Do You Really Need a Style Analysis?

***Update, 5/21/15: Gwen is a tough one! After examining pictures of her body, I have decided that she is actually FN. Her shoulders are very broad, and her rib cage is wider than her hips. The celebrity I found with the most similar body shape to Gwen’s is Cameron Diaz, who is pretty much universally regarded as FN.***

Note: I have discussed Gwen Stefani with some real-life TRs, who feel that her body is far too yang. So I have settled on her being a Soft Dramatic, with a yin face and a yang body. I still definitely do not think she is FG!

Do I need a style analysis? This is a question I’ve been turning over lately in my mind. While I can’t afford Kibbe, there are two other people that I know of who offer a Kibbe-based service and have generally good reviews: Rachel of Best Dressed and Sarah of Guiding Lines both offer reasonably priced services.

I have, however, yet to get myself analyzed. Truth be told, I’m scared. I don’t want to be told what I don’t want to hear. I don’t feel like I fit the typical body type we see in FG, and I score in C/G range on the test. I find, however, that Kibbe’s recommendations work really well for me, I feel good in FG clothes, and I ruled out other possibilities like SN because I need structure. I have blathered on about how I landed on FG in depth.

So I guess what I’m wondering is, if you feel good in the type you’ve selected, do you really need to get an official analysis? Maybe someone would put me in SG because of my body shape. Maybe someone else would make me a small SD. But at the end of the day, FG is where I feel the best and where I feel myself. I think of Gwen Stefani, who you’ll sometimes find on Flamboyant Gamine Pinterest boards. Gwen, though, has always seemed like an outlier to me in FG. Her face is not FG at all. Then I remembered that she played Jean Harlow in The Aviator.


(Sources: 1, 2)

She looks fine in FG. She is STUNNING in TR, with a face that would absolutely not be out of face in glamorous 1930s Hollywood. I think she’s always known this, because even when she was wearing Dickies, she still did a very glam makeup look. Now, I do think that Gwen’s beauty is truly revealed in in her TR/Jean Harlow look. But she has made an image for herself as a cool dresser, not a glam one. So I’m divided on whether a TR Metamorphosis would be the best thing for her. But looking at her in the Jean Harlow pictures, I see her, not the clothes.

As for myself, what if I went to see Kibbe and he made me an SC, my nightmare type? (No offense to any SCs out there; it’s great on you, but not for me.) The ladylike image of SC is so far removed from everything I am. Would I stop dressing FG if an analyst told me I wasn’t? To be honest, probably not.

Have you ever been analyzed? Were you pleased by the results? Do you think Gwen should dress in bias cut silk gowns all the time?

6 Comments on Do You Really Need a Style Analysis?

  1. Nouveau
    November 9, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    I did my own style analysis – partly because there are no analysts near where I live, but mostly because I felt I needed to discover it and internalize it for myself.

    This is just my personal feeling about my style: I wouldn’t feel comfortable relying on someone else’s diagnosis of me, even if that person had a great track record of analyzing other people. Nobody knows my “internal me” better than I do, and I want that part of me to be reflected in my style along with my “external me” – both halves of my essence.

    So I wanted to take my style journey by myself, and now I really resonate with my personal style after doing all that learning and exploration. I feel confident and comfortable when I wear my style – and I learned a lot about myself along the way.

    And now that I’ve developed my personal style, I wouldn’t want to have a professional analyst’s diagnosis of me – because, as you mentioned, what if the analyst saw a different style for me than the one I resonate with?

    I would probably still stick with the style I’ve chosen, but an analyst’s differing diagnosis might take away some of my confidence and connection to my chosen style.

    Reply
    • stylesyntax
      November 9, 2014 at 5:52 pm

      I agree, pretty much. After all of this self-study, I know what works for me (structure, asymmetry, angles) and what doesn’t (unconstructed drapiness, symmetry, round shapes). What an analyst can “see” in me is now less important than what I know from this whole process. I think I would make an exception for Kibbe, though. He seems to be a kind of wizard. While I do think you know yourself best, what I think someone like Kibbe can do is kind of cut through psychological barriers you may have about your self image. Like I ended up placing myself in FG after a long process, but I’ve always dressed FG-ish; I just dress FG better now, with Kibbe’s recs. So who knows, Kibbe might see me as something totally different and it’d be even better for me than FG. But FG works for me now, and seeing Kibbe won’t be a real possibility anytime soon. I feel very happy and at peace with style now, and I know exactly what to look for to make myself look good.

      Reply
  2. Dianne
    November 10, 2014 at 10:09 am

    I’m very frustrated at the moment. What would you suggest for someone who does not seem to fit exactly anywhere with Kibbe?
    I’m 5′ 9″. Am I stuck with dramatic? I have a very balanced figure. Does that mean I’m a classic? I have the natural’s eyebrows.. Small hands and feet. Full lips.
    I think we are forced to just try things on and see what works.
    Can we invent our own category? Mine would be a “Dramatic Romantic Classic Natural”… seriously that is how I dress and it seems to work for me.
    Your site is fabulous by the way.
    I love how you write.

    Reply
    • stylesyntax
      November 11, 2014 at 1:43 pm

      Thank you! Most people don’t feel like they fit, at least at first. Tall definitely does not automatically equal dramatic. FN, DC, and SD are also types that tend to be on the taller side. If your overall impression is “balanced,” I’d start with DC. DC can also have some soft yang (N), if you look at how the Kibbe quiz is scored. Something like small hands and feet won’t automatically knock you out of a category like DC. It’s about your overall impression. Try-ons are helpful. You can see how you feel in tailored lines vs. relaxed lines, etc. Of course, if you’re totally satisfied with the way you dress, you might just stick with what you’re doing. Or you can look at what you know 100% works for you, and see where you can see it reflected in the Kibbe recommendations. The nice thing about having the recs is that when shopping, you can zero in on what you know works and save lots of time and money. No more buying things that will just sit in your closet and gather dust. 🙂 If you know your season and your Kibbe, everything works and it’s magical.

      Reply
  3. lux
    June 1, 2015 at 12:27 am

    Uff. Someone finally said this. I absolutely agree with you about Gwen! I have never understood why is she placed in FG category. FG style is very attractive for a pop star, Gwen is beautiful women and she leans D (I think) so she can carry dramatic FG style (and she looks great). However neither her face nor figure looks gamine for me.

    Reply
    • stylesyntax
      June 1, 2015 at 2:12 am

      She’s placed in the FG category because she almost always dresses FG and seems to pull it off okay. There are very few famous FG women, so we kind of end up grasping at straws. I don’t think she would be able to wear the FG looks she does if she didn’t work so hard to stay in shape.

      Reply

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