An adult who seems always to have a youthful or childlike quality, regardless of age, likely has a strong dose of Ingenue or Gamine. 

Big eyes, a large forehead, a small nose, and a round or square face all help to create an impression of youthfulness. 

One way to think about the seven style types is to think about the words we use to describe the type of beauty each identity embodies. 

• Romantic beauty is sexy and womanly. 
• Ethereal beauty is otherworldly and delicate.
• Dramatic beauty is striking and intimidating.
• Natural beauty is friendly, often handsome.
• Classic beauty is ladylike and elegant.
• Ingenue beauty is girlish or pretty.
• Gamine beauty is cute and boyish.

Which isn't to say Gamines aren't incredibly attractive. They are incredibly attractive. Women who have a "yang" or masculine quality to their beauty are no less attractive than their more "yin" counterparts. They only appear unlovely when they're placed in a clothing context that's more stereotypically feminine than they are.

​You can see the boyish quality of a Gamine in the following ways:

• Her most flattering haircut is often a "pixie"  cut or another boyish style. Longer hair makes her look less beautiful, not more beautiful.

The effect of clothing context on our apparent masculinity or femininity is analogous to the effect of color on our skin.   

The apparent color of your skin changes, for better or worse, depending on what color is next to it. That's because of simultaneous contrast. 

And the apparent qualities of your face and figure, including the apparent masculinity or femininity, change depending on the context that surrounds it.

If almost everything in the frame reads as boyish, then the viewer mainly notices what's not boyish - and so the Gamine's feminine qualities actually stand out more.

The more boyish the context, the more beautiful Gamines look. 

Surround them with traditionally female decoration like long locks, ruffles, and lavish jewelry, and they become less lovely. 

I haven't talked a lot about height as a prerequisite for Gamine identity. Gamines and Ingenues are characterized mainly by their small stature -- right? 

What I've come to understand is that the Gamine and Ingenue quality of youthfulness is an impression created by the face, and actual height is irrelevant. 

Leonardo DiCaprio is 5'11". (Some sources say 6'.) But that baby face looks better in a bowtie than in a standard necktie. 
​

​Isn't it surprising to learn that Audrey Hepburn, practically the definition of Gamine, was 5' 7"? She looks little. 

Big eyes, high foreheads, round heads, slender necks, and heads that look large relative to the size of the body are characteristics of children. So these features read as youthful. 

Dress a person with these features in similarly youthful clothes, and it will look right. 

So if you're petite, you might consider Gamine and Ingenue first. For some reason that I don't yet understand, petite people seem often to have Gamine or Ingenue facial features. 

But don't assume Gamine (or Ingenue) based solely on small stature, and don't rule it out just because you're not petite. 

Both Classics and Gamines need well-tailored clothes. Classics look their best with very little detail, and Gamines look their best without a lot of feminine frill. How do we tell them apart?

For one, Classics literally need every hair in place, while Gamines can pull off a little tousle. 

(Tousle suggests motion in the hair. Details that makes us think of movement -- such as zigzag lines, nautical themes, running shoes --  are generally good on Gamines. That comes from the boyish quality. For better or worse, when think of boys, we traditionally think of bodies in motion.)

Both Classics and Gamines look good in fitted, tailored pieces. But the overall Classic vibe is elegant and ladylike, while the overall Gamine vibe is spunky and playful. A Classic isn't her best in sneakers, rolled-up jeans and a striped sweater. A Gamine isn't great in a sweater set, pearls and high heels.

And Classics are particularly lovely in their palette's neutrals and understated colors, while Gamines are particularly lovely in highly contrasting color combinations from their palette. (Again, it's about an impression of movement. Neutrals feel still; contrasting colors feel energetic.)

​If you're not sure of your style type, try the Style ID Calculator! It's so affordable, you may as well!


A version of this post originally ran in May 2015. 

 Has color or style analysis changed you? Would you like your story to be part of the Truth is Beauty Website? 

