Jen Shoop sketches a late-August mood: cicadas amplifying the season, a mindset shift that turns heat into romance, a short list of small fall pleasures, and a roundup of shopping picks and Magpie print best-sellers.
August’s soundscape — the annual “dog day” cicadas — becomes a chorus that helps the author reframe the month as a kind of love letter rather than only oppressive heat.
Anticipation for fall is anchored in concrete pleasures: specific teas, cozy clothing moments, lighting the first fire, and seasonal makeup (Toasted Teddy blush).
The post mixes personal essay with practical shopping notes: recommended tees, a cashmere cardigan, favorite jeans, and several links to items the author is currently wearing or considering.
Jen Shoop uses a late-August observation to explore how small shifts in attention change a season's feel. The persistent sound of annual "dog day" cicadas becomes the hinge of the piece: loud, repeated, and unmistakably of the moment. Rather than pushing back against heat and haze, Shoop leans in, treating August's intensity as something like a swelling love letter.
The cicadas in this piece are the yearlies — not the synchronized seven- or seventeen-year broods — and their insistent calls amplify the heat. Shoop describes listening to them on a morning run, headphones pocketed, and hearing their chorus as an almost amorous performance. That listening moment prompts a change of perspective: August can be seen as romantic if you tilt your head and accept what the season offers.
Shoop then lists concrete, sensorial things she's looking forward to as summer gives way to fall. These are not abstract desires but specific pleasures:
The diary shifts to a practical shopping roundup. Shoop shares items she's actually wearing or considering for fall and how she styles them: a collegiate striped tee (including a promo code mention), a cashmere cardigan styled tucked into jeans like a blouse, and lightweight, comfortable jeans she recommends running true to size. She mentions fair isle and striped sweater cardigans she admires, suede mules that arrived and suit her fall plans, and several pieces she's eyeing in her cart.
Shoop also calls out seasonal brands and drops: Tuckernuck's cashmere cardi, Frame's fair isle-inspired cardigan, Daily Drills sweatshirts on Shopbop, and a fringed scarf recently launched by TWP. Multiple product notes include short styling tips (e.g., tie a tee around the waist to break up a look).
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