I have quit trying to figure Kibbe out.

Kibbe is one of those things where I think I'd be better off paying someone to figure out my classification. That said, I've come away with the idea of soft drape blouses (which Angie had already told me) and fishtail skirts and Claudette Colbert as a kind of role model from my self-diagnosis... I learned something about fabrics from reading up on Kibbe too.

I always enjoy these Kibbe conversations, if only because they make me look at myself and everyone else from a new angle. I am going to retake the test later and see if my answers have changed. I believe the last conversation had me as a flamboyant gamine, which was an eye opener.

I am clearly some type of gamine. I am closer to Soft Gamine than Flamboyant Gamine, but I think that the original Gamine category probably would have been best for me.

I think that what Kibbe says about my type is spot on and looks very good on me. However, I do get tired of dressing according to a single style. I think it is helpful in that my Kibbe type gives me extra knowledge about what things look good on me, but sometimes I want to do something a little different because I feel like it's more "me" from a personality perspective.

Haha I did the quiz and got the following:

B=7
C=7
D=1
E=1

So on the surface this is a cross between classic and natural which probably feels right (I am evenly proportioned, muscular but with broadness rather than sinewy).

So I am not a dramatic, gamine or romantic...I think I do have a wee touch of drama at times, but I agree I am not the others.

Yup. Fits perfectly, Sally!! I see you as a Natural of some kind but veering toward classic. Or with a classic "wing" if you will.

It's interesting that Kibbe views his classifications as archetypes instead of stereotypes or prescriptions. From my reading, it also seems he wants his archetypes to be used as stepping stones in a personal journey of self-discovery instead of being employed to put women into categories in order to tell them what to wear.

I think Kibbe sees his mission as liberating woman from the notion flattery requires camouflaging and concealing in order to conform to a single standard of beauty. By offering different perspectives of female beauty, he sees his archetypes as broadening our choices so each woman can figure out how to flatter and highlight her own unique qualities. Instead of following traditional figure flattery "rules" to make my IT shape look more like an hourglass, Kibbe encourages me to work with dramatic, angular lines to find beauty in my yang qualities.

I just did it and got mainly bs. I think perhaps I'm classic natural and natural classic. Definitely not gamine, romantic or dramatic.
I once did a rainy day exercise with a friend where we cut up styles for the other from magazines. It's interesting how others see you. She had me tending towards a natural bohemian style.

What Gaylene wrote

I should clarify: I am not disagreeing that I am a dramatic Kibbe type. I think that is clear. I think my Kibbe typing is accurate. There is no doubt in my mind that I fit a Dramatic Kibbe subtype. I was going back to Smitties original question about whether I use Kibbe to help determine my style. I think my style does not match my Kibbe type. I deliberately fight against it in order to avoid a look that is too intimidating. My goal is to look Genuine and Composed. Those were my original style statement words. I changed them to Serene and Elegant because in my thought process as I was getting dressed, the word "serene" seemed to accomplish the goal of helping me look less intimidating. I love my sheath dresses, but I intimidate people when I wear them. I look tall. I'm confident. I have a powerful position/career. I take charge. However, I still do that when I am not wearing a sheath.

Suz, I agree with you that Serene can still be Dramatic. I like what Gaylene says above. In fact, Gaylene has often been helpful to my understanding of Kibbe. One of the biggest lessons I have taken is to think in entire outfits instead of separates. I also think in terms of unbroken angular lines.

I've found Kibbe's theory incredibly interesting and useful, but have a deep ambivalence about its use and abuse as styling guide. To me, it's a tool, a frame of reference for refining what I already knew about my own preferences.

I have loads of thoughts on this topic, and sadly, not all day to type them here Might come back later with some more musings. Meanwhile. here's the original thread someone mentioned earlier.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....abbit-hole

When I did this test, if I am remembering the right quiz, there was no type given for my results. Very frustrating.

Sarah

Sally/kiwi gal, I think of you as dramatic because of your lovely jaw line. When I think of you, the first thing that pops into my mind is your jewel toned party dress.

Staysfit, got it. You Do look imposing in your sheath dresses. I can understand your desire to be more approachable by wearing less drama.

I'm going to explore the "dramatic" and see if it works for me. My mother, who looks a lot like me, dresses in a much more dramatic way and she looks very good, I'd say.

I agree with what Gaylene said. Also, people sometimes confuse Kibbe's image identity themes with styles of clothing. For example, Kibbe's classic is a type with specific bone structure, body type, features etc. However, any Kibbe type can wear "classic" clothes; they just need to be adjusted according to their type. If we take a pencil skirt and a button down shirt (very classic clothes), a Dramatic's version would be sharp, with angular detail or pattern, crisp smooth fabric, contrasting and/or monochromatic colors and a strong vertical line. A Soft Natural's version could be: skirt shorter and less tapered (more straight than pencil), the shirt less tailored and maybe slightly drapey, a looser overall outline, soft fabric with some texture, colors less contrasting. Plus, accessories, hair and makeup according to the type.
This is to say that Kibbe types shouldn't be stereotyped based on various styles. Any type can wear any style, just their own way.
It took me so long to realize that I'm a Natural exactly because I thought I had to wear only very casual baggy clothes. In fact, I couldn't be more wrong!...

Olen, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for your perspective.
Extrapolating from what you just said, I could wear my somewhat minimalist/plain clothes in a more dramatic way---say with bolder colours.

