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
Lately, I've been loving the TV show The Severance. It's such well done television, everything is high quality from how it's written to how it's directed to how it's acted. Among its merits, I think it's striking how well done the costumes are: they serve the story in a very specific, concrete way.
They work on different levels. Lumon uses essences to convey their darker meaning, as a manipulation tactic. The Severance uses essences to create effective worldbuilding, as a narrative device.
On the severed floor, workers aren't themselves. The company has stolen their identities, made them forget who they are, in order to mold them into the perfect workers. In order for them to be whatever the company needs. This is mirrored in costume design: every department has its essences, and every person in the department is dressed in those essences, regardless of what their own personal essences might be. This is a way to visually homogenize them, avoid them looking like themselves, and keep up the facade. And although all departments employ a heavy dose of the Classic essence, there are indeed noticeable differences between them, which further fosters the divide between workers: people from other departments look "different", and thus less trustworthy.
Macrodata Refinement - Pure Classic
The Classic essence is used by Lumon to signal Conformity. You must conform. You are just a cog in a machine. Everything is orderly, there are procedures you must follow, everything has its place and you cannot diverge from the norm. This is true for all severed employees, but even more so for MDR, who have a boring, repetitive desk job. The only clothes they are allowed to wear are suits and shirts, sweaters and under-the-knee skirts. The only colors are black, grey, blue, green and a shy version of orange or yellow. The only patterns are stripes or polka-dots, but only in accessories. Everything is designed to be as bland and unfussy as possible. Severed workers live a life of deprivation, and visual deprivation is part of it.
Notice how Helly's Natural lines, in particular, feel constricted in the high-neck, classic silhuoettes she is made to wear, mirroring how she feels like a trapped animal on the Severed floor.
“I hate that she dresses me in the morning like I’m a baby.”
Management and Security - Classic + Dramatic
The Dramatic essence is used to convey Power. The details are sharper, the neckties are solid black, a monolithic dark color is used from top to bottom, with high-necks. These are outfits designed to look good, better than how the severed workers' look, as if they were saying "I can, you cannot". They are designed to elicit fear.
Notice how when Ms. Cobel dresses up as Mrs. Selvig, on top of the obvious wardrobe change, her hair goes from being straight and severe to softer and wavy.
When she's undercover as Mrs. Selvig, she completely loses the Dramatic essence.
Ms. Casey - Classic + Gamine and Ingenue
The way she dresses is very classic, conveying how she is supposed to be meek and placid. However, the little details of the collars lean towards Gamine and Ingenue. Given her role as wellness counselor, they are supposed to elicit Restrained Cheerfulness. Positive emotions, light-heartedness, sculpting your emotions out of clay is probably the closest thing to "play" the severed workers ever get to do. Nevertheless, this combination of essences is also reminiscent of the "horror doll" aesthetic. The result is both calming and unnerving at the same time, mirroring how her sessions are supposed to make you feel good, but not too good (if you enjoy it too much it will be cut short).
Optics & Design - Classic + Gamine
These people are Creatives. They are allowed to be dressed in patterns other than stripes and polka-dots. They are allowed glasses straps made of golden chain. They can wear moon-shaped earrings, or a flower-shaped hair clip. They can wear a bowtie. They can even wear red! This is a very faint version of Gamine. They are afforded a lot more freedom in their clothes than all the other workers, to show how creative they are. Never mind they don't actually design anything themselves. The optics are what's important.
Spoilers from the Second Season of The Severance under the cut.
Mammalians Nurturable - Classic + Natural
Compared to other workers, their clothes are made of heavier, more resistant fabric. Their hair is down and free. They all wear overalls. Their gloves and boots are oversized. There are details like rugged leather and headscarves. And of course, animal fur. Everything is designed to give an illusion of Nature, despite the department being locked inside a building. It's the illusion of freedom. And they look haggard, gaunt and weather-beaten.
Lumon has constructed a very precise aesthetic for the company. Every detail has been decided and manufactured to give a precise impression. Everything is artificial, while pretending to be effortless. The clothes the workers wear are an integral part of Lumon's propaganda machine.
Bonus - Milchick's look from the ORTBO
I have no paragraph for this one. He just looks fabolous in it.
🍸 Purple Liu-Jo top: it works for my romantic essence because it has a floral, intricate pattern, the color is rich and deep, it's draped and figure hugging, and has a plunging necklace, making it a sexy addition to my wardrobe. It works for the Gamine essence because the small and busy pattern and the exaggerated neckline make it bold, in a playful way, it's cheeky! It works for the Natural essence because despite being revealing it still has a "Girl Net Door" vibe and and it is airy and flowy in the bottom part.
