18 Things All Elegant Women Have In Their Spring Wardrobe
by The Candidly Team
We cannot lie. Most days, getting dressed, we don’t end up going for “elegant.” Most days, we’re just out here trying to look like some version of a human whose hair is washed and whose daytime clothes don’t come from brands with the word “cozy” or “sleep” in them.
But we do want to dress elegant.
We just need a very specific wardrobe that makes doing that very easy. And very comfortable.
And most of our clothes just don’t fit the bill because we’ve either bought them cause they’re stand-out cute or divinely cozy, so we don’t get that incredible balance of pieces that tie everything together: that perfect fitting pair of jeans we’re excited to wear, that whisper soft tee that frames our neckline beautifully and somehow looks luxury.
We need the clothes that the fancy ladies wear. The ones who understand tailoring and fit and fabrics. Mind you, we don’t want to learn any of that stuff, we just want the clothes.
Well, we dove deep and did the research for you and we found THE pieces that make all the difference to dressing elegant. In the springtime!
Here are the 18 things that will unquestionably change your life when it comes to getting dressed this season. We’re telling you. Every single one.
1. The Whisper Soft Striped Tee
We’re thinking there’s a teeny bit of sorcery in a stripe in that it makes any outfit instantly look elegant. But always in a neutral, effortless, sort of French way. This tee has the best, sliiiiightly boxy fit that hits at the most flattering spot on the waist and is so soft we never want to take it off. It’s on sale too, so if you’re a fellow stripe lover, run!
Price: $40
2. The Everyday Warm-Weather Pant
Aritzia The Effortless Pant™ Linen
We’re always on the hunt for the best fitting, perfectly draping, leg-lengthening trouser. And very recently our little search came to an end when we discovered this pant from Aritzia. But here’s the key thing. They make it in like 27 different variations: cropped, curvy, wide-leg, and as pictured here - linen. Which is particularly exciting, because in warmer months we still get to look polished and tailored, while feeling light and cool and pretty much like we’re wearing pajama pants.
Price: $148
3. the Spring Sweater Of Your Dreams
Cozy Earth Oversized Sunday Cashmere Cardigan
An incredibly luxurious, cocooning cashmere cardigan is one thing we don’t regret investing in. This is the one we’ll be wearing on repeat for the remainder of time. It instantly replaces all the cheap sweaters that itch and pill and lose their softness after 2 wears. It’s inexplicably soft and it laaaaasts. It’s a literal comfort blanket but also a quality piece you’ll turn to more than pretty much anything else in your closet, because it makes everything else look 7x more expensive. You’re gonna scream at us about the price, but we do happen to have a code from Cozy Earth for 35% off, which is no small thing. And not sponsored. Just very kind.
Use code CANDIDLY for 30% off!
Price: $445
4. The Luxe Sneak
Dr. Scholl's Time Off Platform Sneaker
Elegant women understand that comfort and quality go hand in hand, and nothing we buy is worth it when we suffer too much to stand wearing it. All that said, these white sneaks are crafted for absolute cushioned, supported, unapologetic comfort. But they’re so clean, so balanced, so chic, you can wear them with cropped jeans, long trousers, dresses, and skirts.
All of it works. All of it is classic. Elegant. Quietly luxurious.
Price: $70
5. The Best-Fitting Ankle Jeans
Paige Anessa Crop Wide-Leg Jeans
We could fill two closets with different jeans we love. But every elegant lady knows that owning one absolutely flawless, cut above pair of jeans that give you your most gorgeous shape is essential. Like all actually good things that aren’t just fleeting TikTok trends, these particular jeans went quite viral among all the actual women we know, starting here on our own little Candidly team. Once you put them on, you’ll understand why. And it will be hard to reach for any other jeans. They’re soft and smooth but keep their shape, and that shape is complete curve-complementing perfection. Truly. We don’t usually spend this much on jeans. But these have been wildly worth it.
Price: $224
6. The Gauzy Button Down
Z Supply Kaili Button Up Gauze Top
A classic, crisp button down, be it half tucked into jeans, worn open over a fitted midi dress, or fully tucked into a draper trouser is just the emblem of elegance. Picture any iconic woman you’d want to emulate and there’s probably an image on file in your brain of her in a white button-down. When warm weather hits, we choose a lighter, gauzier style like this flawless one from one of our new favorite staple brands Z Supply.
Price: $69
7. The Rainy Day Trench
The outerwear most suitable for spring and all its many moody weather patterns. A trench is timeless, and we love this one for its exact right color and exquisite silhouette. We feel like Audrey Hepburn every time we slip it on (even over sweats).
Price: $134
8. The Stunning Nude Slingback Heels
Have you heard of this shoe brand? Cause we’d really like to take credit for telling you about them. Look at their styles, and all you’ll see is incredibly thoughtful, gorgeous shoes you want to wear into your 90s. But their entire deal is that they prioritize comfort to a level where we CAN wear them into our 90s. The dream! A tan heel elevates every single thing we wear in spring. And a slingback gives us that slight, sandal-like breathability that keeps things feeling fresh.
