help passing for actual age

[-JR-]

(removed)

[Frank]

It's the hair. Makes you look like a sixteen year old. Any emo-ish haircut will probably do that, try a more conservative haircut, a button up, a white shirt to go underneath it and (black) slacks. Basically, a professional look.

[smittyFTM]

Yep I'd suggest getting a haircut

I like long hair on some guys; it just doesn't work for everyone.

[aleon515]

I've been watching what adult guys wear. I think a lot of times they wear button down shirts. I got a bunch of them at the thrift store for maybe $10. I wear them with a white undershirt. Also found out this is nice and cool for summer. Really it is amazing how many really nice clothes you can get a thrift store-- nearly new, looks unworn stuff.

Docker type pants look "older" too.

I agree with re: the hair. I like long hair but it looks young to me.

BTW, I don't know re: T, but I have heard that it makes people look and seem young.


--Jay Jay

[TreyLeeGamer]

Personally I think clothes are more effective in getting one to look older.  A new haircut can definitely give your style a different fresh look, but I suggest messing around with how you style your hair instead. Emo-ish haircuts are mostly caused by the way the bangs are styled. Parting the bangs in the middle would lose the emo.

For clothes first you need get some idea of what your target look likes. Watch what men in their 20's and 30's wear for ideas of what to shop for. And watch teenagers for an idea of what not to wear. You can also look at brand names and what age groups they are marketing towards (their current stock will also give you some idea of what styles are currently 'in'). Keep in mind what guys in your local area are wearing too, since you probably don't want to look out of place.


Since you're short on cash I recommend shopping at thrift stores, fast fashion stores, and off-price retailers.

Thrift stores are the best because they have really low costs, and you can find really good quality clothing. You're going to have to spend a little bit more effort searching to find them though.  Make sure you know what charity the thrift store is funding, some thrift store charities don't support LGBT.
Fast fashion stores are good for cheap trending clothes. However the clothes' quality is low and not made to last more then one or two years.

Your clothes should look like they fit properly, they should not look like there is room for another teenage growth spurt.
Avoid logos, especially logos of brands that market mainly to teenagers.
20's are a good time to mess around with trends though.

Adding basic core pieces will help.
If you could only get one new piece of clothing, get a blazer. Black or dark blue, one or two buttons, and appropriate for the temperature, hot or cold. Make sure it is the right size/fit. A good fitting blazer can make a bad fitted shirt look better.
Shop for plain t-shirts, polos and button-downs.
Don't have much advice on pants or shoes, except you probably want to ditch the skinny jeans.

[insideontheoutside]

Hey I have an "emo-ish" haircut and 90% of the time I'm at least seen as 20's (and I'm in my 30's). So I say, screw the conservative haircut if you like your longer hair. And since you're able to pass with the longer hair, I think clothes would be the hot ticket.

On the hair from tho, try styling it a little more ....


Or layering it more ....


On the fashion tip, if you like skinny jeans I'd say you can certainly rock those because 20-30 something's definitely do. But pick up some button down shirts and some accessories. Like even a chunky wrist watch or something that can set you apart from the teens. Carrying a messenger bag, wearing a blazer (or even a tie - there's some pretty cool ties out there), grabbing some different shoes ... I'm all into chucks and that sort of thing so when I started thinking about how I could be seen as older than a teenager I looked for a compromise. One of the things I found were black leather chucks (sole was black too) and yes they were pricier but the leather was definitely a step up. A lot of other adults don't immediately see them as sneakers. I also got some brown leather pumas that are pretty fly. Speaking of leather, leather jacket is definitely one of my staples (of course I don't get to wear it as much in the summer).

I think I'm going to start another fashion thread 

[Henri]

I think Inside really has some great suggestions. With the hair one of the things that seems to make you look younger is how it is in your face. I think maybe even if you just swept it to the side more it would make it look like less of a younger cut.

[anibioman]

bangs make you look alot younger so a haircut should do it. mostly guys in highschool have bangs so people tend to think your around that age if your a guy with bangs.