Having a dress or two for spring is important, but so is having more casual looks to wear for a night out or a day of shopping with friends. Stores throughout the Ladue and Frontenac area have items that are sure to keep you in style for spring.
Hot Item: White Jeans
As previously mentioned in the feature on women's dresses, white is a hot color for spring 2011. For casual wear, a pair of white jeans is definitely a good item to have in your wardrobe. Cha Boutique has JBrand white jeans in both skinny ($160) and boot-cut ($170).  has DL1961 skinny white jeans for $148.
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Vibrant Tops
Whether it's in the season's colors of coral and blue or another bright hue, vibrantly-colored tops are great for pairing with white jeans. They can be one solid color or contain some kind of print. For a bit of whimsy, they can have ruffles or layers for a look that will stand out in all the right ways.
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MACS has a very stylish one-shoulder green top ($152) that looks impeccable with white jeans and some gold jewelry (which is also on-trend for spring). Cha has a beautiful ruffled, lavender one-shoulder top ($155) that looks great when worn with (blue) denim shorts, platform wedges and a Swarovski crystal headband. has a strapless, tiered pink top ($79) that looks cute with jeans.
has a multi-colored tunic that also features faces on it ($69), which looks very cute when paired with some black leggings.
Animal Prints
Animal prints are definitely on-trend this season. Several stores offer items with these prints, including Cha and MACS. Cha has a leopard-print brown tunic ($285), in addition to a leopard-print top ($195) that uses shades of purple, blue and silver for added effect. Both of those look great when paired with white jeans. MACS has a great blue-tinted leopard print tunic ($216) that looks great when belted and worn with a pair of leggings.
Floral Prints
Floral prints aren't just for dresses. Several tops and skirts also feature the colorful prints. Several shirts are using floral prints this season, especially ones that are reminiscent of '70s-style bohemian blouses. Essential Elements has one that is lilac, white and green ($129), while Cha has one that is pink, aqua, green and white ($198). These shirts look great when paired with (blue) denim or cargo pants.
Lace
Lace is also in style for this spring, and it doesn't have to be on dresses or formal wear. It can be found in the details of casual looks, such as a black lace camisole at Essential Elements or as part of a pair of leggings at Marta's.
Long Skirts
Long skirts, which look great with a simple tank or tee, are also working their way back into women's fashion. Marta's has a great ruffled one that is available in white or black ($60.95).
Back to Black
If you're not quite ready to jump into the trend of white jeans and vibrantly-colored tops, more neutral colors such as black and olive are definitely popular for more casual looks. Marta's has a variety of spring-ready black-and-white tunics and shirts that look great when worn with a pair of black leggings. Essential Elements also has a great selection of light jackets, cardigans, shirts and pants available in more muted tones.
If you want to try the white jeans look with a more neutral top, Cha has a stylish olive-colored menswear shirt ($215) that looks great with them.
Cargo Pants
Whether they're khaki, olive or black, cargo pants and capris are definitely in style this season. Essential Elements has a great pair of capri-length, olive-colored ones ($97), while Cha has a great pair of full-length khaki ones ($250). Marta's also has a black pair ($99) with rhinestone detail on the pocket and a zipper detail on the side by the ankle.
Be sure to check out our photo gallery for pictures of Kristen Bly, ChrisAnn Brunsmann, Kerri Hartmann, Nicki Myers and Debby Siegel modeling the clothing mentioned in this story and more. We also have a behind-the-scenes video from day two of our women's shoot, in which Bly and Myers share their highlights of spring fashion.
This segment is part of a series of spring fashion stories, which started with and . Check back with Ladue-Frontenac Patch soon for kids' Easter outfits, prom dresses and more spring fashion.