Hi! Im not sure if this is the right place to go, but do you do clothing recs based off of kibbe type? I really want to splurge on a couple new things for my grad coming up, and i have a vague idea of what will look nice, but im not quite sure yet? Either way thank you!!
Hi! Yes this is absolutely the right place!
For full transparency: I am not a professional personal stylist, in the sense that this is not my job. But I've been studying Kibbe and Kitchner for 6 years at this point, and I think I've got the eye for it! I've given advice irl to my friends when they asked for it, and they were very happy with the results.
This will be very informal, completely free & something you need to take with a grain of salt: personal style is, well, personal, and all final decisions are yours to make!
All that said, I'd be very very happy to give you advice, you can message me privately and we can talk things out. You can explain to me your situation and if you already have options to talk about etc., and we can work from there.
This, btw, is true for everyone: always feel free to message me to ask questions about the theory, ask for recs on clothes, or just to chit chat about fashion and share ideas and opinions! I'm always happy to talk about fashion! <3
Also, good luck for your upcoming graduation, what a milestone! <3
Hi again! Do you think Gianluca Ginoble from Il Volo is a possible R (or TR)? I'm getting strong R vibes in both looks and image. I don't see any imbalance, so a SG is unlikely.
Actually, I think fellow bandmate Piero could be a R too (but I can also see SN being very likely too). That man is very voluptuous.
I dont know if you remember but i asked about kibbe typing a friend of mine a while back? Its been a while but can confirm: waist emphasis, denim, loose curls, subtle makeup, pearl studs, and chunky yet long earrings look great! I think we can safely confirm sn for her. Thank you!!
(Bonus: the rest of us turned out to be some sort of g or r except for 1 other n subtype! I thought it was really interesting)
(cont.) Oh and! She just got a leo with a lace square neck (see: gaynor minden sarabande) and it's the best one out of all the leos she has anyway thank you again!!
you're the yin types club! the way my school friend group was all yang (consisting of D - my type, SD, FN, FG & N). seeing a little trend, at least with us here.
you're welcome, i never thought kibbe typing through words without pictures could work. but as long as you go by 'exclusion' principle - e.g. a 5'10 woman won't be a gamine, classic, or romantic, and if her bone structure isn't sharp yang only she will automatically be FN - and check for suitable fabrics, you might as well find your ID 💓
fun fact: i settled my type between SD and D through makeup, not clothes. only matte colors (yang) look cohesive on me, nothing else. gloss and shine (yin) is awful, now i know why; dramatics are the 180 of romantic glam. to be honest... it restricts me, but that is due to stores selling nothing else but glitter & warm tones. i wish brands - and i like to shop and swatch in person instead of doing it online - would bring out matte cool tones with broader shade ranges and more unusual colors 💔 and not just bright winter a la 80s. i saw a color analyst making a chart that concluded most products out there favor light springs and autumns. to all the warm toned R, SN, and SC types out there, being low contrast and yin-influenced is a blessing, use it. the market right now is your oyster.
SN is also one of the easier types to dress (FULL STYLE GUIDE HERE, gabrielle arruda has an amazing kibbe blog) because athletic, textured, loose, and baggy-cut clothes dominate the stores, the thrift shops. it's the persisting beauty standard - see fitness influencers etc - in many countries, and common in the population.
look at the actor everyone's talking about right now, nicholas galitzine (obvious soft natural body type, romantic facial features - like soft lips - with kibbe width and a defined waist, and 5'11 is a moderate yang height). from classic tux/shirt dresser to natural muscle hero. masters of the universe is kind of a kibbe metamorphosis movie 😭 he goes from dressing symmetrical, corporate, to showing off what his body type really is. much like nicholas often shows up as a DC suits guy on the red carpet, which makes his physique hilariously obvious. action genres are N type territory 100%.
bonus: the og he-man, dolph lundgren, is FN, the new version is more sexy-fied with yin. FN is taller (dolph was 6'5 or so?) with longer arms, appears more mature, even broader-looking, and more campy or warrior-like rather than the modernized adam who is there to be hot & clumsy first and foremost; common SN trope. but he-man, whether SN or FN, is camp because he wears the clothes of his opposite kibbe body type: gamine (cropped and short lines, petite and narrow, logan lerman as percy jackson comes to mind).