Smittie, in my view, Dramatic type is actually a very good match for minimalist clothes; it just has to be a somewhat "futuristic " and geometric minimalism (think Tilda Swinton, for example). But as I said above, a Dramatic can also wear any other style, if she wishes.

Olen, your comments have been so interesting! I'm almost tempted to hunt up the book for myself.

I took the version with the pictures that Suz linked to. It was VERY helpful... in most ways. Some questions I still didn't really get, like cheekbones. Mine are almost invisible somehow, which isn't a type. :p But other than that and a few others, my answers were very clear: Almost half A, and almost half D. Which... had no answer. Bah! I'm clearly a Dramatic Something, which makes sense. I identify with a lot of that, and most of those answers were really, really clear. But the D's? No help there!

Ginger, you might be theatrical romantic.

Or soft dramatic?

I was wondering about soft dramatic, just from reading the description. I'll look into theatrical romantic, too. Thanks, Suz!

Hmmm.
For grins, as I'm winding down for the evening, I decided to try the test from Suz's link with images. I still found myself straddling a few lines, and my numbers are all over the place, but I am slightly D dominant (5 D answers) and A secondary (4 A answers), so it seems I would be a Theatrical Romantic if I am understanding correctly. I don't really know what that means -- I would need to google the categories to get a good description and examples, but does that sound remotely correct to any of you who have studied this stuff?

Janet and Ginger I am no expert but I think TR might work for both of you. I have looked at that category for myself because I get a mix of D's and B's but I am lacking the waist, which seems to be key.
Think Vivien Leigh!

Funny...I was going to suggest Vivien Leigh as a style icon for Janet on her earlier thread but did not get a chance to respond!

I found this chart which helped for me..I don't know if this is correct but it helped me make some sense of it all.

If we say I am a natural, I could lean to classic or even a flamboyant natural...but I am not close to being a romantic or a gamine (which is true!)...I can certainly take those flavours and adapt them to my routine - and they all work. But a romantic look or a gamine look are a struggle, my face shape, my shoulders, my muscular legs are just all shades of wrong.

Janet and Ginger, sit more in the theatrical romantic/dramatic/classic area so can lean those ways.

Smittie as a dramatic you can also lean classic or maybe natural, but not so easily to the romantic side.

Am I on the right track?

Sally, that makes sense to me -- at least as much sense as any of this makes. I definitely have very little "gamine" in me, much to my chagrin -- I've always wished I were more "cute" and I always feel like my curves get in the way of how I wish I could dress.

I did read a description of Theatrical Romantix, which included rules for dressing that made me laugh. Lots of "no's" to things I like to wear. And talk of things like fluffy angora sweaters and gathered waists, which I absolutely do not like on me.

I don't know how old that description was. Vivien Leigh was my grandmother's generation! I guess maybe there is some updated info out there, which might seem more relevant.

Haha Janet, I used to want to be gamine too... and while I can do sporty/active as can you, we probably don't lean to that Audrey Hepburn/Amelie/Twiggy look. Pixie haircuts and ballet flats are not my best.....

And I guess where Kibbe is helpful is that even at my slimmest and youngest I could not do that. ....Luckily we can nail other looks!!

I don't think Kibbe is my "thing" but it was kind of fun trying to find a celebrity look-alike.

I think I'm going to work with mostly a natural look--this is what you initially said I was, Sally.

Apparently naturals can wear glitzy evening wear and that is right up my alley as I know it is yours!

Apparently I would look amazing "dripping in diamonds." I'll tell hubs right away!

Lol, Janet!

I can't keep up with this thread because I can't keep up with anything at the moment but I took an abridged version of the test and I am apparently equal parts dramatic/classic/natural. 0% romantic or gamine. Which makes sense to me because I am about as gamine as dumbo the elephant (and not nearly as cute). It was interesting that the questions were all about body type (or, more accurately, my perception of my body type) and not about clothes. Given that there were no questions about my actual style preferences, I thought it was amazingly accurate.

I don't think of Janet's style as romantic. I picked Ava Gardner for Janet's style icon because Ava has a dark, dramatic, femme fatale style. And attitude. Lots of attitude. I think of Vivien Leigh (who was also absolutely gorgeous of course) as a more ladylike role model.

Sally, natural and classic, yes! But I think you can do dramatic (your Witchery bell sleeve dress for instance).

Smittie, I think you do have a dramatic side. I see it with your (unfortunately ill fated) black funnel neck jacket and your penchant for oversized sweaters with high collars. Sleek and minimalist but still dramatic.

“The multiple choice test was never meant to be the only thing to determine your Image Identity™. Used by itself, it will always come up wrong. Only use the test combined with the lists and descriptions. Add to that your deepest instinct about who you are. Think of yourself at the age of 7- or before the world did its thing to you. Remember how you felt about yourself and what already made your heart sing! Remember above all, this as an organic process – not an intellectual one. Listen and hear yourself.” David Kibbe

Interesting quote from Kibbe's Facebook page. I think his system is more useful if you think of his archetypes as just stepping stones towards understanding why some choices might work better than others. I also think he'd vehemently oppose the idea of imitating any of the movie stars he'd chosen as being representative of an archetype. From my reading, he seems more interested in getting women to trust their instincts about what makes them uniquely attractive even if it goes against conventional norms.