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Kibbe Fun

Helena

Veteran

Or, Kibbe for Dummies (and I'm the dummy)

So, on this thread, we got into a super-fun sidebar about Kibbe types. I had been told I was a Theatrical Romantic, which confused me but then, things do This was challenged (kindly and quite correctly!) by notsaf and Suz.

Notsaf shared a helpful quiz found here: https://13perfectshapes.wordpr.....e-version/
which seems to have sparked fun and interest, hence the new thread.

Sarah asked an interesting question about Kibbe vs. style monikers - how do they connect? For my part, I was told I could have a classic personality and still be a theatrical romantic body type - but certainly it's helpful when the two are the same! What do you think?

Per notsaf's hesitation to start a thread about this - I certainly am not qualified to moderate this thread with any expertise - but as usual I'm sure the collective knowledge and wisdom of the group will make this fun and interesting. So, take the quiz (if you don't know), share your type, share your musings, ask your questions - let's have some Kibbe fun!

ETA - credit to Carla for the idea to start a new thread and have some fun with these concepts - hope it's ok I ran with it

General

97 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

Synne

Veteran

Ooh, I will take this test pronto! I am fascinated by Kibbe, but know too little about it. I am possibly a flamboyant natural / soft dramatic. It aligns very much with my own perceived sense of what suits and flatters me (hence why I always have avoided anything gamine, too classic etc.). But there's still much left to be explored here!

Helena

Veteran

Here's my quick Kibbe story: I always assumed I was a Classic (maybe Dramatic Classic) because that aligns with my style persona. Then I got sucked down the rabbit hole of Merriam Style, who also has a YouTube channel, and Merriam seemed to think I am a theatrical romantic. This totally confused me because that doesn't mesh with my personal style at all (not to denigrate Merriam, who is clearly far more knowledgeable than I am!) but she said it doesn't matter, since Kibbe is about body type and clothing lines. Didn't know what to do with that, so moved along ...

Anyways, fast forward to yesterday's thread; Suz and notsaf felt that TR could not be right, and notsaf shared the quiz. It indicated that I am a Classic, although right on the borderline. The next closest match would be Soft Gamine. Of course the challenge is always whether when you self-evaluate, are you doing it correctly - especially with this, the classic answer is almost a default, since it's neither-here-nor-there in a way. But, since Suz and notsaf also know my personal style and have 'seen' me more than Merriam has, I chose to go with their advice + the test results. I think Classic with a small sprinkle of Gamine sounds about right for me anyway

Ok, enough about me - on to your Kibbe stories!

Helena

Veteran

Synne, can't wait to hear your results!

Synne

Veteran

OK, flamboyant natural and soft dramatic aren't considered that close as types here. According to this quiz I must be a soft dramtic or soft natural. Maybe this is where my tendency to choose sporty elements come in? Must research this further...

Style Fan

Veteran

I was interested in Kibbe but I always found it hard to place myself. I think the struggle came when I tried to be objective about myself. I did some of the exercises on the facebook page that Kibbe has suggested recently and that helped me more than the quiz.
What also helped me was figuring out how to wear the Natural type when I was not a Natural type. I could wear my own interpretation of Natural clothing. No matter what type I was I would wear earth tones, natural fibres, etc.
I did some drawings and shapes as per Kibbe's suggestions and realized that I am most likely a Classic. And actually I am probably a Dramatic Classic. The drawings and shapes exercise helped someone like me who is very visual. The quiz is less helpful. I won't go through all of my analysis (pretty long and boring) but once I saw this it all made sense.
I still go back and forth between Soft Classic and Dramatic Classic but I am warming up to Dramatic Classic.
I also asked a stylist who is not a Kibbe professional. No one is a Kibbe professional except Kibbe. Her opinion was that I was a Dramatic Classic.

Now, about the personality. Do I have a Dramatic Classic personality? I doubt it. On the surface, it may appear that I do but not really.

Style Fan

Veteran

TG, Merriam thought I was Dramatic Classic as well. I asked her to break it down because I could not believe it. She went through her reasoning which made sense. I am not suggesting that she was right about you. Not at all!!!
What I have realized is that I did not see myself as others saw me. I did ask DH some questions and he confirmed them. Yes, I walked around for 60 plus years not realizing that I had certain features.

Helena

Veteran

Style fan, are those exercises available to the public, or do you have to be member of something?

Do you find Kibbe to be about body shape then ... Moreso than 'essence' or personality?

