Adult: I'm In My Mid-20s - Should I Be Dressing Like An "Adult"?

I mention my age a lot over on social media, but in case you weren’t aware, I turned 25 this year. It’s never something I felt like I needed to worry about before, but hitting my mid-20s made me contemplate acting more like an adult in every sense, including the way that I dress. I don’t feel inclined to change anything major on the regular, but there are some instances in which I feel the need to make my wardrobe more grown-up, which I’ll be chatting about today.

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What I Usually Wear

If you’ve been here long enough, you’ll know that I still retain my emo style habits from at least ten years ago. Although I like to think it’s gotten a little more refined as time has passed! I tend to live in band tees and skinny jeans, and typical trainers like Vans and Converse. I also add an ’80s twist to my wardrobe, with lots of faux leather, animal print, and acid wash denim. All within my monochrome colour palette, of course! On an everyday basis, I feel completely confident in what I wear. Everything’s flattering and suits my body type, so it’s not something that I tend to think twice about. I’ve never felt the need to dress more “adult” than I currently do. I only have to contemplate it in certain scenarios, which I’ll chat through in my next point.

On Dressing More Adult in the Workplace

The workplace is the one thing that really threw me this year when I changed jobs back in June. In my old jobs in customer service and retail, I always had some kind of uniform. So worrying about having something to wear was never something that I had to do. In my last job, I worked in a photography studio in which the clients were hardly present. It was a very casual environment, so I could wear whatever I wanted. I probably could’ve rocked up in PJs or a onesie and no-one would’ve batted an eyelid. In fact, they probably would’ve been jealous of my level of comfort!

It was my new job that phased me, as a lot of my colleagues tend to dress quite… Officially. Formal, if you will. More adult than I tend to, anyway! That’s not an issue by any means, but it definitely unnerved me and made me feel like I needed to do the same. To the point where I ran out on my lunch break to stock up on what I thought was more “appropriate”. It’s a really odd feeling because I love what I wear and I feel confident in my outfits. I felt out of place and a bit juvenile, I guess. My solution to this was to buy more conventional, adaptable pieces, and style them my way. This compromise means that I can feel more comfortable at work and still feel like myself at the same time.