December 2016 archive

Three Levels of Dress: Gamine Summer Casual (Bonjour Tristesse)

If you’ve been waiting for the palette comparison–I have the photos ready, although getting them was challenging, since I’m so far north that I don’t have many daylight hours, but I’ve been sick, so I haven’t had a chance to sit down and work on the post. I decided to write this post first because some of the items are on sale, so it’s a little more time-sensitive.

Lately, I’ve had some interest in the Gamine Kibbe recommendations. I don’t know what we’re supposed to do with the recommendations for Gamine, Natural, and Classic–David Kibbe hasn’t given an answer to this, and I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be able to work them into our Soft or Dramatic/Flamboyant Image ID recs or ignore them altogether. Regardless, I actually see a lot of things in the Gamine recommendations that work for me, like the tailored dresses and geometric shapes. There are also Gamine celebrities I feel a connection to that David hasn’t moved to SG or FG yet, like Paulette Goddard and especially Jean Seberg. The comparisons to her I’ve gotten were one of keys to figuring out that I’m FG.

Last night I decided to watch a movie, and I checked out Otto Preminger, since I loved Laura so much. Once I saw he had directed Bonjour Tristesse, that was it for me. (For some reason, I had always thought it was a Godard film.) I started watching it immediately, and when I saw this title card I almost had to pause the film out of excitement:

title_card

Givenchy in the credits: Always a good omen for gamine fashion.

Indeed, the little black dress in this movie may be one I fantasize about having in my wardrobe even more than the one in Sabrina:

little_black_dress

jean_audrey

But the real star of the movie for me–and the reason behind this post–is Cécile’s (Jean Seberg) French Riviera summer wardrobe. I’ve always had a hard time when it comes to dressing for summer. I find dressing easier when I can make use of layers. I usually end up in an oversized Ramones tank top and some frayed denim shorts and call it a day. But seeing Cécile’s version of summer inspired me. It still looks so fresh and chic, despite being nearly 50 years old. I see this a lot with gamine styles, actually–they don’t really tend to look dated.

Her frequent use of men’s shirts in this movie is iconic–this hasn’t ever really been a look I’ve been into very much myself, but she makes me like it. I wonder what DA color would work best… The traditional light blue isn’t really for me.

mens_shirt

A hangover has never looked so chic:

hangover

And yes, a sleeveless blouse and high-waisted shorts are definitely going on my list:

gingham_bike

I love this kind of collar, but it’s hard to find nowadays:

rolled_neck

rolled_neck_3

The only thing I’ve seen it on recently is this dress from Boden, but it definitely doesn’t fit into the “summer casual” theme.

BodenMarisa Dress

Marisa Dress, Boden, $103.60-$118.40

Another fun outfit is this one, with a white button-down blouse that is kind of a modified sailor shirt, with a regular front but the rectangular collar in the back, so from the front it looks kind of like a hooded shirt:

white_shirt

It’s paired with patterned cropped pants, which I’m also going to hunt for:
patterned_pants

But my absolute favorite outfit is her striped-shirt-and-white-shorts outfit:
stripes_outfit

The neckline of the t-shirt makes it just a little more interesting than your basic shorts-and-a-t-shirt combo:

stripes_closeup

Accessories-wise, in the summer, she doesn’t go much beyond sunglasses and sandals or white flats, but she pairs the stunning Givenchy black dress with some slightly oversized studs and a pearl bangle:

earrings

I think the simpler approach to accessories is so fresh for summer.

While we’re still in the midst of winter, since there have been so many sales going on, I’ve already picked up a few things, mainly accessories.

bag/earrings/shoes

1) Rebecca Minkoff Small Darren Leather Messenger Bag, Nordstrom, $172.49; 2)Type 3 Leopard Lover Earrings, Dressing Your Truth, $8.78; 3) Ingrid Sandal, Boden, $43.20-$54.00.

1) Rebecca Minkoff Small Darren Leather Messenger Bag, Nordstrom, $172.49.
Olive is a great neutral for me, and gold hardware is a must. The small size keeps the bag from looking too Classic, and it’s also just right for my needs.

2) Type 3 Leopard Lover Earrings, Dressing Your Truth, $8.78.
Oversized studs are Cécile’s main accessory throughout the film. I love the geometric shape and nod to leopard print in this pair.