Style Fan

Veteran

TG, the exercises are on the Facebook page Strictly Kibbe. You have to be a member. I have only done a few of them and I don't follow the page that much now. I find the rules very rigid, to be honest. Some of the information was helpful when I first started learning about Kibbe.

I think Kibbe is about body shape and not personality. I can see how one influences the other though. If someone looks a certain way then they are treated a certain way and that impacts them. I am simplifying this. There are many factors at work in personality development.

notsaf

Veteran

You're such a sport, Helena!

Kibbe is all about body type, just like Seasonal Analysis is about colors. It really says nothing about who you "are", which is up to you. The questions are about oppositions and proportions: are your features angular or rounded, long or short in proportion to one another, large or small in relation to one another, etc.

Gamines tend to have large heads or be very petite. Naturals and dramtics* are more angular, with naturals more athletic and dramatics* taller and more slender. Romantics* are curvy. Classics are common, and are the rest of us. But everyone is a mix in the end!

*ETA corrections! Writing on the fly... I always confuse dramatic/theatrical

Helena

Veteran

notsaf, thanks, those are helpful guidelines! I think that also fits me into Classic - I don't really have anything stand-out; there's an overall moderation - I think? Although the large head thing makes me think again I could have some Gamine too ...

SF, jeez, that Facebook page is like Fort Knox ... I smell a fashion cult! But curiosity has the better of me, so hopefully I pass the screening and can crack through a few exercises!

nemosmom

Veteran

I've always been curious about kibbe types but just couldn't figure them out. But, I was going off a site that had "blends" of types and that made it even MORE confusing.

I took the quiz three times. One result was Flamboyant Gamine (70.7) one was Gamine (89), and the last was Soft Gamine (107). If I average them, I am Gamine. I think...

Helena

Veteran

Nm, it's always good when there's some consistency between results ... I'll try it again and see if I land in a similar spot! [ETA - did it again, specifically pushing myself to *not* pick the moderate response wherever possible to avoid 'defaulting' to classic. And I landed smack in the middle of the Classic score. So that answers that I guess lol!]

Does Gamine seem to make sense for you - as a body type, and/or as a personal style type?

Janet

(website)

Veteran

That quiz site doesn't seem to be working right for me. I answer one section and it thinks I'm done and doesn't give an option to move on.

I have to be frank that Kibbe has never appealed much to me. I never get any kind of cohesive or usable answer from it. I think something something Romantic came up once and suggested I need to wear ruffles, and I was like, NO.

Sisi

Veteran

Thank you Torontogirl. Interesting. I took the test. I do not know how I managed to arrive to the end because I stumbled into the same difficulties as Janet. Anyway I turned out Classic. Then I had to google elsewhere to find a description for Classic. I match the description so and so - well, I do not know how objective I am in defining myself. But the funny thing is that all the things that a Classic should not wear coincide with the things I do not like and do not feel!

Sisi

Veteran

Sorry, I don't know why my post became all bold.

Vildy

Veteran

I think Kibbe himself disavows the test as something the publisher pressured him for. The facebook group is very easy to get into - just an agreement that you don't post about other systems or other people's versions of Kibbe's. Kibbe himself, though his wife, posts there. There is also a group called, I think, Kibbe Start Here for complete newbies.

Vildy

Veteran

Also, since it's about yin and yang, that's probably why he dropped the pure types of Gamine, Natural and possibly one other I can't recall.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Sisi, yes, that is kind of my problem with the whole thing -- I think I end up as some sort of mostly Classic-Romantic blend, but I don't care to dress to play that up. So I should probably refrain from Kibbe discussions. Every so often, I'm tempted by the quiz-taker in me and try a little analysis, and every time I remember why this particular type of categorization doesn't work for me.

nemosmom

Veteran

LOL! Based on the descriptions and my extremely limited/rudimentary knowledge of the types, I could see you fitting the Classic.

I would suspect I am some sort of gamine... I am not incredibly tall (5'6"). My top half is long and flat, with broad but angular shoulders and long arms. I am softer and rounder on the bottom with short legs. My head is large, but face is small and long, with sharp features and big eyes... I am a walking contradiction!

I do gravitate more toward boyish looks - preferring tailored shirts and pants/jeans to dresses and blouses, so I guess it kind of makes sense...??? I was raised by my dad, so I always just dressed like he did Anything I try that leans more feminine to me (florals, pastels, etc) feels very unnatural and weird.

Does your style fit that of a Classic, do you think?