If the answer to both questions is "yes,"  I invite you to share your story here.  I plan to publish the stories of women whose lives have been changed by color and style analysis.  (The form is also embedded below.)

Write as much or as little as you like.  Be sure to include your state or country; I'll include this information if I publish your story. Include an anonymous name or anonymous initials too. :-)

This is the last post in a series of posts exploring how to combine your personal color palette with your style type. 

Each of the 12 color palettes has a unique rainbow of colors. When you know your own correct palette, you know dozens of colors that are gorgeous on your skin. But because different colors express feelings and imply different associations, particular colors within your personal palette will be particularly harmonious for you, depending on your style type.

If your beauty is Ethereal, it's a grown-up kind of beauty, and it's noticeably feminine, but not in a girly or sexy way. You may have been told that your beauty is "unusual" or "striking."  You may have a long or oval face, a high forehead, a long nose, gently sculpted cheekbones, and wise, oval eyes. 

Ethereal beauty reads as supremely peaceful and gentle. Because of this, an Ethereal woman will look good in gentle gradations of color. ​ 

(This is true even if her palette colors are very saturated;  bright colors can still grade gently into each other, and the effect will feel gentle on a woman whose coloring can carry those bright colors. 

Ethereal beauty feels intangible, so if you're an Ethereal type, you'll also be flattered by your palest neutrals. Wearing them together helps to project a light-as-air feeling. ​

Dawn and dusk are magical, in-between times, so they belong to Ethereal. Combinations from your palette that suggest sunrises and sunsets will be good for you. 

Ethereal beauty feels like it's from another world, and the sea and the sky are metaphors for the otherworldly. ​(They're the "other worlds" in this world!) So you'll feel right in combinations of your deep and mid-range greens, blue-greens, blues, and purples. 

Shimmer is Ethereal, so sheeny silver and gold fabrics are great for Ethereals. The non-shimmery versions of those metals -- in other words, yellows, golds, tans, and grays -- can be beautiful on you too, especially when they're paired with other Ethereal colors. 

Almost all women are blended types, not pure types. (Based on my experience doing personal style analysis, I estimate about 2% of women are pure types.)   So even if your beauty is strongly Ethereal, you likely have at least one other core essence playing a role in your overall impression. That gives you more options, color-wise. (Check out my posts from the last few weeks to read about colors for the other six core essences.) 

If you don't love the Ethereal tones in your palette, focus on your second or third essence for your color schemes, and bring Ethereal into your look in other aspects

I'm an Ethereal Natural, and I have always gravitated to blues and greens. It's interesting that blues and greens are two hues where Ethereal and Natural overlap!
​
If you're an Ethereal blend, how do you use color? Please share in the comments!

In my last few posts, I've talked about how to combine your personal color palette with your style type.

There are 12 seasonal color palettes, and one of them is perfect for your skin. Every color in that palette will be harmonious on you. But some of them will be your personal go-to colors.

Part of that will have to do with the unique way your individual body displays that palette.  And part of it will have to do with your personal style type. Certain hues and certain combinations will send a message that coordinates with your style type. 

So if you're strongly Romantic, what colors in your palette should you focus on?

A woman who is strongly Romantic may have a heart-shaped face, sexy eyes, a high forehead, a delicate nose, and full lips, If this is you, you'll look like yourself in in the deeper versions of your reds, violets, red -violets, rusts, fuchsias, and purples. 
​

Your season's version of black will usually be great on you as part  of your overall ensemble, because it reads as mysterious. You can even pull off your season's black as a head-to-toe look, as long as the effect is mysteriously sexy, not intimidating or shocking. (Intimidating or shocking use of your black would read as Dramatic, not Romantic.)
​

 Making black look mysterious, not intimidating, won't be difficult if your garments are as detailed as Romantic garments ought to be; the profuse detail breaks up the black visually, so it doesn't feel like a huge block of startling color. ​

​In my experience, Romantic blends are a bit less common than other blended types. Are you a Romantic blend? If so, how have you combined your palette with your style type? Please share in the comments!