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Am I Gamine or Ingenue?

8/14/2017

Gamine and Ingenue are the two style essences that embody youthful beauty. If you are often taken for much younger than you are, you likely have a strong dose of one of these essences. But which one?

A Gamine often looks adorable with a cheeky or wicked grin (like Ginnifer Goodwin), while an Ingenue looks lovely with an innocent, full smile (like Lupita Nyong'o).

Gamine's cheeky grin.

Ingenue's sweet, sincere smile.

Gamines look gorgeous with very short hair, while Ingenues look beautiful with longer hair -- especially when it' has some curl.

Emma Watson surely has a lot of Gamine. Short, boyish hair is so, so good on her.

Laura Linney, by contrast, looks so much more like herself with long hair. She's certainly youthful-looking, and her youthfulness is Ingenue, not Gamine.

It's easy to see a Gamine woman passing as a little boy, with the right hair and clothes. Ingenues can't do that.

Clockwise from top left: Winona Ryder, Natalie Portman, Milla Jovovich, and (of course!) Maisie Williams all sell it as boys. Google these women, and you'll see they're flattered by Gamine styles.

Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie, by contrast, couldn't really pass as boys:

(Although in each of their cases, I think it's both the lack of Gamine and the presence of Romantic that makes them fail this test. I don't think either one has much, if any, Ingenue either. That's mature beauty, there.)

I hope this helps those of you with youthful beauty sort yourselves out!

:-)

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24 Comments

Linda

8/15/2017 09:37:30 pm

Thanks for this post, very helpful

Lena

8/18/2017 01:31:15 am

I think so too! :)

Rosetta

8/16/2017 03:08:53 am

IMO, the easiest way to determine this is the simplified but very true distinction you've used elsewhere: Ingenue is "girlish", while Gamine is "boyish" :)

Katja

8/18/2017 01:30:16 am

Or you can think: Ingenue is yin and Gamine is yang. :)

8/18/2017 11:10:55 am

Yes, although that's basically just saying the same thing in Chinese ;D

Ashley

8/19/2017 10:58:27 am

I was originally thinking I was Natural + Gamine, but lately I'm wondering if I have a fair amount of Ingenue also. Any examples of celebrities that have both Gamine and Ingenue? How does that look?

8/20/2017 03:24:07 am

How about Carey Mulligan? I think she has both Gamine and Ingenue.

8/20/2017 04:11:11 am

And maybe Reese Witherspoon?

8/21/2017 02:48:42 am

Zooey Deschanel is also said to have both, though Ingenue is dominant.

Rache

8/22/2017 03:07:22 pm

Hi!

I think some of the suggested celebrities may be good examples. Carey Mulligan looks to have a strong dose of Gamine and possibly a fair bit of Ingenue (and perhaps some Ethereal, too, though I haven't formally analyzed her.) I agree that Zooey Deschanel probably has quite a bit of Ingenue and a dash of Gamine. I think Ellie Kemper has both Gamine and Ingenue (and perhaps some Classic as well.) Katy Perry may have Gamine and Ingenue (with more Ingenue than Gamine, I believe.) Maria Medeiros may have both Gamine and Ingenue.

Annie

8/20/2017 03:37:18 am

Hi Rachel, when trying to figure out your style category , how important is your face shape? My face is elongated. Does that mean I have some Dramatic or Ethereal elements? I think it is a soft rectangle and I think I have some natural elements, but natural faces are not elongated, are they? Aren't they broad and squarish?

Rachel

8/22/2017 02:46:55 pm

Hi, Annie! Great question.

Face shape is pretty important. But you need to approach it from a more "right-brained" than a "left-brained" stance (to oversimplify brain functions a bit!) In other words, you don't want to find adjectives that describe your face and then try to match those adjectives to style identities. Instead, compare your face to examples of different outfits, and try to notice which outfits seem to make your face look the most beautiful.

Faces with a lot of Natural do tend to be somewhat elongated, but with more breadth across the jaw.

Lindsay

12/4/2017 06:31:01 pm

Can you be gamine and have an hourglass body? I'm thin but curvy but feel most comfortable in somewhat androgynous clothing and short hair. Does comfort factor in more than looks? I've been told I actually look better when I dress down than up. I'm guessing I'm
Natural famine or something along those lines but with my fuller bust my mom said I should embrace my feminine side and go for more of a romantic look. What if someone has conflicting traits?

Lindsat

12/4/2017 06:32:12 pm

Gamine not famine lol

12/7/2017 02:06:01 pm

Yes, most definitely. Ellie Kemper is my go-to example of a girl who's flattered by Gamine-influenced styles despite her smoking curves. Our face and our body don't always coordinate, and when we dress for our body instead of for our face, it invariably looks weird and not harmonious to the viewer. I write more about this idea here... https://www.truth-is-beauty.com/blog/dress-for-your-face-not-for-your-body

Circé

3/1/2018 07:53:34 am

Hi Rachel! I hope you're doing well. I was wondering if you could tell us how you'd type Mila Jovovitch and Keira Knightley...

Zee

7/15/2019 12:29:34 pm

Does pulling off bob little bit above chin length haircut falls under Gamine or Ingenue?
I have that haircut and receive compliments that it really looks good and suits my face. I have been told that I look much younger with shorter hair. I still get mistaken as an early teen when I used to have long hair though I am currently 22 years old.

Kellie link

9/22/2019 01:51:25 am

I think Naturals and Dramatic might look older even when younger same with Ethereals.I’m not sure about Classics and Romantics. I was recently watching an old movie with Joanne Woodward and she was supposed to be 17 in the movie but she couldn’t pass for a teenager. She was almost 30 at the time but I think a Gamine or Ingenue even at 30 might pass as much younger . Woodward was miscast because she didn’t look like a teenager. I think maybe Classics would struggle to pass as more youthful as well but could a classic have some Gamine or Ingenue but she have the more blended bone structure? More classic in body but Youthful in face? I guess that’s possible Marilyn Monroe had Youthful added to Romantic?

Shan

11/25/2020 12:33:09 pm

Hello! I see that you’ve specified gamines as looking better with shorter hair while Ingenues look best with longer hair. How might one adjust this view in a more inclusive way...say for example women of color who do not naturally sport long flowy hair. Lusitania Nyongo is shown up above as an ingenue but has a short, cropped hair cut.

Martina

2/4/2021 09:20:09 pm

Having curly hair is very flattering for ingenue types, especially tight and small curls!

Miriam

7/24/2022 06:05:02 am

Hi Rachel, could you please create a post explaining the differences between a Gamine Romantic/Romantic Gamine vs an Ingenue? And something that I've unfortunately seen no-one talk about is the Ingenue Dramatic/Dramatic Ingenue essence blend and how to tell it apart from Gamine. Could you please create a post about that too?

Melina Kajander

9/21/2022 11:22:13 am

I second these ideas (by Miriam), both sound very interesting topics! :)

mellysa

3/10/2023 07:04:18 pm

im ingenue and i want to look tomboy-ish:'(
my deskmate is gamine and she wears pixie haircut much better than me. we both wear the same haircut but she looks cooler:(
I WANT TO LOOK BOY-ISH LIKE WINONA RYDER IN 90S AND NIKE ARDILLA AAAAH

Elisa

3/11/2023 07:52:48 am

Why does everyone want to look like a boy these days ?! I just don't get it ;)

Truth is Beauty

Am I Gamine or Ingenue?

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