3) Ingrid Sandal, Boden, $43.20-$54.00.
Obviously, some simple sandals are essential for any easy summer look. These have the added bonuses of leopard print and rose gold.

Other things on my list:

1. Simple linen shorts.
I’m not going to go as short as Cécile does in the movie. I like these because they don’t have any visible buttons or cuffs. Very clean.

Boden Shorts

Richmond Shorts, Boden, $27.40-$41.10

2. High-waisted shorts.

3. Men’s or Men’s-style shirt.
Still on the lookout for the perfect color.

4. A simple gold bangle.
I think a bangle would really complete things. Something super simple, like this Kate Spade bangle:

Kate Spade  Bangle

Heart of Gold Bangle, Kate Spade, $32.00

5. Simple necklace.
I have a necklace at my mother’s house that was hers in the 60s that would suit this perfectly.

6. Sleeveless blouse.

7. Patterned cropped pants.

8. Plain cropped pants.

9. T-shirt out of thick material with a high neckline.

10. Lightweight but stiff long-sleeved shirt.

Have any movies inspired you, fashion-wise? What are you dreaming about wearing in the summer?

Prism X11 Dark Autumn Palette Review, Part 1

I recently purchased the Prism X11 Dark Autumn palette. This is a new alternative to the True Colour International/Invent Your Image/Indigo Tones palettes already on the market for people who have been draped in or have DIYed a Sci\ART color space. While the other brands’ palettes all look relatively similar–the TCI and IYI ones especially–these look radically different.

The other fans more or less match up with the original Sci\ART fans created by Kathryn Kalisz.
sciartda

There might be a few colors added here or there, but even the order is pretty much the same. The new Prism X11 fans were not created from these palettes, although Nikki Bogardus, the creator, does have original Sci\ART drapes at her disposal and was trained by Kalisz. Instead, they were created in collaboration with a Munsell color scientist, using a Spectrophotometer to determine the exact level of hue, value, and chroma in a given color. Each palette contains 70 “core” colors for your season. I will be doing a color-by-color comparison of the TCI Dark Autumn palette and the Prism X11 palette in another post. Outside of their similarity to Kalisz’s palettes, I am not sure how the exact colors for the other palettes were determined.

palette closed

For this post, I’d like to focus on the PrismX11 palette itself, and how it differs overall from the other palette I have. First, the packaging. It comes in a plastic case that is open on one side. I like this because I’m always misplacing the plastic sleeve my TCI palette came in. I take it out of the sleeve, set the sleeve down somewhere, and then start swatching, completely forgetting where I put the sleeve. The PrismX11 is held together with a fastener that unscrews, enabling you to add more color swatches as they become available, which is an interesting concept. I don’t think these extra colors are available yet, but the expandability is a nice bonus feature. It comes secured with a rubber band–the case is hard and there is extra space for the additional pages. Nikki sells some accessories for the palettes, like tassels in your colors and leather cases, but some kind of elastic band would also be maybe a nice thing to add as an option.

palette open

The palette itself is printed on thick glossy paper, rather than the canvas of the TCI palettes. The colors seem much more complex and rich than the canvas ones, but I’m not sure if it’s better for fabric swatching, due to the difference in material.

palette full

The palette also has more features than the TCI palettes. It even has an index. The extras include information on the season from Kathryn Kalisz (including some information on design lines!), which I really like having, plus the names of colors she mentioned for the season. It also has a visual representation of the season’s hue/value/chroma settings, which I’m assuming replicate the settings for the Spectrophotoometer.

palette contents

The palette definitely has a darker and more muted feel than the other palette I have. Partially it’s because the darker colors are at the top of the fan. Some Dark season people prefer this, because they find their darkest colors to be the most important. I like to have it the other way around. The light colors are the hardest to get right, and the worst when they’re wrong–for me, anyway. It also just makes the palette seem darker and heavier than it actually is. I’ll go more in depth on this in my next post, but while it looks a lot darker than the other palette, a lot of the colors are very similar–it just doesn’t have the lightest and brightest of the TCI DA fan’s colors, nor does it have an icy strip.

