, and I find the concept interesting. I often contemplate where I might be within an epoch. Am I at the start of a new one with the book deal? Am I in the middle of things with the blog in full swing? I don’t know, but I can say that this post was over an epoch ago, and it reads that way.
But, we are in constant re-writing. And we are always raising future versions of ourselves. I am confident that Jen at 50 will have an entirely different tack. This reminds me of a time in college when an old friend told me: “You’ve changed so much,” and it had the slightest underbelly of insult. I didn’t know how to respond then, but all these years later, I wish I could go back and say: “Isn’t that the point?” It’s a beautiful thing, to realize you’ve changed for the better.
Anyhow, if I were writing a list along the same lines of my 2018 one, here’s how it might run:
10 Weird but Harmless Things I Love
+Eating the best bite of something first. (My husband is the opposite! He will literally eat his way around a sandwich so that the last bite is the best.)
+Going to bed with wet hair. (Still a favorite “bad girl behavior.” I pay for it in the morning but damn does it feel good.)
+Bird-watching — I can’t not comment on a bird. God forbid one lands on a branch outside my studio. The funny thing is: I don’t even know much about birds. I would consider myself a pre-amateur bird enthusiast. Usually when I’m into something, I’m all in, but this is just a situation of fuzzy wonderment. Funny enough, when I went to find a photo for the top of this (edited) post, I searched for “birds” in my Apple photos library, and I took this one in 2013, when I lived in Chicago and took much fewer photographs of my life. Not much has changed, I suppose. Once a bird enthusiast, always a bird enthusiast.
+Drinking iced lattes all year round. (My sister has described this behavior as unacceptable.)
+Needing to use a word the week I learn it. I collect words in my journals, and sometimes write exciting new discoveries on individual post-it notes on my desk. I am literally vibrating with energy until I find a way to work the newcomers into an essay.
+Reading my Kindle in bed with the lights out. Why the lights out, I don’t know — I could easily have the light on and a better reading experience. But it feels one step closer to sleep, one bridge closer to comfort.
+Room temperature foods. I mean, of course I like the things that are meant to be hot hot (i.e., soups), but I have no prohibitions against room temperature foods. Grilled asparagus? Fried chicken? Charcuterie? A pasta salad? Love all of these things at room temp.
+Eating cherries and savoring the pits for a long time. This one is, admittedly, very weird.
+Wearing socks to bed. I know there are sock-in-bed haters out there, but my feet are always freezing!
+Deferring substantive conversations until I’m sitting. Landon really got me on board with this one. Sometimes we’ll be flitting around the kitchen, and we’ll start talking about something more substantive, and one or the other of us will say: “Wait! Let’s sit and talk.” I find it much easier to really focus and think carefully this way. It also makes the conversation “the thing.” I’m not shoe-horning it into my day, around chores and errands. I’m sitting and making the conversation the main course.
Now your turn — what weird but harmless things do you love?
******
My original (2018) version of the list:
10 Things I Love But Shouldn’t (2018 Edition)
+Going to bed with wet hair.
+Buying toiletries in bulk ostensibly to appear to be a prepared adult but principally in order to line them up in neat rows in the cabinet.
+Falling asleep with the TV on.
+”Accidentally” eating the fatty bits of pork or steak.
+OMG! Splendid is offering an extra 60% off their sale section here. Lots of great buys, but do not miss this $52 cardigan (orig $188). Love it in the cactus color. And I hate to be the devil on your shoulder, but this white gauze set is next level in terms of fit and comfort. Get it in the white! Layer the pants over swimwear, with tanks, etc — or wear as a set for summer travel days, lounge before bed, etc!
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By: Jen Shoop
My top two gift recommendations for Mother’s Day this year are, first, an Aura digital frame (mine seen above), and second, a gifted Glamsquad blowout.* I say this because these are two thing I absolutely love that have a little extra motherhood substance behind them.
