Archive of ‘Services’ category

Workbook Update and Coming Soon

I just updated the workbook with some minor updates, and I’d like to also talk about what’s coming up next.

First, there is the Three Levels of Dress workbook. This will expand upon the Three Levels of Dress concept introduced in the first workbook, and will build upon the work you did in the first workbook. So the first workbook will be considered a prerequisite for this new one, and I will be making it available to people who purchased the first workbook before it’s available to the general public, and during that time it will also be available at a discounted price. So if you’re not in the Facebook group, please email me at hello at stylesyntax.com if you’re interested. While the first workbook focuses on wardrobe rebuilding, this one focuses on wardrobe planning, developing your personal style in a deeper way, and being prepared for any occasion that life might throw at you.

The second workbook I’m working on is a mini-workbook based on the “create your own archetype” exercise. I’ve found that people have the most difficult time with this, so I’m going to go into more detail about it and offer some extra advice and direction to help people get to the point where they have an archetype that is perfect for them.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments or email me at the address above.

Workbook(s) Update: Fall 2016

I haven’t mentioned what I’ve been up to with the workbook for a while. I believe I’ve mentioned that I’m working on a workbook that deals with the Three Levels of Dress, but I took the summer off from projects related to this site.

Since I wrote the original workbook, my approach to my own style has been tweaked some, so of course I’d like the workbook to actually reflect what I’ve been practicing in my daily life as well. I’ve also learned a lot, mostly from David Kibbe’s direct participation in our Facebook color and style community, so I’d like to also include the new things I’ve learned that are relevant to the lessons already in the workbook. My plan is to spend the next two weeks editing and have the latest edition of the workbook to tbe ready by the beginning of October. If you’re in the Facebook group for the workbook, I’ll have a download link there, and if you’ve purchased a workbook but aren’t in the group, just let me know that you want one in the comments or via email (hello@stylesyntax.com), and I will send you it when it’s done.

Then there is the Three Levels of Dress workbook. This workbook will go even deeper into wardrobe planning with the goal of an expression, cohesive personal style, and being prepared for what you need to dress for in your life. I hope to spend October finishing it, and then have it ready for purchase in November. Once it’s for sale, I will also offer the two workbooks in a discounted bundle, but the exercises in the original workbook will absolutely be considered a prerequisite for the ones included in this one.

Lastly, on another housekeeping note–when I was offering services last year, sometimes communication would fall off, or someone had ordered the Subscription Service and couldn’t think of what they wanted to ask me for, etc. I would like people to whom these situations apply to please email me so we can work something out, whether it’s a partial refund or a Skype consultation or whatever else you think would be helpful for you. Thanks!

Color DIY: New Posts

Today I’ve added two new “chapters” to my Color DIY series: Can You Know Without an Analysis? and Where Should You Start?

“Can You Know Without An Analysis?” is a controversial subject. People will say “Absolutely not,” and yet there are people who seem to have done it just fine… It’s up to you to decide what feels right for you.

“Where Should You Start?” talks about some of the major methods people use to figure out their season.

I will post about how to take draping photos and what to look for tomorrow.

New Series: Color DIY

I’ve mentioned before that I was working on a workbook that will help people DIY their season and yin/yang balance. Once I finished the color portion, however, I felt that I didn’t want to sell it as an ebook. Unlike the workbook, which outlines my original system for defining your personal style and rebuilding your wardrobe, it felt like I was compiling things put out there by other people. I’m not an analyst; I don’t have nearly enough education to come up with my own system for analysis or anything like that.

I realized that I just really wanted what I’ve learned over the past two years to be out there for anyone who is interested in attempting to find their season on their own. So over the next week or so, I’ll be posting the sections from the ebook. They’ll be available under the “Color DIY” tab in the menu bar.

As this project is posted, I will definitely be welcoming feedback and questions. If you disagree with me on something, or need something clarified, I can always add it to the project. Which is definitely an advantage over the ebook route!