My overall thoughts, so far, are that I’m excited to have two options as far as Dark Autumn palettes go. I’m not sure if I would have picked this up if I didn’t want to review it and see if there were a decent option beyond the fan I already own, but now that I have it, I think it’s good to know that there is a scientific basis for these particular colors being on the palette. I will go more into the colors and how they compare to the other fan in my next post, but they are less overwhelmingly dark than it may seem from photographs or from your first impression, and I think a lot of DAs are going to find this a better option, especially if they struggle with certain aspects of the other DA palettes (i.e., the lighter and brighter colors are difficult for them to wear). I feel like our makeup options are represented better on this palette, too.

The fans can be ordered directly from the PrismX11 website and cost 54 USD. Shipping is $3.99 within the US. When I tried to order from the site, it said shipping to Europe was also $3.99, and since that didn’t make sense to me, I contacted Nikki, and she told me shipping was $13.50 and I placed my order with her personally via email. So if you’re in the US, it’s significantly cheaper than buying from TCI, whose fans are $60, but if you’re in Europe, it’s about the same.

Nikki also sells a book with the colors from all the palettes, which I think is a great tool for DIYers or for the merely color-obsessed.

Part 2 of my review, with color comparisons to the TCI palette, will be up Friday.

On My Color Experience

I got the PrismX11 palette in the mail yesterday, and I’m really excited to be able to share this palette with everyone. Before I do, though, I thought it was necessary to clarify some things about my experience with and approach to color, in case some people haven’t been reading from the beginning.

I’m going to be reviewing the Dark Autumn palette, and comparing it to the True Colour International version. I think it’s important for people to know that I have never been draped as anything. I came to Deep Autumn completely on my using, using the Color DIY process I have outlined.

So I don’t make any judgments in my review as to how this palette works for me as a Dark Autumn. People who practice Caygill have told me that they see me as something between Spring and Autumn. I have heard between “light spring and soft autumn.” This means, I think, that I am a lighter person, on the warm side, but too muted for Light Spring. Soft Autumn is too muted. I think I ended up in Dark Autumn as a need for an autumn that is brighter than SA.

I don’t know if this is what a color analyst would see if I sat in the draping chair and under the lights. I find that the Dark Autumn colors feel right on me, the makeup works on my face, and I think they are right for my energy.

I do find, generally, that dark colors are easier for me to wear than light ones. The wrong light color reacts horribly with my complexion. A dark color that is too cool makes me look a little gray but nothing too noticeable; the wrong light color makes me look hungover.

TCI (left) and PrismX11 (right)

TCI (left) and PrismX11 (right)

You can see that the very brightest DA colors (mainly the ones at the top of the TCI palette) are the ones that are missing from the new palette. These colors work well for me, as a lighter person, but I know that a lot of other DAs struggle to make these colors work and stick to the darker colors in the palette. If I were going by the color selection alone, as a lighter person, I’d probably go with TCI for myself, although I love the new purples and greens the PrismX11 has. I think most draped DAs, however, are darker than I am, and will find the absence of the colors I mentioned and overall increased dark impression of the PrismX11 palette to be a welcome change.

Breakout Roles: Alexis Bledel

Previously: Natalie Portman

This is occasional series I’ve started where I give my best guess on a celebrity’s Kibbe Image Identity–I look at their roles and image, versus an analysis of their physical features and body type. Last time, I decided that Natalie Portman is SG. This time, I’m going to reach a similar conclusion about an actress who is rather similar to her, with a similar debate about her type.

I’ve never seen Gilmore Girls until recently, when I decided to start binge watching it while laid up in bed with a upper respiratory tract infection. So far, I’m up to season four, and for me, the clues about Alexis’s type come less from what kind of character Rory Gilmore is and more about what other people on the show say about her.

One of the ways David Kibbe characterized gamines in general in our FG Facebook group is that “you can’t be sure if she is a waif under the bridge… Or a princess in waiting!” I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a modern example of an actress that fits this characterization better than Alexis.

paris waif
audrey1
audrey2
audrey3

It is, in fact, easy to put Alexis into Audrey’s roles. The princess out for a day of fun in Roman Holiday, the bookstore intellectual-turned-model in Funny Face… She’d be perfect. She has similar qualities of vulnerability, charm, and intelligence that make her appealing.