Bonnie

Veteran

I was able to navigate the test by returning to beginning manually for each section. It turned out that I am a Natural/Soft Dramatic. It sounds right to me but I took it quickly without a lot of thought. Interesting. Thanks for sharing this quick quiz. I'll come back to this thread later since I'm traveling today.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

So far I'm confused. I got 29.5% (13 out of 44) on the first part, with one of my responses marked wrong with a red x. How does it know what my height looks like? Part 2 38.2% (21 /55) Part 3 42.9% (33/77). Anyway, that's probably just a part of the artifact of how the quiz site works.

Looking at results, my points add up to 67. There is literally nothing listed for 67 points. It falls between Soft Natural
52 – 56

and Flamboyant Gamine
70 – 71

Looking them up, I see that Flamboyant Gamine means a lot of contrast, with an extra dose of yang. I can deal with that. Yapatalk.com says "Innately, you are Yang in energy (aggressive and dynamic), Yin in
youthfulness (fresh). Here again, both sides are important, but Yang is
dominant. " which sounds accurate and "The underlying theme for you appearance is: "Rules were made to be broken!" " which anyone who's read anything I've written probably knows I like. But oddly, it says anyone over 5'6" doesn't qualify. Oops. I'm 5/8.5"

Ironically, the Soft Natural description begins "Your position on the Yin/Yang scale is: Soft Yang with a Yin undercurrent. " So the opposite of what the other said. They're supposedly also small, up to 5'7".

I don't think I've gained any understanding yet. Can someone please enlighten me?

Liesbeth

Veteran

I have read a little bit on kibbe promptedby the forum. On a previous quiz I was classified as a dramatic classic but the dramatic part did not really resonate with me. Here it's classic (though I was in between classic and gamine and 'chose' classic because I know I'm no gamine). I find kibbe only interesting insofar as it focuses on yin and yang and how to enhance those features. It IS true that I look/feel best in structured and fitted clothes so in that respect classic sounds right.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I just took that quiz and came out as “gamine,” which is so wrong as to be laughable. I’ve never been able to pinpoint my place in Kibbe. I must just be shockingly un-selfaware.

notsaf

Veteran

As I said in Suz's thread, I think it's really hard to judge yourself accurately for these purposes and the categories are useful only if you find them to be -- as Angie would say, don't let Kibbe boss you around!

Fwiw, I've found the visualizations here to be very helpful: http://www.audreyalamode.com/b.....ype-kibbee. And I think this is one of the more intelligible discussions of the types in video form: https://youtu.be/Zt4Xd6pL9vE.

Janet and Liesbeth, taken with a grain of salt, I'd say you're both on the natural side of the spectrum, if only because your tallness/longness is one of your most prominent features (and something not all of us share)!

notsaf

Veteran

Oh, and Jenn, maybe theatrical romantic? (Again, take with a grain of salt!)

L'Abeille

Veteran

I did the original questionnaire or whatever that was, abstracted from his book and available on the web, when I first heard about it, over 10 years ago. I fell pretty obviously into Flamboyant Natural. Mostly Yang but not sharp; tallish, asymmetrical features, blocky rectangular rather than skinny or rounded, large feet, etc.

The pictures (by that time super dated) did me no good but I found the general guidelines helpful, even freeing. It allowed me to stop trying to look more "feminine" (or Yin) by faking a waist with belts or full skirts, or adding florals or lace, and instead to see the beauty in the shape I do have. So instead of "correcting my flaws" to create the illusion of a long legged hourglass, I rejoice in how my wide shoulders make everything hang better, and my small bust allows for all kinds of layering and scarf play. (That may be why a lot of models are FN apparently?)

Given that freedom, the eye to see the beauty that IS there, I was able to explore personal style and persona. Katherine Hepburn, the Gentlewoman, the RATE aspect. Now I happily mix in shoes or accessories from the men's department, with sometimes my long hair the only "feminine" juxtaposition. But me in a tux, for example, would look very different from a Gamine or a Dramatic in a tux.

All this was analysis done in my head. None of the further writing or image collections have been of any use to me. I think David Kibbe's most important contribution was to show that there is more than one kind of beauty. When he resurfaced on Facebook, he stressed that the analysis is one you do yourself, not have done for you. It's as much how you FEEL about your body, which goes on to determine your "figure flattery priorities" (as Angie would call them).

Style Fan

Veteran

TG, I find some of the exercises helpful on the Facebook page. I don't participate in the discussions. I don't find that part helpful.

notsaf

Veteran

L'Abeille what a lovely way to think about this!

Anonymous

TR here, no surprise! D in bone structure, R in flesh and face. But I end up having to add C for work and N for weekends.

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