percy is dressed more natural than an actual natural (leather, casual, parkas, long armor, etc). the irony of movie logic. it emphasizes how much of a kid he is in that role, like peetah (SG) in the hunger games wearing capitol sportswear.
that's why he-man looks so ridiculous: it's not the scantily clad schtick, it's the breaking of the expectation. the character design wants him to be FN but doesn't dress him with vertical or width at all 😅
ps: dolph's co-stars were absolutely stunting because the costume department whipped out the soft dramatic and theatrical romantic gowns for them. everyone slays. they're giving '100% wig or 0% wig, we don't gaf'.
Actually, I've been slowly going through a lot of 4th and 5th gen ggs to type each of the members, and one of those is ITZY. So I'll share what I found out.
The members were pretty difficult to type, but I focused on the image that ITZY projects, which is very chic, model-type, natural. All the members have similar body types, with long elegant lines and strong frames, so it shouldn't be surprising that they're all (spoiler) in the N family!
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Yeji is 170cm so she's vertical dominant. I've considered D and FN, I don't see the yin for an SD. Facially and body wise... I can see the argument for D, she has that angular/striking/pinched look that made me think D initially, but considering her style, her effortless coolness and how at home she looks in oversize/slightly messy garments, I'm going with Flamboyant Natural. I do think she has width, strength to her frame (bttm left image).
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Lia was hard to type. She's ~5'4/5'5 so she could be any type basically. I quickly noticed that she seems yang dominant. I considered D, FG, DC, SN, FN... looking logically, Flamboyant Natural feels correct. She looks taller than her height in my opinion, not in the moderate way of a DC or even SN... she has long legs/arms and slightly broad shoulders, and she just seems to have a modellesque FN build. I also don't get D energy from her. D is a pretty rare type, it has a specific vibe to it, I think she's more free spirit/laid back FN. SN is also maybeee possible but I think FN is #1.
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Ryujin is the only member I had no trouble typing. From debut, she's always had the Soft Natural vibe. She's average height, overall moderate looking with width in her torso and hips. She rocks slightly messy hair, whether short or long, and she just breathes SN. The top left outfit is, to me, perfect SN, not tooo much, overall just a bit of openness looks perfect. I think some people would see her hourglass shape and think she looks delicate, but SN has a huge variety.
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Chaeryeong (~5'6) is pretty clearly N fam. She's obviously frame dominant, she has an inverted triangle shape with broad shoulders. She looks great in relaxed outfits and long ruffled hair and has the approachable cool vibe. I think SN or FN would make sense, but I'm currently team Soft Natural. I don't see a lot of vertical, I think she has softness. I prefer her in slightly ruffled/soft silhouettes vs FN full yang. See bttm left, I think the elements of softness with a heavier fabric is just right.
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Just like Yeji, with Yuna I was caught between D and FN. She's definitely vertical at 5'8 and has a lean, dry body type, that said, I think Flamboyant Natural is pretty obviously the right choice. Note the bttm right pic, her chest/shoulder shape specifically reads as FN. I also don't get D from her at all, like the other members she has more of a fresh fun FN style.
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I've never typed a group where all the members are in the same family. Well, SN and FN are the 2 most common types so it makes sense. I think ITZY works well as a team because their essences complement each other. They all fit the young chic / cool girl sort of vibe, they all have a kinda model look. Ryujin and Chaer are at the taller end of SN, so they can pull off a lot of FN-type looks and fit in with the FNs.
I think this picture is cool, it shows FN vs SN. They're all close in height, overall look similar, but the SNs have a bit of a 'fleshy' appearance while the FNs look elongated/dry. Chaer compared to Yuna especially. (left to right, FN, FN, SN, SN, FN)
Tyla is a Theatrical romantic in my opinion. I'll start by saying I don't think a SG/FG would have this sort of image/aesthetic, it's very TR, and it suits her perfectly. She looks great in gowns, embellishments, long hair, overall I don't see the animated, playful gamine vibe, more of the alluring/luxurious TR vibe.