Post One: Color DIY
Post Two: Sci\ART: A Brief Introduction

Style Syntax Type Customization and Wardrobe Rebuilding Workbook: Update

The nice thing about ebooks is that they can be “living” books. Having a Facebook group for the workbook enables me to see where people have trouble, what needs to be expanded upon, and what can be added.

A lot of people have been having issues with creating their own archetype, which is to be expected–it’s the most challenging exercise in the book. To that end, I’ve expanded the chapter on creating your own archetype by a page. If you’ve already purchased the workbook, you should have received a PDF with the new section. If not, please email me at hello@stylesyntax.com or comment below.

(And if you’d like to purchase the updated workbook, you can do so here.)

Black Friday Sale

From today through Monday, November 30th, I’m offering the Style Syntax Type Customization and Wardrobe Rebuilding Workbook for 50%, so $5. This is a great time to pick up the book, since by the New Year, you’ll be ready to refresh your wardrobe and start the year with a new image. (Also, January tends to be the month where stores tend to put their fall and winter stuff on sale, at least in my neck of the woods.)

So if you’ve been thinking about picking up the workbook, now’s a great time to do it. Plus, it will still come with the Facebook group membership and/or one-on-one advice from me via email. As always, if you have questions, feel free to email me (hello@stylesyntax.com) or comment below.

Workbook Now Available

I’m happy to announce that I have finished the workbook and it is now available for purchase in the Store. It is a PDF ebook designed as a series of exercises to help you with what this blog is all about: your Syntax and your Style. It will help you take all of your different analyses and palettes and types, and use them to create a singular vision of your physical self. Then you will use this information and make it your own and do the most complex work of all: Using your style to express your inner self. Finally, you will examine your current wardrobe and make a plan for overhauling it to match your new style.

I’ve also created a Facebook group to help you through this process. In the group, you’ll be able to connect with others who are working through the book, discuss issues, or just share the work you’ve been doing. I will also be in the group to answer questions, offer suggestions, and give advice.

I’m really excited about this project because, as I mention above, I feel like it’s exactly what my blog has always been about. How can we use style to create a look that both addresses our physical selves and our limitations while also expressing who we are? This is the key to personal style that both looks and feels great, but it’s a tall order. I hope this workbook will help people accomplish this.

Anyway, it’s up right now in the Store. As always, if you have any questions, you can comment below or email me at hello@stylesyntax.com.

Response to David Kibbe’s Recent Letter + Update on Workbooks, Etc.

Last week, we got the first new writings from David Kibbe since Metamorphosis was published 30 years ago. You can read it here. He discusses the changes that have gone in the fashion world since the book was published, and also tries to correct some misconceptions/misuses of his system. I did find the letter to be interesting food for thought, so I thought I’d respond to some of the things in the letter.

“I found that many of you are looking at yourselves from an OLD IDEA — based on that time and the mind-set of the times ― not my vantage point at all. I found that some of you are trying to squeeze or fit yourself into the Image Identities™I put forth in the book.

That was never my intent.”

It is hard to know what to make of this part. Yes, as he mentioned before this, the way clothing is made has changed, and now a lot of things come with spandex and bodycon is very common. But what is his system beyond the Image Identities? What are we trying to “squeeze ourselves into”? Is he referring to the fact that the recommendations are based on what was available when the book was being written, or are the Image Identities themselves a reflection of the times? He still types people using the same Image Identities as before, obviously, so perhaps what it means is that we have to expand our understanding of what types can wear. But then again, without guidance from the recommendations, how can we understand that what we’re wearing is really true to the type?

I have to say, sticking to the Flamboyant Gamine recommendations nearly 100% has been very successful for me. There are places I’ve discovered where I can bend the rules, and perhaps that’s what we have to do. Start with the recommendations, get a feel for your type, and branch out from there.

“I also discovered that on the sites, for some, it is a very left-brained intellectual process. I discovered that sometimes the groups type each other and some individuals elect themselves as experts in my system. Although it may be well-meaning, it doesn’t help because it shifts the focus from organic to intellectual.

