If you are a black woman like me, you may have experienced this, too. You go to take a Kibbe quiz, or another body shape or body type quiz, and you try to compare yourself to the examples provided, but it doesn't quite work. Because your body doesn't quite match any of the examples. 

Me, too! And a lot of the quizzes offer celebrity examples, so I got curious about one style typology in particular. David Kibbe's.

Maybe if I looked at the women of color for each type, it would be helpful. But some had no celebrity women of color as examples and quite a few had only one. Hmm.

Read on to see what I have done about it...
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In the late 80s, David Kibbe, modified and adapted one or more style typologies already in use, identified and named 13 types, and wrote a book about them called Metamorphosis.

There were five main Kibbe types: Dramatic, Natural, Classic, Gamine and Romantic. And then the variants were: Soft Dramatic, Flamboyant Natural, Soft Natural, Dramatic Classic, Soft Classic, Flamboyant Gamine, Soft Gamine and Theatrical Romantic.

Though these types were connected to personality, they weren't based on it. According to Kibbe, it is your physical characteristics that determine your type, and together they make up your individual combination of yin vs. yang.

​What he means by that is the use of descriptors like short, long, curved, straight, soft, taut, wide, narrow, round, balanced, etc., as applied to your bones, flesh, facial features, and more, to identify your composition.

Eventually, he decided to get rid of the five main types, leaving only the variants.

​Then, long after the book went out of print, Facebook discovered it and him, and groups were formed to study this typology so that each group member could figure out her own type, and help others do the same. He eventually was invited to join the groups and soon took them over.

But women had difficulty understanding the system and applying it to themselves. Quizzes were made and whole sections of the book appeared on Pinterest and in other places.

Kibbe interpreters and explainers came along to try to make the system easier to decode, and some of them developed their own businesses by creating similar typologies designed to identify a woman's place in the system.
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A LOT of the examples used in the quizzes others created, used in videos by Kibbe explainers, or found on his celebrity examples list were thin, Caucasian celebrities. And women of color, or those who were plus-sized, had trouble finding their place.

So last month, I got curious about just how many celebrity women of color were on the Kibbe list. And when I found out how small that number was, I wondered if I should create a Kibbe quiz for black women...
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​Stay tuned for more style type information coming your way this fall. Meanwhile, take the Kibbe quiz created for women of color.

​See you tomorrow!

Love, Jeanine

At the beginning of the five-day fall fashion challenge, each participant was asked to raise their hand and solemnly swear - okay, not really, but promise - that they would not buy anything until the challenge was over. No matter how inspired you feel, don't jump the gun!

​And even though I am one of the image consultants in the group, I decided to do the challenge, too, for fun. So mentally, I made the same promise. And then, this happened...

So, olive is the suggested fall trend color for y color type to focus on, and I already have olive in my fall capsule wardrobe. Several times over.

But I don't have an olive duster. So as I went through my current wardrobe, and the color palette I have in mind for fall, I realized that I wouldn't need to buy much. Maybe an olive cardigan, and an ivory top with thicker fabric than the one I have for summer.

And having decided that, I got a little itchy. I knew I could wait. 

But I also knew I would be going to Wal-Mart to shop for groceries.

And it wouldn't hurt just to have a peek at what they have t offer, right? On the other hand, let me be honest! Their inventory turns over faster than I ever expect.

I have gone back more than once, only to find that the top/cardi/whatever was gone. So the truth is, I knew that if I found it and it fit, I would probably buy it.
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And sure enough, they did have an olive jacket. But it was not a duster; it was a zip-up hoodie. Still, I decided to try it on. And I picked one more item I thought might work.
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Y'all, I wandered all over the store, trying to find a mirror! The dressing rooms were off limits, but I wasn't going to just buy it and hope for the best.

So I tried to remember where else they had mirrors. The shoe department? Nope, that one was gone. 

Finally, I found one - guess where - on the mirror aisle! I'll know where to look first, next time, right?

The verdict - the hoodie jacket was too boxy/bulky, and I just didn't like it. But the other thing I chose was a straight up winner! I felt like it fit me as if it was made for me.

And so, it came home with me!

What was it? And animal print cardigan duster. Love it!

And we have talked about some of the challenges I have experienced as a fashionista who is plus-sized, and about what it has meant to discover that I am gamine and what gamine signature style is, in general. The infographic I have created marries those topics.

I am sharing the gamine style elements that I have discovered help me the most with plus size style. There are any number of ways to dress gamine, but these are the elements I rely on in my own signature style.

Are you also creating a plus-size gamine capsule wardrobe and signature style? If so, tell me what your greatest challenge has been.

Hope the infographic gives you some ideas.

I'll see you next time!

Love, Jeanine
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