Let me speak candidly: Aura reached out to send me their digital frame earlier this year, and I was unsure how I’d feel about it. Did I really want another screen in my home? Would it feel like having a constantly-on tablet? But Landon has the screensaver of his Macbook set to shuffle through our shared photo album for our children, and I find that any time I’m sitting in his office, I am completely absorbed by the photographs cycling through, and we often pause and reminisce together because of it. My children have also been known to pull up their chairs to watch the slideshow — to laugh, to remember, to swap stories. So I said: OK, let’s try it. Magpies — the Aura frame (I have the minimalist Carver style in the 10″ size) has been one of the greatest additions to our home in a long time. I can’t tell you how lovely it is to be making peanut butter sandwiches in a fluster or hurry, and to look up, and to see your babies at the ages of 12 weeks or 2 years and to remember: my God, the time flies, and how precious it is. The photographs dissolve my haste; they pluck me right out of my mood. I am left remembering how beautiful and rich this life has been. Meanwhile, my children love to ask questions about the parade of pictures: “was that our first apartment in New York, or our second?” “How old was Tilly in that picture?” “Was I born yet?” The frame has seeded dozens of meaningful and beautiful conversations about our life together. Finally, Landon has often observed that he’ll look at a photo — especially the ones from COVID era living in cramped Manhattan apartments — and see how we muddled through, and how the pictures tell a different, brighter story. We might have been white knuckling through some tough parenting days, but our children are laughing and playing with slime and wandering around Central Park, and really, aren’t we resilient?
I have told Landon at least two dozen times since receiving it how much joy it brings me. I cannot — cannot — recommend it more. If you, like me, are a little worried about how it will look in your decor, please trust me when I say this digital frame is as attractive and simple as they come, with a little linen-effect mat around the edge, and that any hesitations about having an “on” screen in your house will disappear when you evaluate the joy it brings you.
By the way, this little extolment is not sponsored. I did some collaborative work with Aura on Instagram, but I really had to share how much I treasure this item here because I think it will make the most gorgeous gift for a mother. Landon and I are contemplating buying one for each of our parents for Christmas this year (Mom, disregard). Aura really thought through everything with this, because you can gift the frame with an album already configured in it — in case your parents aren’t as tech-savvy as you are, or might not be able to set it up themselves. We set it up so that it cycles through only our shared album of pictures featuring Emory and Hill. I believe the code MAGPIE should get you $35 off the frame!
OK, and on the second front — Glamsquad. I love the idea of sending your mother/wife/sister/MIL or self this gift of low-lift, luxurious haircare. There is nothing more luxe than having your hair blown out at home, at your own convenience. I am now in a semi-addictive habit of having my hair blown out most Mondays to sort of reset for the week. I think this would be a gorgeous gift to self/mother/etc.
*Reminder that I have codes for Glamsquad — click here for $25 off your first Glamsquad appointment if you are a new customer; click here for $15 off your next Glamsquad appointment if you are a returning client.
A bunch of other great gift ideas for mothers and mother types below, at different price points —
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By: Jen Shoop
Back with our favorite little way to get to know one another! Copy and paste into the comments with your own responses! I absolutely love reading these. Landon will often read them aloud to me at cocktail hour. Some previous installments here and here.
01. If you could title the current decade of your life, what would it be called? What do you want the next decade of your life to be titled?
02. A word no one would ever use to describe you.
03. Something that annoys you when you see it on a menu.
04. Something that delights you when you see it on a menu.
05. Scariest words.
06. Loveliest words.
07. Write your ________ in ink, but your ________ in pencil.
08. What part of adulthood did no one sufficiently warn you about?
09. What’s a feature that is considered unattractive by conventional beauty standards that you find attractive?
10. Best investment you’ve ever made in your appearance.
11. What’s the best meal or dish you’ve ever made with the $5 Costco chicken?
12. Anyone who interacts with a range of clients/patients/students regularly: what is one student/client/patient you’ll never forget, and why?
***
I’ll go first:
01. If you could title the current decade of your life, what would it be called? What do you want the next decade of your life to be titled? Current decade: Tie between “The Good Ol Days” (I already know it) and “Head Down and Heart Full” (I have been cranking!! And also very happy!); Next Decade: The French Chateau Era. (If you read this post, you’ll understand what I mean by that.)
02. A word no one would ever use to describe you. Pushy.
03. Something that annoys you when you see it on a menu. Anything that feels out of place on the menu and has clearly been included to pander / hit a trend. For example: gochujang chicken noodles at a pizza place.