My system is an art – not a science. But like all art, it must have an iron-clad technique at its core which is what I have created and my book was meant to outline.”

I feel I have definitely been guilty of this. This is simply how I understand the world. I work with an impression I receive from my intuition, or look at a system like Kibbe that seems a bit mysterious in how it works, and then I try to break it down and understand it in a systematic way.

But I do try to go with my first impressions, to see if a certain type makes sense for a person overall. And have I elected myself an expert? Yes, I have a blog–but when I do give people my impression of their type, whether here or on Facebook, I hope that they understand that I am not coming at this from the point of view of a self-appointed expert, just someone who enjoys studying these systems.

I do wonder if perhaps he was instead referring to people who do take on clients and charge money for their typing services, ones where the emphasis is on physical features or lines instead of the overall impression a person gives. But by then, I suppose, you have already gone in an entirely different direction that Kibbe.

“The multiple choice test was never meant to be the only thing to determine your Image Identity™. Used by itself, it will always come up wrong. Only use the test combined with the lists and descriptions. Add to that your deepest instinct about who you are. Think of yourself at the age of 7- or before the world did its thing to you. Remember how you felt about yourself and what already made your heart sing! Remember above all, this as an organic process – not an intellectual one. Listen and hear yourself.”

This I have always found to be true. I do not really come up as FG on the test. I am somewhat more evenly divided between yin and yang according to the test–but answers aren’t weighted differently according to importance. My impression is still more yang than yin.

The idea of your “deepest instinct about who you are” though, I think is a major one. I can say that I have always somehow known that I am FG, although of course FG is simply an idea created by one guy. I have always been drawn to other gamines, and couldn’t relate to actresses of other types nearly as well. Even as a small child, I somehow knew that I wouldn’t grow up to statuesque or voluptuous. I was never going to be a Jessica Rabbit type. Audrey Hepburn always resonated with me far more than Marilyn Monroe.

“Hollywood Stars. Many of you that I’ve worked with personally, keep asking me to “slot” them in my Image Identity™ system according to the movie stars of today. I always gently decline. The reason? The celebrities of today are not necessarily STARS. The Hollywood Stars of yesteryear had a whole studio to evaluate and execute a one-of-a-kind expression of that individual. Therefore Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Greta Garbo were born. Now with the homogenization of Hollywood, the fashion world, and the preponderance of plastic surgery, the individual person underneath is often not recognizable.”

Yes. I do this for fun on Pinterest, but the days of studios creating a true image for a star are long gone. Now it seems that you can barely tell one apart from another. Relying on celebrities to type yourself is also a fool’s errand. Just because you vaguely have a resemblance to someone does not mean you will be the same type as them. I think it’s when you don’t actually look like someone, but someone still senses something you have in common with that person, is when a celebrity comparison is significant. I have been compared to Jean Seberg, even when I had long hair, but I actually look nothing like her.

I had planned to really do a thorough study of facial features and body features for each type. But as I’ve spent more time working on Kibbe-related things, I’ve realized that this isn’t really the direction I want to go. I have seen people get lost in the most minor of details, like what feet look like in a certain type, thus sending them off on a wild goose chase to types that have nothing to do with who they are and how they present themselves to world.

So I will work on looking at the essences of types–yes, I realize I have only done Dramatic so far–and maybe stop there. I am working on a typing workbook for style and season (in addition to finishing up edits on my style customization workbook) and while I first wanted to put together a bunch of clothing suggestions to try and see if you need a long line or whatever, I now feel like that is now how I want to spend my time. If you’d like a book like there, you can pick up The Triumph of Individual Style. What I want to do with the workbook is lead you on an exploration of who you are. Belle Northrup believed in dressing the whole person, inside and out, and that is what I want to focus on, not which sleeve length is best.

What was your reaction to Kibbe’s letter? What has been your experience trying to understand his system in a more “right-brained” way?

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