Fascinating question. For a long time I included soft in my style adjectives. To me soft referred to the feel of the material and the color contrast, not to the addition of fringe, fading, rips, wear, etc., or as referred to on this forum—RATE. My best guess at my Kibbe category is either Dramatic or Flamboyant Natural. Sadly, neither set of Kibbe’s recommendations for these categories seemed right for me. I therefore left Kibbe feeling confused. Instead I had an Align consultation, which is similar, but not the same as Kibbe, and it made perfect sense to me, probably because the creators explanations were very methodical/analytical as she is more scientist/biologist than artist. My category fell into the strongest vertical yang category with secondary vertical yin and very minimal horizontal yang. Recommended for me were long, narrow, angular, sleek and crisp vertical or diagonal lines. Avoid most horizontal lines. In keeping with this, I have not been one for a RATE look. I prefer my clothing unfaded, without holes, and looking fresh. I never thought of my look as crisp or sharp before, because I associated those terms with color intensity and contrast more so than with tailoring or line, but my best look is definitely sharp and crisp, fresh and pristine. I remove overly worn looking items from my wardrobe. I do have some items with fringe, but the fringe is long and adds a vertical and sharp element to the item, not softness or anything that looks worn, etc.

Carla, for me the most important part of fashion is to have fun and DYOT. Kibbe, colour analysis, and other similar ideas are tools that are guides that might or might not offer something in the exploration of one's style journey.
If a summer, gamine is working for you then go for it. Who cares what Kibbe thinks?

I really like Nemosmom's use of the word 'patina'. To me that meshes well with a polished classic style - for example, a great leather bag or jeans that are worn in and has clearly stood the test of time. Or jewellery passed down. This is a totally different category of 'worn' to me than, say, jeans with holes or frays, which would be more RATE.

Carla, you always have such thought-provoking musings!

I am more on the polished end of the spectrum. I have one pair of distressed jeans, but I always wore them with heels and a deliberately femme blouse. I do keep items for a long time, but put in the effort to keep them in pristine condition. I feel quite the rebel in my ripped jeans.

Very interesting observation. I’m one of few here who likes ripped jeans, not the ones all ripped up but a few rips here and there look more interesting to me. Other rips and signs of wear aren’t things I would purposefully buy but I have a pretty high tolerance for slight wear. I prefer cardigans over jackets and casual over dressy. I prefer RATE over classic. I will have to check out the Kibbe thing a little more to see if that clues me in to some reasons for these preferences.

Very interesting discussion. I can’t articulate that well, but I think I love contrast between me and my clothes. I think I am RATE but I don’t like RATE clothes. I am worn and washed out, so I prefere my clothes to be opposite LOL.

Very interesting; I am mulling over to consider how these concepts play out in my existing wardrobe and how I may be adjusting going forward with all of my "new realities".

I still fall back on the idea that "juxtaposition" will be important for me but not sure what elements!
I do not like intentionally distressed or destroyed items but I have purchased some jeans/bottoms that have a bit, when I liked everything else about it--so maybe that was "settling". But I don't like looking or feeliing as though I just walked out of a store wearing a whole new outfit.,
My color palette includes some colors which are medium to fairly dark in depth but have a slight degree of murkiness, so that may add some degree of "softness" as is akin to faded, but not quite the same.

I don't mind slightly worn sneakers, but the trend to white sneakers ( or BACK to white!) and to bright white soles on so many sneakers, is problematic for me as I don't do as much optic white and I don't like dirty white soles or sneaks. So I actually swim upstream and seek out sneakers with gray or olive-y soles, or off-white. Also it is a problem that most styling photos use pristine sneakers (whichever ones are worn) and hmmm, you can't actually wear your sneakers around IRL and keep them pristine. This is where I might ordinarily have been able to achieve a "patina" with real leather shoes that can be polished and re-soled but don't look brand-new--some loafers, oxfords and casual boots come to mind.

Wow, Anchie! You are absolutely NOT worn and washed out, but I do hear what you're saying. I also hate wearing clothes that echo my flaws, personal or aestethic. I am also not able to articulate well what I mean here, but I think I know where you're coming from. Interesting thread!

Just coming back to agree that "patina" is such a great word. I am jotting it down on my list of words to consider in my new Fashion /Wardrobe Journal.....lol

I don’t think I am RATE at all Carla, I like a mixture of crisp and soft. I have looked into Kibbe a little bit since it was first suggested to me here about 3 years ago by Style Fan. Like Suntiger I thought I may be a Theatrical Romantic. My hair doesn’t fit that at all but it used to when I was late teens-mid 20s.
The only worn clothes I own are pretty much ones I have worn out myself. Maybe one thrifted vintage waistcoat is a little worn. Intentionally distressed jeans are one of my personal poison eyes-sorry friend Bijou you rebel!
If I *am* a Theatrical Romantic it maybe makes sense that I don’t like that? -but someone like Gaylene, more knowledgeable about Kibbe, might have more idea than me.
I also don’t think, Angie, that you really keep your clothes a long time compared with me! At least 10% of my wardrobe is 2011 or earlier. And something from say 2016 is not regarded by me as “old”!
I have never heard of Golden Goose sneakers until today. I looked them up. The ones with the tape on that some people on HuffPost said were possibly mocking poverty- they looked horrible to me! Which fits with what I usually like or don’t like.

Well, I am the girl who pays extra for the sweater that looks like it got mauled by a tiger LOL
Seriously, tho9, I like the pre-distressed pieces because I am going to destroy clothes. It's my superpower, apparently. If a garment is pristine, I just cry when I destroy it, but if it is a shredded sweater then I just think "oh, nobody will even notice"