🐆 Leopard-print dress: It works for my romantic essence because of the draping and the animalier print, it's a bit revealing and enphasizes the waist. It works for the Natural essence because of the animal print and because it is breezy and flowy, and not overly dressy. It works for the Gamine essence because of the bold print!
I also found 13 going on 30 in DVD for 1€, so of course I had to take it! 💖📼🎂🪄
Using Kitchener Essences as motivation to live more intentionally
Lately I've been in some sort of a rut. Far too often during my free time I've found myself picking up my phone and scrolling social media, in a way that definetly didn't feel intentional. Today I started exploring a new concept: finding a connection between my goals and intentions & my Kitchener Essences. I think they can help me get inspired, so I can do more of the energy-giving stuff I love, and spend my time in a way that truly feels satisfying. On social media, you see other people living their lives, the goal of intentional living is to put down the phone and start living YOUR life. I want to curate a life that feels like my essence.
My personal essences are Romantic, Natural and Gamine.
Romantic Essence
The Romantic essence is all about sensory experiences. Taking a shower right now feels like a chore, something in my to-do list I need to tick off. I want to turn it into a luxurious and relaxing moment, where I calm my nervous system and reconnect with myself. All it takes is a mindset shift. I want to eat nourishing food that is also packed with fIavour, I want to spend more time cooking delicious, decadent meals that are healthy for me but also have new and interesting taste profiles. I want to make studying more enjoyable by lighting a scented candle and using a beautiful notebook, while drinking a warm cup of herbal tea.
Natural Essence
The Natural essence inspires me to be active, be in nature, get outside. I like running and how free it makes me feel. I love swimming in the sea, I love exploring new trails in my area. To honor my natural essence my intention is getting out of the house more and being in my body more.
Gamine essence
The Gamine essence represents creativity, curiosity and zest for life. Social media is a source of novelty, and my brain loves novelty, that's why it's so appealing to me. But I can add interesting, quirky new things in my real life too. I want to visit busy markets and second hand shops. I want to study in the library and pick up a random book to read during breaks. If I need to study a topic, I want to read its introduction the day before so I can let curiosity build up. I want to get lost in rabbit holes. I want to go to more events and have more variety in my weeks.
Of course this can be done with any essence, they can all be inspiration to live more intentionally and authentically to what we want and who we are. What's your blend? How does it inspire you? What's an intentional practice you want to start in your everyday life?
I'm new at Kibbe, I've read a lot, but I'm starting to feel confused!
Don't worry, I've got you! Here's the "telltale" signs of each family:
Dramatic (D)
Long limbs, uninterrupted vertical line, narrowness (known as Vertical)
Natural (N)
Broad, blunt shoulders, openess in the chest area (known as Width)
Classic (C)
Overall sense of equilibrium, lack of extreme features (known as Balance)
Gamine (G)
Shortness and narrowness, compact feeling (known as Petite)
Romantic (R)
Curve on top + curve on bottom (known as Double Curve)
Remember: instead of overthinking every single body part you should look for your most prominent feature and the overall feeling of your lines.
Here's the shapes I like to associate to each family:
If you are still lost, here's something you can do: you can draw your Personal Line by taking a full-lenght picture of yourself (while keeping the camera at chest height), and tracing your own silhouette. On top of the photo or on top of the silhoutte you can try and draw the shapes you see in the last picture, and see which one feels the most harmonious against your Personal Line. That is for sure going to point you in the right direction :)
Some weeks ago I had a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine. I was telling her how Kibbe IDs go from the most Yang to the most Yin, and she asked me an extremely interesting question:
"How can we be sure they should go in that order?"
aka "How can we say Dramatic is more yang than Natural? Or that Gamine is more yin than Classic?"
I must admit that made me stop in my tracks. But after a bit of consideration, here's the response I gave her: Yang in Kibbe is verticality. The types that on the left of the scale have a longer/more striking vertical line compared to the types on their right.
Here's a visualization of what I mean:
Dramatic is more yang than Natural because the vertical line of a dramatic is the most extreme. Gamine is more yin than Classic because Gamine has a shorter vertical line.
Through that conversation, I've thought of a simple way of categorising IDs based on how big or small they are on both axis, vertical and horizontal. It's a bit simplistic but I think it could help a newcomer:
∙ Dramatic is long and narrow.
∙ Natural is long and wide (wideness comes from bone structure).
∙ Classic is balanced in both directions.
∙ Gamine is short and narrow.
∙ Romantic is short and full (Some romantics have petite, but some other have a certain broadness to their figure, but that broadness comes from flesh and not from bone structure)
So, as you can see, they are in the correct order: DNCGR. I really like Kibbe because you can always find a logical explanation for everything :)
Of course the order is completely different when it comes down to Kitchener essences: Classic in a yin type while Gamine is a Yang type, according to Kitchener!
