❓Can you REALLY find a celebrity's Kibbe body type?
I explore how to actually find a celebrity's body type, whether it's even possible, why we like using celebrities as references for own style, and whether celebrities are the right inspiration
In today’s newsletter…
🍄 Can you find a celebrity’s Kibbe body type?
🎬 Case study: finding a subscriber’s body matrix type
👗 Lookbook: true autumn + yin
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How do you find a celebrity’s kibbe body type?
How do you find a celebrity’s Kibbe type?
Finding a celebrity’s Kibbe body type is a challenge for many reasons. Firstly, you are relying on a dodgy bikini pic to actually see the contours of their entire frame - a picture which is not taken at chest level and where they are not facing you exactly, or you are using pictures of them in various dress types, which means you are relying on an amalgamation of images to pull together in your mind an idea of what they might look like.
Secondly there is the problem of what it means to find someone’s Kibbe type. Unlike the body matrix (my system 😉) Kibbe is not always as simple as simple as tracing your lines and finding your characteristics, it involves an understanding of the feel someone creates by being in their presence - and most of us probably haven’t sat with these celebrities in real life.
The way most of us type celebrities is by assessing how they look in certain kinds of clothing, which brings its own problems as people disagree on what actually constitutes a flamboyant natural outfit. However, this is probably the most effective strategy considering the kinds of evidence we have for most celebrities.
Another problem we might bump into is that many of these celebrities are stunningly beautiful. It can be hard to assess someone’s kibbe type through the process of “does this work” when they look good in anything they put on - or if we love them and their work and see them through these rose tinted glasses.
The question of beauty leads me to the question of surgery! Whether we like it or not, there is an enormous amount of pressure on these celebrities to turn up to a red carpet looking fit, thin, curvy, facially symmetric, perpetually 26 years old and like a goddess - it’s an impossible task, one that leads many celebrities to get changes to their appearance. Whilst these things do not change your body type/essence, it can throw off the whole picture and make it harder to assess why an item does or does not work.
With all of this in mind, none of us can say truly what a celebrity’s Kibbe type would be - all of this is in some ways an unnecessary disclaimer, but I’m really interested in these nuances at the moment, and realise I perhaps haven’t always been clear that I am typing on these bases at any given time.
Why am I still talking about Kibbe?
A question I get a lot at the moment since making this tiktok on why I fell out of love with Kibbe’s system, is why I keep talking about it? If I don’t love his system anymore, and I have my own system, why do I keep coming back to Kibbe? It’s a good question.
For me, Kibbe is system that started it all. In my journey, the Kibbe system informs all my other work, whether its essences, the body matrix, even style roots - everything is a jumping off point from my understanding of Kibbe.
I dislike the lack of nuance that is implied by the notion that because I see some flaws in the Kibbe system, and because I have my own system which fixes similar problems as Kibbe (but is by no means an extension of or replacement for the kibbe body types), that I should disregard Kibbe altogether. The implication is that Kibbe should now be pointless to me, and it isn’t.
I find the Kibbe body types endlessly interesting, and I find David interesting. I find the community, and the debates interesting. Does that mean it’s perfect, that I think it always helpful, that I think it’s an irrefutable science - no. Perhaps for some in my audience, that is what they expect from me, an undying loyalty to an idea I talk about and admire.
There has been a suggestion that I have somehow been dishonest - that because I now see some flaws in the system, that my love for it over the years has been a LIE. This is simply not true! I have loved the Kibbe system, even with knowledge of some of these elements, but with where I’m at in my life and career now, there are certain things I no longer enjoy about it. People change, and their feelings change. As I learn more systems, work with more people, the kibbe system is in a new context for me now than when I was green.
But, I see why the system is useful and helpful to people. I mostly wish the information more was more accessible and easy for others to understand, and I have my fingers crossed for the new book!!
Why the body matrix doesn’t help you find your kibbe type
Because of my connection with the kibbe body types, I think some of you might see the body matrix as extensions of the kibbe. If that helps you to get to grips with the systems, absolutely amazing - please continue to draw parallels, compare types and use the systems to learn about the other, it’s an amazing learning practise.
What I think is less helpful to you is using the body matrix to find your kibbe type. The body matrix is not a quiz designed to help you find your kibbe type; it’s there to help you define your features and find the lines which best complement your lines - it’s a system unto itself. It’s true that a lot of the principles are informed by Kibbe, such as width as being in your upper body; however, not all of Kibbe’s rules translate to mine, for instance, I don’t feel that width + straight lines instantly means long vertical because of yang dominance, for instance. Double curve also isn’t something I particularly care about - if you’re soft, you’re soft.
Similarly, although the body matrix came out of a feeling that there is something missing in the kibbe body type system, body matrix types don’t translate exactly to kibbe body types. For instance, you might get romantics in multiple body matrix types, for example, medium + medium + round, narrow + short + round, medium + short + round, and you might get different kibbe types in one body matrix type, for example, narrow + short + round might include theatrical romantics, romantic, and soft gamines.
As such, I think both systems are worth talking about in their own way. I would like to get used to using the body matrix more of a default because it’s my baby and I love it, but I know most of my audience is more familiar with Kibbe and so it’s a touchstone I have no interest in parting with completely.
Why I love typing celebrities
Even though we can’t type celebrities accurately, I think they provide a useful model for what a body type (whether kibbe, body matrix or essences) might look like. They wear so many different kinds of outfits, we are familiar with them, and we are fundamentally interested in them.
What’s new:
🌟 YouTube - Glow Up in One Week | no weight loss, botox or $$$ clothes | This is one of my favourite videos I have ever made! I put the process of ‘glowing up’ into a 7 day framework that you can actualise right now
💄 How to glow up: notion template | I have created a ‘hub’ for your glow up experiments. It’s created in the format of a 7 day glow up; however, you could use it at any point in your journey to help you log your explorations.
🗯️ Style Scholars threads - For paid members, we are changing the way we do things! Rather than livestreams that only a handful of people can attend, I have started chat threads which
Thank you for reading the free style scholars newsletter. In this week’s paid segment below:
case study: let’s find this subscriber’s type
outfit look book: true autumn + yin
outfit challenge of the week
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