Angie, you are always the best reminder of how well classics and modern classics work so well in almost any kind of outfit. Last Friday, you proved this yet again, and the number of forum posts related to the blog post proves that I'm not the only one that got inspired. Thank you

I feel that casual outfits are harder to create than smart casual ones. Wearing a striped tee or sweater with black bottoms and a denim jacket sounds easy, but it might feel a bit boring, too. With the addition of a few trendy pieces or accessories, or a new combination of old stuff, the whole thing feels fresh again. 

Here are my three-four versions (so far) of the ensemble:

#1: This is what I actually wore last Saturday. Navy Breton, denim jacket, white Chucks, black jeggings (Cos) and the white Karen Millen tote. Nothing but the tote is new this season.

#2: I have these dark gray sweatpants that I got for my birthday last September. I have never worn them out of the house yet. Here I've tried them with the Breton and denim jacket, cream satchel (also new this season) and blue pointy toe wedges. Does it work? 

I have a black cotton A-line skirt that fits again, and thus hits me on my knees instead of above:

#3 White/black striped tee with long sleeves, denim jacket, black leather tote, my old birkie-lookalikes (will be replaced with real Birkies very soon). 
#4: Same as before, but with a white tote and Adidas sneakers.

I know I'm going to wear #1, #3 and #4  often this Spring, but how about #2? Does it read as "trying too hard"?

Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome as always. Thanks for looking!