It’s called Kibbe body typing, and it’s getting plenty of buzz right now. Devotee Ellie-Jean of Body and Style has posted a bunch about Kibbe body types and the best outfits for each, including the right wedding dresses for each type. Other people, like @leopardpinkish, give out styling advice based on specific Kibbe body types: The Kibbe body typing system is admittedly a little more complex than just knowing your shape, but fans swear it can go a long way toward helping you find the right style for you.
OK, what is Kibbe body typing?
Kibbe body typing, aka the Kibbe system, is a way of looking at the different curves and angles of your body to help you better understand the right style lines and overall look for you, explains beauty and style expert David Kibbe, creator of the Kibbe system. “I always felt like the whole standard of beauty and style was this ideal that doesn’t really exist,” Kibbe says. “Even if you give people the information to get them closer to the ‘ideal,’ they’re never going to be that. It ultimately just makes you feel bad about yourself and like something is wrong with you.” So, Kibbe wrote the 1987 book, Metamorphosis: Discover Your Image Identity And Dazzle As Only You Can, which broke the Kibbe system down. On a macro level, the system has you evaluate your bone structure, your curves, and the angles in your body, explains fashion designer and style blogger Gabrielle Arruda. “It’s really about learning your silhouette—the outline of your body and clothes,” Kibbe says. “If you look at your body as art, you can create a luscious silhouette.” The system is broken into 13 style types that are based on a combination of your physical traits and personality. The goal is to create a more harmonious way of looking at your body and style instead of just trying to work around different parts, like your hips or breasts, Kibbe says.
What are the different Kibbe body types?
It all starts with understanding your yin, or feminine energy, and yang, or masculine energy, along with your contrast and blend. Body types can be categorized by yin energies like curves, round edges, and circles, or yang energies like vertical lines, sharp edges, long outlines, and geometric shapes. Someone like Jennifer Lopez has more yin lines, while Sarah Hyland is more of a yang. But there’s way more to it than that. The contrast and blend help explain how the yin and yang are mixed together. If you have a lot of yin and yang features, you’re generally classified as being high contrast, but if your features are somewhere in between, you’d be classified as blended. The Kibbe body system generally involves five main types along a scale, Arruda explains. Those are:
DramaticNaturalClassicGamineRomantic
But within those are 13 more specific body types, aka Kibbe Image Identity Types, that help explain how much contrast and blending is happening within each main type. The 13 types are:
GamineSoft gamineTheatrical romanticRomanticSoft naturalSoft classicClassicSoft dramaticFlamboyant gamineFlamboyant naturalDramaticNaturalDramatic classic
Body types like Romantic have more yin, while Dramatic have more yang.
How can you figure out your Kibbe body type?
Kibbe recommends being professionally typed by him or trying to do it yourself. If you want to DIY, Arruda suggests taking a full-figure photograph in your underwear, athletic gear, or something that clearly shows your entire shape. Then, she has a quiz on her website you can take that helps you look at every aspect of your body clearly. There’s also a private Facebook group Kibbe works with called Strictly Kibbe that can help you learn more about the method and how to dress for your type. (In the group, Kibbe recommends taking your picture and loosely drawing the shapes that your body creates to see if you have sharper angles or more circular lines.) If you’ve tried all this and you’re still not sure what you are, Arruda suggests “crowdsourcing an opinion” for help. Her favorite source: the Freely Kibbe Facebook group. “They are generally knowledgeable and very supportive of the journey and process,” she says.
What is the point of Kibbe body typing?
Once you know your silhouette, aka body type, you can create different looks as long as they’re in harmony with that, Kibbe says. “If you have a curvy body and you put it in a straight dress, it doesn’t work,” he explains. “But if you have an angular body and you put a straight dress on it, it works.” Knowing your Kibbe Image Identity can help you choose the right hairstyles, makeup colors, and looks that are right for your type. “However, this text was created in the ’80s, so some of these suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt if you want a modern look,” Arruda says. Overall, Kibbe says his system is all about learning about your body and enhancing your features to celebrate what you have. “If you think of your life as a movie or novel and you’re the main character—we want to put you out as fully realized as possible,” Kibbe says. “One of the main ways you can do that is through style.” “When you work in harmony with who you are and you put that out, it’s very powerful and attractive,” he adds. Overall, Kibbe says, “I just want to help empower people to reach their dreams.” Next, the best body positivity quotes.
