Most of us go to the internet to get hairstyle ideas. But how can you zero in on the best hair for your style type? Some of us aren't sure how to go about searching. You'll want to do a Google image search, of course. Here are some specific search strings I suggest you use to find visual inspiration for your style type's best hair. I use some search operators in my search strings, such as - and OR , so try pasting the exact search string. (Google recently removed some of its most helpful image search tools, such as the ability to get only faces as search results. To get this and other tools back, do an advanced image search here. ) Romantic hair glamorous long -wig -extensions (The minus signs tell Google terms to exclude. If you're doing an advanced search, you can just type "wig" and "extensions" into the field for words you want to exclude.) Other Romantic keywords to try: curls full sexy Other Ethereal keywords to try: flowy long curls Other Ingenue keywords to try: sweet girlish ringlets (I know it may seem odd, as an adult Ingenue, to search for pictures of little girls as hair inspiration. But many of the best pics online of Ingenue hair are pics of little girls.) Classic hair mature medium Also, this one works well: hair tv anchor Other Classic keywords to try: elegant coiffed "first lady" Other Gamine keywords to try: spunky tomboy You may have noticed that these search results are mostly white ladies. :-/ That's obviously not helpful if you're a WOC with a specific hair texture! If you want hair styles specifically for women of color with specific hair textures, try adding, for example, "african american" or "asian" to your search string. If you're a blend of two or more core types, try searching for a few key terms from each core type. For example, for Romantic-Dramatic-Classic, I used "glamorous" for Romantic, " sleek" for Dramatic, and "elegant for Classic. Here was my search string: hair glamorous sleek elegant I got some pretty good RDC ideas: I'm an Ethereal Natural. When I combine Natural and Ethereal search terms, I get my favorite hair for myself: hair layers long curls My best hair has Ethereal's mermaid curls, but Natural's layers and wildness. Tip: if your hair has a particular texture that's non-negotiable, try adding that to your search string. For example, if you're predominantly Ethereal but you have straight hair, try searching straight hair long mermaid (If you don't want all the dyed hair results for 'mermaid', try adding this to the end of the search string: -dye -ombre -pink -blue) Do you know some search terms that have worked well for your style type? Please share them in the comments! Not sure of your style type? Try the Style Identity Calculator, or consider a Virtual Analysis. A version of this article was first posted in December of 2018.
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I didn't even think about separates before I knew my style type. But how you put separates together actually has a big effect on the impression you make. Romantics, Ethereals, Classic, and Dramatics are each best in a head-to-toe look. If you think about it, this makes sense, because all four of these types are formal and grown-up in their own way: the Romantic is mature womanly sexiness, the Classic is a "ladylike" adult woman, the Dramatic is a powerful ruler, and the Ethereal is an immortal being. None of these pure types is youthful or casual enough to look her best in an obvious use of separates.
Another easy way to do a head-to-toe look is to just wear a dress. Ethereals, Romantics, and Classics have a lot of great dress options.
Speaking of which: the message a Natural sends with her use of separates is, "I own nothing but separates, and I basically just throw them together because that's how confident I am, but the effect is never weird, because I can't be bothered to put in enough effort to make it deliberately weird, because that's how casual I am."
A Gamine's use of separates says, "I deliberately combine separates no one else would dare to put together, because that's how fun and quirky I am. I want you to notice!"
If you're a blend of two or three types, as most women are, and you manifest Natural, Gamine, or Ingenue through your use of separates, you'll want to lean a bit more heavily on your other essence (or two) to balance the effect. So, for example, A Natural-Classic-Ingenue combining separates in a casual, Natural way would take extra care to bring in Classic and Ingenue in other aspects of her look. If you're not sure of your style type, try the Style ID Calculator! Romantic beauty is feminine beauty in its mature, womanly form. It may be the easiest type of visual feminine to spot, because it's the kind of feminine beauty hetero men are most interested in -- so it's a beauty we often see portrayed in popular culture. Other systems call this type Sensuous, Soft, or Alluring. They're beating around the bush. The straight truth is this: Romantic beauty is sexy beauty. I've thought for months about a better way to word this, because I have been afraid of coming across as objectifying Romantic women. Of course, it could be argued that Style Type Analysis is inherently objectifying, because it analyzes women based purely on their physical qualities. I don't believe this is true, though. We're not ranking women, or judging their inherent worth, based on their appearance -- we're analyzing appearance for the purpose of helping all women have tools to feel simultaneously authentic and beautiful, if that's something they want. The point of Style Type Analysis is to empower women in their own authentic beauty. Yet talking about Romantic women's appearance is difficult for me because, traditionally, all women have been judged by how well we conform to the standard of Romantic beauty. And we're all pretty sick of it, aren't we? Even the Romantic women, who "win" in that system of judgment, are probably tired of being valued for their sexiness. Is it possible for us to celebrate Romantic beauty without implying that Romantic women's worth lies in that beauty? I believe it is. I hope it is. Because there's no way around it: Romantic women embody sex appeal. It goes without saying that Romantic women are no more or less sexual than any other women. But visually, they read as pure womanly sexuality. Romantic women tend to have sensuous mouths, smoldering eyes, narrow jaws, large foreheads, and full hair. A Romantic woman looks mature and powerful, not inappropriate, with boob and butt emphasis and a super-cinched waist. Dark hair reads as Romantic because human hair naturally darkens with sexual maturity. (Just as light hair reads as youthful because prepubescent children tend to have lighter hair than adults.) A flush in human skin is an indicator of sexual arousal. So palette-appropriate reds, which echo that flush, look perfect on Romantics. Romantics look like themselves with half-closed eyes, a cocked eyebrow, and a knowing smile -- or no smile at all. This "come-hither" face is silly on pretty much everyone else, but on Romantics it's perfect. It looks wise and confident. Romantics look great with the impression of cleavage, even if they're small-busted. (While some large-busted women, such as Gamines and Dramatics, look best with de-emphasized chests.)
Red roses symbolize romance and sexuality, and a Romantic woman is like a red rose: beautiful, delicate, detailed, and composed entirely of curving lines. So you're a Romantic, but you don't want to be defined by your sexy appearance. As a woman, I completely get that. But if you dress in a way that doesn't create an impression of softness, curves, and delicacy, the result will be that you look less dignified.
Honor your Romantic beauty by creating looks as feminine and sexy as you are. That reads as dignified and self-aware. If you know what looks good on you, but you don't know your style type, try the Style Identity Calculator.
A version of this post was published in May 2015. |
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