As you’ve maybe gathered, when we love stuff this much that we know is entering splurge territory, we often ask for a code we can share with you. And Inezso generously gave us this one.
Use code CANDIDLY15 for 15% off.
Price: $258
9. The Most Flattering Little Black Dress
By Anthropologie Slim Strapless Ruched Dress
Every classic lady seems to know exactly where to find the very best little black dress. And this is the little black dress we have crowned our gold medal winning, number one, most favorite, year-round, but especially for spring. It’s made of this magical comfy material that’s stretchy and smoothing, but not at all flimsy or thin. It has the most flattering, supportive, slimming hold we’ve ever experienced, which sort of irons out all our bumps and pooches and leaves behind a nipped hourglass with plenty of ruching to make us feel like we’re not just revealing ourselves in something skintight. We’re calling it a LBD but look at all the colors. We’ve bought it in multiple.
Price: $170
10. The Striped Trouser
Madewell The Harlow Wide-Leg Pant in 100% Linen
Like we said, a stripe has an inexplicable way of making things 27x chicer. These pants are already an ENORMOUS favorite for us for their flawless, elongating fit. So when this perfect striped version came out, we’d never added to cart faster.
Price: $88
11. The Breathable Ballet Flats
A light and lovely Mary Jane ballet flat is something every springtime-chic French lady seems to own. And when in doubt, we model ourselves after a chic French lady. On a more practical level, good weather means more walking and not always wanting to wear heavy, leather shoes that make our feet sad and sweaty. These flats from Rothy’s are comfy, flexible, breathable, light, and washable! But they’re also the prettiest shaped Mary Jane that comes in so many colors we want that we honestly cannot narrow down. Help!
Price: $159
12. The Expensive-Looking Tee
Sounds simple. Possibly even boring. But once you try on a heavenly soft tee with the most flattering neckline and tuckable waist, you realize what you’ve been missing. Your closet needs that “nice” t-shirt to make everything you wear look casually chic. And this is that tee.
Price: $48
13. The Patterned Midi Skirt
J. Crew Gwyneth Pleated Skirt In Gingham
Find yourself one smart, staple midi skirt with a print that speaks to your soul, and you’ll have yourself a look that brings you joy (and compliments) with next to zero effort. I mean, this one is black and white (foolproof, no?) but it’s floaty and has that elastic waist so you feel 100% comfortable while looking your sharpest. All you need is a fitted tee or tank and a strappy sandal that feels like a dream, and poof, you’re the very definition of elegance. Or you can look classically cool by matching it with a jean jacket and sneaks, like so…
Price: $100
14. The Strappy Minimalist Sandal
Oh, and here is the dreamy sandal. The strappy, minimalism swept us away straight off. It works with so many spring outfits we own but makes them look 100x better. Just one example:
But here’s the real plot twist: the comfort. It is shocking, my friends. Shocking! So much so we wrote an entire tribute TO. THIS. SHOE.
Price: $205
15. The Sleek And Stretchy Pencil Skirt
We’ve spoken of this magic fabric before, but in case you tend to tune out our droning, here’s the bottom line: it will melt you into your most perfect shape without feeling like shitty shapewear. The material is also not too formal or office-y, so you can wear this skirt on weekends with sneakers or out to dinner, with heels, and it always looks good. In fact, it sort of filled a huge hole in our wardrobe we didn’t even know we had until we realized how easily and comfortably it made us look chic. So then why not look chic daily?
Oh, and it also comes in denim, which we love as an elevated alternative to shorts.
Price: $98
16. The Chicest Belt On Earth
A belt feels like a throwaway thing we don’t even choose to wear most days. But there’s actually not one single thing easier to slip on that turns our whatever clothes into polished looks. Our real and true advice is to find one you love. Sure it should be classic and timeless but something about the shape, the color, the buckle must speak to you. Buy that one belt and reap the rewards for the rest of time. For us, this has been that belt. The shape made us weak when we first saw it. We know, over a belt. But we finally bought it, and let us tell you, it has up-leveled practically everything we wear to a wild degree. Jeans. Shirt dresses. All the things.
Price: $148
17. The Crisp Little Shirt Dress
Quince 100% European Linen Button Front Dress
There’s a weird little mix between simplicity and detail that makes things elegant. With this lovely linen dress, there’s the clean lines, the pretty collar, the nipped waist, the cute buttons. It’s all the things you love about a button-down shirt but in short-sleeve dress from - the clean girl look at its finest. The fit is so flattering. And the price is glorious.
Price: $50
18. The Beautiful Bag That Matches Everything
Perhaps, you can just forget about everything we’ve just said. Wear whatever in the world you want, and just carry THIS EXACT bag. And there you have it, you’re elegant. We don’t make the rules.
Price: $495
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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