After thinking about it, it’s hard for me to understand why her Flamboyant Gamine Image ID isn’t more obvious to people, and I have no idea why she is put into Dramatic Classic and Soft Classic on Pinterest. She is a deer, which huge eyes and a surprisingly long body for her face (5’7″). I could easily seen her as a 1960s teen sensation like Twiggy.

Classics, to me, have a more solid presence on screen. In fact, I think that if Rory Gilmore had been played by a Classic, it would have been too much. Of course the Grace Kelly facsimile got in Harvard, Princeton, and Yale; had every boy fall in love with her at first sight; and had mega-millionaire grandparents! But that little added Gamine charm helps to make her more appealing on screen (not that Classics don’t have enormous appeal, but at some point, there is just too much perfection).

Final Verdict: Flamboyant Gamine

Home Decorating with Flamboyant Gamine, Type 3, and Dark Autumn

This post uses affiliate links. A click or a purchase may result in a commission, although nothing in this post is sponsored.

I recently wrote about adding Type 3 to my style mix. In addition to clothing style, however, I am also interested in interior design, and as I look to the next year, I’ve also started thinking about the new room I’ll have after my move. Now, I have no idea how things will work out financially, but I’ve decided that the time has come for me to break up with IKEA.

I would like my space to express my energy type and my individual style. I’ve decided that the things I’ll be looking for are:
-mid-century modernesque lines/modern/art deco (FG)
-rich, saturated color palette (DA, T3)
-texture (T3)
-fun (FG)

Things I’m trying to avoid are cool metals, black, and gray. My preferred metal is brass, but gold is okay too. Textiles are something I’m going to concern myself with later, but so far, this is what I have picked out for my room… provided I somehow end up with thousands of dollars to spend on furniture.

1. Mid-Century Wall Desk, $799, West Elm.
West Elm actually has an entire Mid-Century collection, and while it’s tempting and easy to just get the whole collection, I think taking a more eclectic approach looks more contemporary. But it means that there are shelves that pair perfectly with them, if you have the space (and the cash).
walldeskshelves

2. Dondra Bed, $899, CB2.
I like the textured look of the wood in this bed (very Type 3), as well as the clean lines. I want a bed with a solid headboard, but I don’t like the upholstered ones. I’m a little concerned how this wood would look with the rest of what I picked out, but it’s something I’d have to see in person.

Sanford Chair, $499, Pottery Barn.
This chair reminds me of the kind of a chair you’d find on a very fashionable 1930s film set. It was actually relatively hard to find a chair that was brass instead of silver. I’m not sure how comfortable this would be, and I may have to continue searching for an office chair, but I think this would be great as a chair to sit in and do my makeup at…

4. Memento Mirror Cabinet, $749, CB2.
I love this. As I said, I would use it as a dressing table, but it’s also something that is very flexible, and in the future, when I have an entire house or apartment to decorate, it would go great in an foyer, for example, or it could serve as a liquor cabinet (if you want a mirror above your liquor cabinet, that is…).

5. SAIC Sling Nightstand-Side Table, $249, CB2.
Yes, this has some black, but I think it makes for a very cool nightstand. The brass will pick up the other brass in the room, while also breaking up all the wood. It’s also just such a unique, creative design. There is a desk from the same line that is also unique and cool, but while I’m willing to compromise with a touch of black, so much metal that isn’t brass or gold isn’t happening.

6. Shop Blue Chest, $429, CB2.
This will also break up the wood and add some color. It’s a little small, but buying two and pushing them togehter would work, as you can see in this picture with the Dondra Bed:

shop-blue-chest2

Now, my hope is that this would also look purposefully eclectic, rather than just mismatched… but I guess I’d have to see everything in person to be sure. If not, well, back to the drawing board–not like it’s likely I’ll be getting any of this anytime soon, unless I win the lottery.

A lamp, however, is well within my reach.

These lamps from West Elm are especially cool because they have USB PORTS built into them. No struggling with a wall outlet behind the nightstand, or between the bed and the wall. Technology is amazing.

Anyway, these are my fantasy picks for when I start furnishing a room with “adult” furniture, keeping my various types in mind. How do you furnish your living space? Do you consider your style types?