Cory posted a thought-provoking comment on my last post. Here’s the part that provides a nice segue into my post today:

The TIB person has the idea that people can be blends of up to 3 style types. So someone could be “Dramatic/Natural/Gamine”=”Casual Punk”, etc.

What do you think of this? On the one hand, I feel sort of unsure, particularly when I actually look at the sample outfits, that this is a helpful way of thinking about things. But on the other hand, it is a solution to my own “???” about a style conundrum I’m unable to otherwise solve.

Generally, I write about systems that I’ve found useful for myself or things that I’ve purchased in order to review them. I’ve never purchased any of the Truth Is Beauty guides, although I did beta-test her quiz last year and I came out as Dramatic Gamine. So I can’t really speak about exactly how the system works, what comes in the guides, etc.

But looking at the materials the creator of that system has made available free of charge, what it brings to mind for me is what I think makes Kibbe’s system such a special one. In many systems, finding your type is the end point. Once you figure out your type or are analyzed, you have your set of guidelines to follow and an image.

As I wrote about in the workbook, with Kibbe’s system, determining your type is really the beginning of the journey, not the end. No two people in one type are going to dress alike. What people in the same type share are a few specific characteristics. For FG, for example, it’s a “smallish, broadly angular physicality, along with a youthfully bold and brassy essence.” How your honor those characteristics is the way that you reveal your unique star power.

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So what I think when I look at the Truth Is Beauty materials is that they are very defined types, rather than jumping-off points for self-expression. If you’re Romantic-Dramatic-Ingenue, you’re going to be a “Demure Vamp,” an “Intimidating Princess,” or a “Girlish Femme Fatale.”

My personal preference, and the one I cover in the workbook, is coming up with my own archetype. I don’t want to fit myself into a predetermined image; I want to create something that is uniquely mine. Flamboyant Gamine is the main framework, but I use it as a toolbox, not as a finished product.

If you look at the Truth Is Beauty guides and you find one that seems to fit you and express who you are, I think the guide could be worth it for you. But even with 63 types, you may not find something that expresses you–I don’t think I do, really. I would rather create my own guide using the tools I have.