A few weeks ago, I asked: What are your signatures? By this I meant: what are the slender details that serve as synecdoches for you? I’m thinking at this moment of one of my best guy friends, who only writes in green ink. I see a green pen, and I think of him. (Our lives become mosaics of the people we love.)
Below, I’m sharing 11 evocative sets of signatures that Magpie readers shared with me via comments, email, and Instagram. I abridged some of your longer lists to just 3-4 descriptors, but of course a woman contains multitudes and it was difficult to append them. (Read the expanded format of several of the portraits below here.)
As I read these, I was touched by the way these women are obvious experts in themselves and their ways of being — and impressively capable of capturing themselves in haiku form. These feel like the written equivalent of those Victorian-era cameo miniatures: tiny, elegant, hand-carved, portable versions of yourselves.
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Overalls // a hidden love note // “I think we’re in great shape!”
Two books going at once // extreme extrovert who hates being the center of attention // Mitsouko // can make anyone laugh
Red nails // book as accessory // made bed
Foraging // vintage art // oversized button downs
Water from a 500ml bottle/glass // red passport-sized Moleskine // Ranking obsessive // Being the dog in the relationship i.e. here to be next to you
Well-crafted emails // detailed trip plans // extreme Virgo energy // fresh flowers
Well-done fries // mismatched earrings // outdoor showers
Having a ‘daytime book’ and ‘nighttime book’ // Breton Shirts // metrocards as bookmarks
Big kisser // dinner parties with psychotic precision // “I’ll just make it from scratch”
No earrings or eye makeup ever // remembers everyone’s name // 150 books a year // wordy AF
Striped sweaters // Sancerre // knocking on wood
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(Share yours, too! Can you keep it to three or four signatures? A poet’s challenge.)
Post-Scripts.
+Another kind of self-portrait: listing the things you love.
+One thing that jumped out at me — probably a quarter or maybe even a third of the portraits you shared included the phrase “has multiple books going at once.” Please tell me more! How do you decide what to read, when? Are they different genres? (Also, what we’re all reading right now here. Loads of fantastic book recs.)
+Are you a book repeater?
+The bad book girl continues her unlearning.
+A winnowing inward. (A love note to Landon.)
+Weird things we love about our significant others.
Shopping Break.
+PSA! This VERY popular Magpie reader top is in stock in all sizes here. (We sold it out on Nordstrom.). I just ordered!
+All my Shopbop hearts (just updated).
+Who else bought the The Row-inspired cage jelly flats? I got them in the pink!
+Another common Magpie reader signature: oversized button-downs. I’m firmly in that camp, too. Have you tried the Frank and Eileen Shirley? I’ve heard this is an excellent oversized style. I own a few F&E button-downs but don’t have this one. (I really love the one that comes in this set — wear it a lot.) By the way, I just got a F&E catalog in the mail with a code: LOVE for 15% off. Not as much of a discount as we’d like, but I’ll take it! (And which are your other favorite oversized button-downs?)
+LOVE this head-to-toe linen look. With a brown leather sandal and tortoise sunnies?! So good.
+Pretty skirt from Target, and I love this high-necked ribbed tank top to pair with it. I actually want it in several colors! The latter reminds me of this striped Sezane tank I wore all last summer. I found the cut very flattering — shows the perfect amount of shoulder. Great to pair with a white or denim skirt.
+Pretty Easter tablecloths here, here, here, here.
+Forever on a quest to replicate salon-quality blowouts at home…I just had a Glamsquad gal come by this morning (this is my new thing, I think: blow out at the top of the week and try to make it stretch as long as possible) and she was raving about this Drybar “curl conditioning styler.” In her words: “They really did the science on that one. I bought several so I wouldn’t run out.” It helps define/maintain curl. I don’t actually curl my hair but I love a bent-under end, and this really helped the bend stay put longer. (Also, little reminder about my Glamsquad codes in case you want to book: $20 off for new users with code JenniferS and $15 off for repeat users with code JenniferS15.
+Hoka running shoes on sale in a great pink color for spring. (More spring fitness finds here.)
+Just added a navy-and-white stripe Kule tee to my closet. I have these in lots of colors. A fun, boxy fit; great everyday tee to add to your collection.
+Reminder that these excellent, high-stretch barrel jeans from Ruti are temporarily $55 off with code SS25. An ideal choice for petites. These are great jeans to live in / work in / write in / sit in. Super comfortable.
+Tortoise shell headband – a forever chic piece.
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Thank you for including my signature! I am one of your readers who always has a couple of books going at the same time. There is no method to my choices other than what interests me, what one of my book clubs is reading and what has become available in the DC or MD library queue. Sometimes the combinations are really interesting. The two books I just finished were A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa and Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood. Each examines feminism and spirituality through completely different prisms. I think several Magpies (especially the Head Magpie!) would really enjoy A Ghost in the Throat. Part poetry, part memoir, it examines motherhood, spirituality and the “need” to write.
The Amazon description is enticing and apt:
Moving fluidly between past and present, quest and elegy, poetry and those who make it, A Ghost in the Throat is a shapeshifting book: a record of literary obsession; a narrative about the erasure of a people, of a language, of women; a meditation on motherhood and on translation; and an unforgettable story about finding your voice by freeing another’s.
Those descriptions (yours, and the publisher’s) sent a good shiver down my spine! Adding to my list! Thanks, Sara!
xx
Themed dinner parties / Rattan everything / Pearls always / Never forgets a birthday
Anne! What a charming detail — “never forgets a birthday” — !!
Coffee with creamer // sensitive // “Tell me more”
Gorgeous haiku. I feel like these details tell so much! xx