On the Kibbe test, my numerical score places me in straight G. I’m more yin than most FGs, and more yang than SG.

But given the peculiarities of the G types, this doesn’t make me a straight Gamine, and it wouldn’t even if Kibbe still assigned people this type. Gamines are yin in size, with yin faces, but straighter, yang bodies. That is not how my mix of yin and yang shows itself in my body and face, and Gamine clothes don’t work for me at all.

This becomes clear if you look at a comparison of the Gamine types, with the things in bold being the characteristics that apply to me.

While my characteristics seem pretty evenly split between SG and FG, almost nothing from G applies to me. It has been suggested to me that perhaps my combination of yin and yang is just more extreme. But also, if we think about how Gamine types are created, it’s only logical that the transition from FG to SG is not always going to be a linear one that passes through G. Gamine features from all three types can show in one person, since that juxtaposition of yin and yang can show up in a myriad of ways.

Looking at this chart, it also almost seems to favor SG. Why I am FG, then? The fact that I have short legs and and small hands and feet are not as important as the fact that I am broadly angular over round. I have wide shoulders and broad, flat hips. These make the FG recommendations work well for me, and cause the SG ones to not work at all. Not all characteristics are going to carry the same weight; it is not a pure numbers game. The overall impression is what counts.

Also, since I have so little straight G, I have to remember that while some of my FG sisters can carry off pieces from the G recommendations, I can’t. But I’m excited to see how far I can dip into SG.

I think it’s a worthwhile exercise to take a look at the characteristics of your sister type(s), and see exactly how your unique yin/yang balance presents itself. It will help you understand both your own type and how you can push its boundaries.