We've been talking about about how different fabric textures or styles can be a match or mismatch for our style personality. LisaP made some interesting comments on my tulle skirt thread.
Not to send anyone down the Kibbe rabbit hole again, because honestly, the man is impossible to understand -- he may as well be writing in some other language -- but his emphasis on line and energy is important, I think, and gets at something that some of the other systems out there neglect.
A personal example: I always used to wonder why or how I can wear high contrast stripes. I'm not a high contrast person, never have been. If you went by my colouring alone, I "should" avoid high contrast at all cost. I should stick to mid-tones or maybe even pastels. But in real life, pastels with few exception look horrible on me. Mid tones are indeed flattering, but also somehow lacking somehow, on their own. And stripes -- not in black and white but in blue and white -- are some of my best friends!
Meanwhile, if I were dressing to disguise my shorter stature, I "should" wear monochrome outfits. Make myself look taller! But most monochrome outfits look rather dull and flat on me unless there is something else there to spice it up (e.g. a patterned scarf and footwear). I tend to look better in separates with shorter jackets and slightly shorter (ankle baring) pants. I can wear high contrast between top and bottom well. I can colour block well. I look great in high contrast piping or collar/ cuffs — that sort of thing.
And I look good in vibrant colour. Not as saturated as what a true "winter" would wear, but much more saturated than you might expect. When I had my colours "done" the woman kept pulling the brights from a few neighbouring colour types and giving me those, while subtracting many of the softer tones from my original wallet. I do wear grey and heathered tones quite well, but I definitely need something else to lend emphasis if I am wearing those softer tones.
If you recognize that my style essence or personality or body type (or whatever you want to call it) is some kind of gamine, all of that makes sense. I need a certain amount of dynamism in my outfits, irrespective of my colouring. And while I'm not tall, dressing to look taller does me no favours.
There are certain styles that I adore, but that look really terrible on me. I love the look of a long jacket-- for example -- on other people -- but really don't look great in long jackets, unless they are more "coat" like and fitted. This makes only a minor amount of sense from a "body type" perspective; yes, my legs are maybe a tiny bit on the short side, but we're not talking a major disproportion here -- nothing a little heel wouldn't adjust for. Lots of people with my body shape look great in long jackets. So it's not about that.
Also, I have to be really, really careful with oversized items -- if they collapse against my body, show the structure of my arms, and the shoulder fit is not too exaggeratedly large, they can work...like the Zella top or my new bat wing sweater. But if they just hang all over or drape too much, they look and feel completely "off" on me. Especially if they lack pattern or textural interest. Alas, I love drapey looks on others and repeatedly make mistakes about this in my shopping. Almost all my shopping errors this past year involve such mistakes. I will have more to say about that in my year end review.
How about you? Whether or not you follow Kibbe, have you ever noticed that some of the more traditional style rules don't seem to apply to you, and do you wonder why? Have you found an explanation that connects to your style personality?
