Hi!

I have always dressed really 'cute' and vintage... always like a sailor (I've loved nautical for years and years), or very French, or Victorian with lots of lace and smock dresses. I've always bought anything with a peter pan collar or bows, worn ribbons in my hair, cutesy floral prints, Mary Jane shoes, vintage dresses and kitsch t shirts from lazyoaf.com.

I'm getting kind of sick of it now (especially as that style is ALL over the high street) and feel like I would like to update my style a little, and dress a little more maturely - but have no idea how? I used to live in ballet flats but have bought a few nice pairs of court shoes, and have a gorgeous pair of sand coloured peg leg chinos on their way to me. I'm trying to just buy really good jersey basics like a slouchy grey marl tee, loose blazers - I've also picked up a couple of pencil skirts/dresses for work.

I really love Alexa Chung and have been following/copying her for years, but I can't really dress like that for work and would like to look a little more Audrey/Jane Birkin. I love shops such as French Connection, Reiss and Warehouse, the kind of classy style that looks elegant and chic. You know the kind of clothes you see under the headline "loose tailoring"? No idea how to achieve it as I ALWAYS end up looking kiddy - I wore my new grey pencil shift dress with a nude blouse underneath (it had a peter pan collar) and someone in work said "you look like you're in school uniform"

I think if two female parts with something a little more sophisticated for adults or something, you can work for you. I have a lot of womens clothing, blouses with high collars, ruffles, lace, flowers, but I am never too nice. Maybe if you try to use too cute or some of the women with basic equipment, you can take exaggerated sense of it? I tend to use my more feminine blouses with tight pencil skirts and heels (I wear ballet slippers too) or dark denim jeans straight leg and apartments.

You can always try to take your vintage cute & peices, like lace, and make it more grown up pair with dark jeans And a pair of killer heels. Keep the rest of your makeup look so simple and natural. Sometimes I think a look makeup simple you from looking for cute if you know what I mean.
Hope that helps!

I have a couple of really ruffly, top nice, but use them in tight jeans and a dark jacket thin, so that seems a bit of ruggedness. As others have said, try to take just a piece of girly and connect it to pieces or higher installed base. Darker colors always work well (but I am an addict's self-proclaimed black, so it may be slightly distorted, black my easy out when it comes to sauce.