I had an event to go to the other night where I wasn’t sure if it was casual or fancy. A cocktail dress would have been too much, but my daily office attire of a striped tee and blue jeans wouldn’t cut it either. So what’s a girl to do? In my case (and during the spring/summer), I almost always reach for white jeans, heels and a cute top. It’s my “feel comfortable no matter what the dress code actually is” sort of outfit. And there are grades of this outfit, from 1, being like an early evening BBQ to 4, which is more like, a charity event in which you may encounter people in dresses but you don’t want to wear one yourself. So here are four versions of my fail-safe “casual-fancy” outfit:

CLICK IMAGES FOR LINKS!

This one is pretty casual, but steps it up with accessories

(image via Lauren Swells)

A few recent purchases I love and thought I’d share with you, since a bunch of you mentioned liking these kinds of posts! (CLICK IMAGES FOR LINKS!)

The smell and texture of this body polish is amazing and Old Navy is killing it by offering awesome basics (the tee and workout top) in tall sizes. I love both styles!

Also, I bought five of this lace bra from the Gap (it’s on sale) and am obsessed- supportive, but light as air!

This eyeshadow palette proves makeup people finally get it– we need a BIG light neutral color– not all the same size as the others – don’t you hate it when you have a great palette but run out of one color way faster than the others?

Bobbi Brown has 25% off everything right now, and I love this tinted lipbalm in Popsicle. Just a hint of healthy color.

I’ve been wearing these brushed gold hoops a lot lately- just enough of a statement but also a basic.

The new/old Jcrew cotton rollneck is the perfect weekend sweater for spring!

I got a sample of this Aerin perfume and adore the smell. May have to buy the big one!

Leopard hide sandals– on order! On sale for $70.

Also, the annual Shopbop sale is going on now until tomorrow– 20-25% off your whole order! I love to use these kinds of sales to stock up on pricier basics I know won’t go out of style.  From a new pair of my FAVE leather pants to this amazingly adorable one piece suit for summer (and of course, all my favorite jeans!) (CLICK IMAGES FOR LINKS!)

Yesterday in the office I asked the girls what I should blog about today. At first we joked about “how to dress for spring when spring is 30 degrees and snowing” and then, literally as we ate a huge plate of muffin tops, decided maybe “how to dress to conceal you winter hibernation weight”.   But in all seriousness, it’s not fun to buy spring clothes right now.  Trying on pastel colors and short dresses with pasty, dry skin and an extra few pounds is anything but uplifting. But you know what is always fun to buy? SHOES!!!

So many fun finds– jeweled, patterned, bright colors and staple neutrals.  From all sorts of places from H&M to Bergdorfs (and even Talbots!) I love that people are having more fun with shoes these days (some too much fun, there is a BEVY of hideous platform/ 90’s throwback footwear out there right now.)

So here is a round up of some of my favorite spring shoes– both that you can wear now while a bit chilly and later when it’s hot.  Click the images for links, except for the pink ikat loafers which you can find HERE!