04. Something that delights you when you see it on a menu. Something difficult for us to make at home — fried baby artichokes, beignets, etc. Also, anything unpopular — I’m thinking sweetbreads — because it usually signals a passionate chef.
05. Scariest words. “We have to talk.” Ahhh! Just sent a shiver down my own spine.
06. Loveliest words. “Please stay.” (I have a whole musing on this here.) Also: “We did it.”
07. Write your ________ in ink, but your ________ in pencil. Dreams / strategies.
08. What part of adulthood did no one sufficiently warn you about? How hard it is to watch your parents get older. Also, the amount of time you spend planning meals. (More surprises about getting older here.)
09. What’s a feature that is considered unattractive by conventional beauty standards that you find attractive? Distinctive noses. I think some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met have strong, distinctive, unusual, even crooked noses.
10. Best investment you’ve ever made in your appearance. Invisalign in my late 30s. I used to hate smiling in pictures!
11. What’s the best meal or dish you’ve ever made with the $5 Costco chicken? Ina Garten’s chicken pot pie! It’s seriously delicious.
12. Anyone who interacts with a range of clients/patients/students regularly: what is one student/client/patient you’ll never forget, and why? Here for the answers!
Shopping Break.
+How gorgeous is this lace top? I’d wear it as a jacket over a white dress. L’Agence has some absolutely spectacular pieces right now — I love this tailored patterned dress!
+Gucci has some gorgeous spring scarves out. This one reminds me so much of my mom. And I love the colors in this one!
+Just received this hydrating face mask. Cannot wait to use. I find as I get older, the main thing I need for my skin is more moisture. I also wanted to re-plug this incredible inexpensive collagen sheet mask — I am obsessed with then. You do need to leave it on for like an hour to get the full effect so I find I have to really think about when I’m going to be able to use it, but it’s SO plumping, hydrating, glowing. They just released a brightening version with Kojic Acid and Turmeric that I am also going to try. I actually ordered this bundle set with four of the original and four of the new, as it cost less per mask! A steal!
+Weezie has the prettiest spring patterns — love these kitchen towels and these scalloped florals. And their new terrycloth toiletry pouches with the oversized monogram!!!
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By: Jen Shoop
Over on Pinterest the other day (does anyone else use Pinterest?! I might be a dinosaur, but I still love it), I found myself inspired by a number of elegant but laid back looks, prominently featuring shorts! It inspired me to pull out the new linen shorts and top set seen above from Few Moda (top, shorts), which I styled with this larger version of my Phillip Lim bag (clearance price!!! — this one is a great size because the strap fits over the arm; the smaller version I have has to be carried on the wrist/in the hand) and my Janessa Leone hat (look for less here). I am really loving the ease of matching linen sets this season; how incredibly, impossibly chic does the gal below look in hers?! (Do I need to chop my hair off like her, too? I’m seriously contemplating doing something dramatic to recreate her hair). I found something similar to her flounced shorts situation here (but striped) that I ordered to try.
A few other incredibly chic looks below —
Inspired, I spent some time hunting for interesting styles to try this spring and summer —
A: OK, I haven’t used this in several years, but I used to absolutely love Benetint, in the original benetint shade. It really lasts and is a very a pretty color, but you might want the slightly lighter “playtint” shade. I actually just went digging through my makeup drawers looking for mine; I have no idea where it went!
Q: An outfit for the French Open — I’ll be in a box for a work event with very senior people!
A: Ooh la la – I’m opening this up to the group as I’ve never attended that event (those who have, please click the little comment button and share your thoughts), but my gut says a classic striped dress like this with a sunhat and fun sandals.
A: Depending on season: a Frank and Eileen terry set (layer a tee or tank beneath) or linen set (pack a sweater to layer over top – I always get cold), or a Varley half-zip with either the matching roll cuff pants or trouser style pants. Pack (or wear on board) socks and an extra scarf/shawl. I am usually freezing on the plane!
Q: France (with kids) for a month: need a tote with a zipper.
A: Maybe the Paravel backpack? So chic! Cuyana also has great zip-top options, and then of course there’s always Longchamp! I also have and love the Parker Thatch Charlie. I feel like you can wear the suedes year round!
