Fashion help. Kiddie ---> young adult.

J.Crew, Banana Republic, Forever 21, Bebe, and Express. Those are the mainstream brands I can think of that would help, they're a little bit more on the conservative side (except Forever 21 and Bebe which is a mix.)

Stay away from hoodies. Other than that, those brands can really help you out, and remember since you're a girl I'd go with more fitted things.

Eta: Think peacoats, pencil skirts, jackets, cardigans, sweaters, dress shirts, basic variety of colored tops for layering, blazers, etc. Basically get stuff that can be worn business casual... but with little changes, can be worn everyday. Does that make sense...

And I consider "young adult" someone in their mid teen years... and no offence, you don't look 16 so I would go with a more age appropriate look. And that way, you won't have to change out your closet essentially ever again if you get basics. I don't know if I'm making sense, but I know what I'm talking about LOL. Darn, I wish I could shopping with you -- I'd be a lot more help.

Check out Anthropologie's "T shirt" section

Anthropologie.com > Clothes > T-Shirts

I love them because the tops are super cute and easy to replace your t-shirts with, but look 100x better. I'm trying to transition too, a lot of my style is what's easy (tees and jeans).


J.Crew makes some amazing tops too. I'm completely fashion-impaired. This sounds really stupid, but I like having (almost) ALL my bottoms as neutral colors (blue jeans, khakis, grey pants, black denim, etc), so then I can just grab a top in the morning and presto! all done

gotta build yourself a nice collection of basics before having your style more defined (following your tastes,your built,your lifestyle etc)

Basics imo if you're tall (meaning more than 6"1) would be :

-leather jacket (either truly nice black leather,or not too common brown)
-knee-long double breasted coat (greys or black).If you're less than 6" rock a belt-long pea coat
-one jacket,like suit jackets but shorter (belt-short so you can rock jeans with'em).Light grey=insane+young+stylish+a bit dressy,just whats needed


-1 true black jeans,1 or 2 very dark blue jeans,1 light grey maybe.Concerning jeans,fabric and cut >>> details
-1 or 2 trousers with 1 being linen the other cotton,I dont know how you wear your jeans but trousers work very very good a bit relaxed

-a bunch (5-6+) of more or less deep necks sweaters (cashmere,silk,light cotton,but nice quality as a basis)
-a bunch (8-10+) of nice plain tees,short sleeves,mix henleys,deep V if you feel them,regular V,crew necks (heyo AA)
-1 or 2 hoodies but please,fitted

-1 or 2 pairs of Low chucks/High Creative recreation to begin with sneakers (A canvas and a leather one),a pair of very low heeled boots (NO FLAT SHOES-either girls' or guys' those should be burnt)

If you dont like shirts then quit them because that only looks good tucked in and you might not feel it before being really confident in what you have
Accessories:2 belts (1 slim 1 with 2 faces),1 XXL scarf,1 linen scarf,some aviators here you go


thats what should make a nice basis.About 30-35 clothes all included,main colors wont be flashy at first (that will come later),choose shades of grey,black,white TOPS,shades of brown

I have gone a little bit more mature but I found a nice scrug goes nice with tanks and short sleeved tops, solid colors but still include some fun colors, and some fun, but dressy patterned tops. I would personally mix jeans with some dressier shirts or tank tops.

Personally, I don't think you have to go to places like the Gap, Bebe, or Banana Republic just to look a little bit more mature. Personally I hate those three stores LOL

Since you dont like F21 or flashy, flowy tops I'd suggest some fitted tops in solid colors and prints. Try some with different necks, i.e. crew neck, V-neck, scoop or U neck, heart neck, turtle neck, etc. Get some in basic neutral colors, like black, grey, brown then throw some color in: blue, pink, purple. As far as prints, I'm a sucker for stripes, esp. larger ones. Polka-dots are great too. Then just pair them with your PD and you're good to go, not too young, not too old, not too over-done.

What's wrong with being a kid forever?

The main problem is that all you wear is tees and hoodies. Get a decent selection of tops and outerwear that are not tshirts or hoodies, and maybe some black wool trousers if you need to dress up for some occasion. If you only have sneakers, then get some other kinds of shoes.

shoes : black leather high sneaker + white canvas mid high sneakers + black round toe low boots with stacked heel (less than 1")

hyehahh

This person is a female if you hadn't noticed.

I actually suggest people watching, be it on the street in your city, or just over the internet from different WAYWTs. I suggest not just looking at this site's WAYWT, but maybe a broader more international look. This will probably give you a good idea of what kinds of looks you like, and what to look for. Maybe even try watching What Not to Wear or something like that. A lot of their episodes are about getting more mature clothes for women.

^ def agree....watch what not to wear!! ive learned a lot from that show

perhaps you could take a look at some of the threads in the street style forum at tFS

^ Don't feel like you have to find everything all at once. Just aim for finding a few cute pieces here and there, and it'll be much less intimidating. If you haven't already, I'd go ahead and put yourself on a hoodie/tee/whatever ban and make sure that you absolutely don't buy any more young pieces! I'd also suggest a closet cleanse... just try to eliminate all of the "easy" options, so that you'll have to start putting more mature looks together.

I love dresses

Depends mostly on the weather/geography imo. It's more accepted to wear dresses everyday in the South, so I can dress mine up a little more and not feel weird. Generally, I'd say throw on a cardigan for strapless dresses/anything revealing in the spring. But, if it's really hot out then don't bother. Jersey dresses (check out J Crew) are the easiest to wear (no cardigan needed for most of them, imo). If you're looking for a great everyday dress, make sure you can wear a normal bra with it. You'll wear it 100x more if that's the case

LOL

Have you looked online at Revolve? Ella Moss has some nice tops that are mature, but colorful and NOT frumpy.

^Splendid too..I just got my first Splendid top and I love it to death

What about Winners? They have all sorts of styles and I'm sure you'll find something suitable there.

Also try Jacob, Tristan, Suzy Shier (if you don't mind the quality), Urban...?

LOL i completely agree! But I don't think I'm one to give advice, since your wardrobe sounds exactly like mine (tshirts, PD, hoodies and chuck taylors), but I'm still 19, so i figure I have a year or two before I'm faced with your dilemma

Meanwhile, I should probably save this link so that I can read up and review when I turn 21...