The cotton bomber is a very specific kind of mom uniform, the one worn over a striped shirt on the sideline or to the farmers market. It has come back because it looks put together without trying to look young. Lafayette 148 does it in a crisp stripe, Agolde in a clean white pullover, and Toteme and Victoria Beckham in quieter neutrals. Any of them works over jeans, which is the whole point.

Slim, low sneakers have replaced the chunky trainer for anyone over thirty, and plenty of mothers never stopped wearing them. Dries Van Noten and Prada both do theirs in a soft butter yellow that looks good with cream trousers. Toteme's off-white suede pair is the quieter option. The Polo Ralph Lauren ballerina sneaker splits the difference between a sneaker and a ballet flat, which is exactly where she lives on weekends.

A drawstring pouch is the most grown-up bag trend of the moment, mostly because it holds exactly what she needs and nothing she doesn't. The Row's silk satin Ray pouch is the quiet version, while Conner Ives and Lizzie Fortunato add embroidery and a goldenrod sheen. For something structured, By Malene Birger's Carlotta is a round top handle bag that looks like it came out of a 1960s hatbox. Hand it over with a lipstick already inside.

Every mother has one pair of sunglasses that becomes part of her face in family photos. Khaite's collaboration with Oliver Peoples is the current favorite, with frames named after years and shapes borrowed from the sixties and seventies. Loewe and Saint Laurent both do an oval acetate frame that feels a little Jackie O on the school run. Pick the shape she already wears and go one notch bolder.

A crinkled scarf is the easiest way to make a plain sweater look deliberate, and Posse's plissé version does it in one knot. Toteme's linen scarf is the soft white alternative for warmer days. The slippers are for the hours she finally gets to herself. Toteme's satin pair and The Row's Stellene are nice enough to answer the door in, which is the real test.

If you take one thing away, buy her the nicer version of something she already wears. Mothers tend to have strong, settled taste, and a gift that fights it ends up in the back of the closet. A better sneaker, a better pair of sunglasses, a better bag for Sunday lunch. That is the whole brief.