Look at the curve of her shoulders, (last pic) to me it's the epitome of a yin/TR type of shoulder line: small and rounded. Her facial features also seem pure yin without the juxtaposition of a gamine. I think if she had actual yang juxtaposition it would jump out in some way but she just seems YIN with a bit of sharpness. It's a fine line between SG and TR, but for me people like Tyla show there are noticeable differences! When she's styled for a more gamine look, it just feels off:
whenever i don’t know where to start, i look at height limits. comparing the group members, right away we see two vertical types, one narrow and high contrast (alex), the other with athletic width (david); and two yin heights below the 5′10 cutoff, one softer (michael), the other more compact (eddie). so, the only kibbe type we don’t see is classic, van halen has all the yin-yang extremes. from there, we look for subtypes and what clothing they rock.
❤️🔥 vocalist david lee roth 6′0 - yang height :: flamboyant natural
kibbe width and blunt facial features. vertical; long arms and legs. muscle and torso definition is broad, not narrow. slays big, ultra bold show outfits with texture, leather, deep plunges, angular lines mixed in. best hair is lion-like, bleached to lower contrast, and fuzzy.
❤️🔥 guitarist eddie van halen 5′7 - yin height :: flamboyant gamine
compact, youthful, muscular, and petite. geometric facial features that mix yin and yang. broad shoulders and hands. straight body type, not soft. cropped, striped and detailed, fun, bright clothes in a close head to toe line. best hair is layered and square.
❤️🔥 bassist michael anthony 5′6 - yin height :: pure romantic
curve over frame. softly wide with rounded shoulder line. can’t go casual like soft natural or patterend & straight-waisted like gamine. ideal outfits are drapes, silks, smaller details, sheer texture, and glitz. best hair is curly, unconstructed, and short.
❤️🔥 drummer alex van halen 6′0 - yang height : soft dramatic
t-shape silhouette and narrow vertical with taut, bold sharp facial definition that’s elongated rather than broad. slight soft features added. best clothes are long, tailored, metallic or dark. best hair is sleek or contrasting and voluminous with some wave.
How do we learn about body types? I just saw your Zara Larsson post, hehe
1.) look for a good kibbe blog you like with introduction posts and clothing example pictures. about what 13 body types there are, the height limits, yin (flesh curve) and yang (skeletal angularity) and how it combines in humans, subtype distinctions, and what clothing recommendations mirror the person (e.g. tall body types look for floor length rather than despair with cropped cuts that would never sit right to begin with, it's pretty intuitive, working with what the person already is). avoid the kibbe quiz or don't take it too seriously. it's better to learn the whole system first to train the eye. each (sub-)type has different terminology aka what does the clothing have to do to adapt to you, looking this one up instead helped me most.
KIBBE TYPES x DOMINANT FEATURES:
dramatics have vertical. they're tall and narrow. geometric fabric travels straight down asymmetrically. (SHARP YANG, over 5'6)
classics have balance. the symmetrical, oval-angular in-between. fabric can't go in either extreme. (BLENDED YIN + YANG)
gamines are petite. they're compact and angular. versatile fabric has to be short, square mixed with soft. (YIN-YANG CONTRAST)
romantics have kibbe curve. the short, true hourglass. draped fabric has to accommodate hips, chest & waist (SOFT YIN, under 5'6)
2.) All that before reading the rather abstract and poetic book of stylist david kibbe that launched all of this ("metamorphosis", there are pdfs online, buying it is expensive) which is often outdated, confusing, or flowery, and a combination of work that other stylists have done before him, belle northrup for instance. he has a new affordable book explaining it again, 'power of style'. more revamped and concrete, holistic, not doing singular features but the person as a whole. david has needlessly dissolved and rebranded the original system a lot, but it finally explains how to do line drawings to find your own type.
the stylist that explains kibbe best is aly art on youtube, she is concise and always a step ahead with an acute eye.
