Last year I got the ones pictured below, plus a pair of silver perforated slip-on sneakers (that I liked so much I duplicated in mint green when they went on sale), and I wear them much like you describe. They work well with shorts and pedal-pushers, or even cuffed straight/skinny jeans.
As for color, I think it depends on what you are most comfortable with and what works with your outfits. You may want to try ordering both and trying them on with various outfits to see which feels more right. I shied away from the extremes of black or white -- I really only like black footwear in summer if it shows more skin (so it's not a big block of black contrasting against my pale skin), and I'm not a huge fan of white footwear for myself either. The silver and the reptile print were the best neutrals for me for those reasons.
