Kibbe Body Types 101
This is the education section from my Kibbe analyses, published free. It covers what the system actually measures, what it deliberately ignores, and all ten types. The only thing it cannot tell you is which one is yours.
What a Kibbe Type Actually Is
Which feels better on you: high-waisted or low-waisted jeans? V-necklines or scoop necklines? Your answers probably are not random. According to a stylist named David Kibbe, they follow from your body's natural shapes and proportions.
Here is the idea. Bodies contain shapes. One rib cage is shaped like a V, creating a steep diagonal up to the shoulders. Another looks more like a rectangle: draw a line from the armpit to the end of the rib cage and you get a vertical.
Clothing creates shapes too. A blazer with shoulder pads builds a rectangle across the shoulders. An A-line skirt builds a triangle. Kibbe's system tells you which clothing shapes pair most harmoniously with the shapes already in your body. When the pairing is right, clothes feel like they were made for you. When it is wrong, you get that nagging "something's off" feeling you cannot quite name.
Not About Weight, Not About Your Face
Three things stylists want you to know before the details.
Kibbe types are about proportions, not weight. Your type comes from bone structure and proportion, which stay the same as your body changes. If you gain or lose weight, your type stays the same. This analysis should last you for life. Cosmetic surgery is about the only thing that could significantly change it.
Faces do not count. Kibbe originally considered faces, but there are too many people whose faces and bodies point in opposite directions. Emma Stone is tall with angular body features and a very rounded face. Her body says one type; her face would say another. That is why stylists type the body alone here. Faces get their own system, Kitchener essences.
There is no ideal silhouette. Unlike other body typing systems, this is not about dressing to imitate one figure. It is about highlighting the beauty of the figure you have. There is no such thing as a bad proportion, and people of all races, ethnicities, and body weights land across all ten types. This system is for everyone.
What Stylists Read in a Body
Three characteristics do the classifying.
Shape: yin or yang. Is a feature sharp (yang), rounded (yin), or in between (moderate)? Stylists look at shoulders, rib cage, bust, waist, hips, limbs, and the flesh on limbs and hips.
Scale: narrow or wide. Is the frame narrow, broad, or moderate? This is not related to weight. One special case matters: Kibbe width, when the rib cage is about as wide as the armpits. Draw a line from the armpit to the narrowest part of the waist and it looks vertical rather than diagonal.
Vertical line: how tall you look. Some people look taller than they really are, which is a long vertical line. Some look shorter, which is a short one. People who look about their height have a moderate vertical line. This is about visual proportion, not the number on your driver's license.
Every Kibbe type is a recipe of these three ingredients.
Shape: Yin or Yang
Yin is Kibbe's term for soft or rounded. Yang means sharp or angular. A feature is moderate if it sits between the two. Stylists read it in the shoulders, rib cage, waist, hips, bust, and limb length.
On the bust, the focus is not breast size. It is whether the outline of the breast intersects the outline of the rib cage.
Scale: Wide or Narrow
Is the frame narrow, broad, or moderate? Again, this has nothing to do with weight. It matters most in the shoulders and rib cage.
Vertical Line: How Tall Someone Looks
You can roughly tell how tall you appear by counting how many heads tall you are. Some people read as about seven heads long. Others read closer to five and a half or six.
As a rule of thumb, a woman above 5'7" typically appears tall, and one under 5'4" typically appears petite.
The Ten Types, From Most Yang to Most Yin
Unlike essences, a person has exactly one Kibbe type. Each one comes with a different answer to the same three questions: how your pants should be cut, what your sleeves and shoulders should do, and whether your waist wants emphasis.
- Dramatic. Narrow yang features, long vertical line.
Long, narrow, straight-cut pants that keep one unbroken vertical. Sharp, clean shoulders with tailored sleeves. No waist emphasis: the silhouette wants to stay a column. - Soft Dramatic. Mostly narrow yang plus some yin, long vertical line.
Long pants with drape and flow, wide-leg or fluid. Bold shoulders in soft fabric. The waist is defined, but by draping rather than a stiff belt. - Flamboyant Natural. Broad yang features, Kibbe width, long vertical line.
Wide-leg and relaxed pants, cut long. Dropped or extended shoulders in unstructured sleeves. Waist stays loose and undefined. - Soft Natural. Broad yang plus some yin, Kibbe width, a vertical line that is not notably long.
Relaxed pants with soft movement rather than stiffness. Softly rounded shoulders and easy sleeves. Waist gently gathered rather than cinched. - Dramatic Classic. Mostly moderate features with some yang, moderate vertical line.
Straight, cleanly tailored pants. Neat set-in sleeves with a crisp shoulder. Waist defined moderately and symmetrically. - Soft Classic. Mostly moderate plus some yin, moderate to short vertical line.
Tailored pants with a little softness or slight flow. Softly set sleeves with a rounded shoulder. Waist gently shaped, never sharply cinched. - Flamboyant Gamine. A yin-yang mix leaning slightly yang, often narrow, short-looking.
Cropped, slim, tapered pants that deliberately break the vertical line. Crisp, geometric sleeves, often cropped or cuffed. Waist defined sharply, usually by separates or a distinct belt. - Soft Gamine. A yin-yang mix leaning slightly yin, short-looking.
Cropped, slim pants at small scale. Short, slightly rounded sleeves with small details. Waist clearly defined, often with a narrow belt. - Theatrical Romantic. Mostly yin with some yang, short-looking.
Fitted pants that follow the body's curve. Fitted sleeves with a sharp, decorative detail. Waist strongly nipped and the focal point of the outfit. - Romantic. Pure yin, short vertical line.
Soft, fluid pants that skim rather than hold a shape. Gathered, rounded, softly draped sleeves. Waist strongly emphasized, with soft fabric rather than stiff tailoring.
Credit where it is due: this is David Kibbe's system, and all credit for its creation belongs to him.
So which one are you?
Reading the ten types is one thing. Placing yourself in them means reading shape, scale, and vertical line off your own photos, which is what my analysis does, with the evidence shown.