Candy Striper

This past weekend, I attended my 10-year high school reunion.  {That’s right, 10 years.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Terrifying.}  Now, I know that reunions can be a source of tremendous anxiety/social awkwardness/cattiness, and maybe I just attended the best high school ever and was graced with a particularly stellar group of classmates, but I had an awesome time AND found myself bowled over by how beautiful, accomplished, and well-dressed my classmates are.  Ahem, one of them is the Director of Economic Development in the Canary Islands.  Let’s pause and think about this.  Can you imagine not only living in the Canary Islands (she was deeply, richly, and oh-so-enviously tanned) but enjoying that kind of career success at the age of 27?!  Um, yeah.  I need to get my tuchus in gear.  Another classmate is the VP of Sales and Marketing at a start-up premium denim company, Lock Sicker — super cool product {only for Mr. Magpies at the moment}, and she spoke with such grace and intelligence about the brand and its identity that I was pretty much reaching for my credit card and Mr. Magpie’s measurements by the evening’s end.  Yet another classmate {and dear friend} is a local news anchor here in D.C., and I won’t be surprised if suddenly I flip on the TV and see her delivering the national news on CBS.  I could go on and on, but I realize this sort of braggery (new word?) gets old quickly, so I’ll just conclude by saying that I encourage you to attend your high school/college reunions (with open eyes/hearts!) and that I want to visit the Canary Islands now.  It would be the perfect venue to debut some vacation-ready striped separates, which seem to have been finding their way to the top of my lust list over the past few weeks.  For example, I’ve been drooling over these Danish-made striped blankets (around $100, Kira-CPH), which would be PERFECT for beach-side lounging:

Or, consider pairing a striped tee (Chinti and Parker, $125, Net-A-Porter — PSST, also available in dress form here for $160) with some punchy shorts ($45, J. Crew) and that Holst + Lee necklace ($535, Latitude) I’ve been droning on about:

This is the kind of look you sport with bare feet and loose, beachy hair.  Oh so fresh, oh so summery.   Love that deep, near-cobalt blue color — hence my obsession with these coordinating separates: the perfect beach bag (Stella McCartney, $448, Farfetch), a GLAM sloafer (imagine wearing these puppies with an all-white outfit or with simple jeans and a white tee for maximum effect — AND YES, it’s a kid’s size, but the size 5 runs large! — $40, Zara):

Alternately, this happy-stripe sweater (Trina Turk, $178, Nordstrom) pairs perfectly with a statement necklace ($345, Ben Amun), white skinnies, and some simple flips ($48, Shopbop):

Perfect with this croc-effect cross-body ($320, StyleTryst):

Or, test out this cheery striped skirt (Marc Jacobs, $285, Stylebop — or, get the look for much less with this $48 BB Dakota skirt) with a simple white top (I’m drawn to this Mandarin-style — $345, La Garconne) and some mah-jor bling ($98, Lydell NYC):

I’d die wearing the above with these punchy pumps (what a delicious color — Louboutin, $645, Net-A-Porter) and this classic Bottega Veneta woven clutcheroo ($497, Farfetch):

And by the way — if you, like me, can’t get enough of that juicy tangerine color, check out this TDF little blouse ($98, J. Crew), some crisp white shorts ($45, J. Crew), and a pair of bold earrings ($95, Max and Chloe):

I kind of like it with some serious statement heels (Carven, $720, Ssense):

Or, let LemLem do the work for you — slip into this breezy caftan ($225, Lem Lem):

Lovely with a hot pink bikini ($195, Net-A-Porter):

Don’t forget the GLAM sandals (K. Jacques, $240, Net-A-Porter)

Other top picks?  This comfy neon-trimmed striped tee ($142, Steven Alan) —

Pretty much perfect with white shorts and these bold tootsies ($195, Calypso) and this clutch (Rebecca Minkoff, $195, Nordstrom):

OH.LA.LA.