wardrobe essentials: dress it up/down

My personal style wardrobe essential #5 - a dress that can be dressed up or down - pretty much speaks for itself. The essentials are pieces that always make me feel good when I'm wearing them, and having a dress that can work for almost any occasion I'd need it for definitely makes me feel good. My sleeveless navy & white striped dress was a go-to all summer for work meetings, church, Peter's department picnic, going out for ice cream, walking the beach, and more. This navy & white dotted dress is my attempt to replicate the fabulously versatile summer one:

dress: Target; jacket: Land's End Canvas (similar); necklace: JCrew factory; flats: Zara; wedges: Target

I wore the dressed down version - a denim jacket always works for dressing down a dress! - to a recent brunch with some blogger friends; swap out the shoes for some heels and add a statement necklace, and the same dress works for a dressier event like church, a work meeting, or dinner.

Side note: I love seeing day to night-on-the-town looks, and an even better basic dress would be one that could really do that transition... but while I feel like I've got my signature style totally covered for daytime and  have something in my wardrobe for most places I go and things I do, a fancy date night or a holiday party or an evening at the theater can still totally throw me, partly because every time I try to break out and get something fancier or cooler for going out, it doesn't feel that me, as my regular wardrobe is a bit more casual.

Time to work on some evening essentials, perhaps. Maybe if this dress were black instead of navy? What are your go to pieces for going out?