Discover your color palette and your style type.

But I Don't Feel Like a Tomboy!

9/25/2017

So you're a Natural Gamine, a "Tomboy." But that's not your personality at all! Is your style ID all wrong?

Naw. In the Truth is Beauty system, personality isn't correlated at all with style identity.

Which isn't to say you can't dress like your personality -- if that's what floats your boat, do it!

But if you want to dress in the way that best visually flatters your natural physical form, be guided by your visual self only. Let who you really are be a delightful, additional layer that complements your surface beauty.

I'm a tomboy in my soul. But I don't look like a tomboy, and I wouldn't be flattered by most tomboy-looking styles. "Tomboy" as an archetype for a style identity is about appearance only, as are all of the archetypes.

If you're not sure of your style type, try the Style Identity Calculator!

31 Comments

Darryln

9/25/2017 04:20:27 pm

I was just pondering this yesterday. I feel like, it is important that your true personality be incorporated some how. If I was a Romantic Dramatic visually and was a total goofball personality wise that this would be contracdictory in how I come forth in conversation. I understand that this system designed to analyze the surface, I get that.

There are people, just because I know them so well I cannot ever picture wearing what I know their style id is, and if they did, would feel very wrong to me and even to themselves.

Liz

9/25/2017 07:08:57 pm

This above comment makes me smile because I am a romantic dramatic, and being intimidating (or whatever is suggested by my appearance) is definitely at odds with my personality. I can actually be quite shy. But I love to dress fully romantic dramatic becayse it harmonizes with my face. Also, dressing this way gives me extra incentive to be kind and friendly to people, so that I make it clear to them that I'm really not as intimidating as I may look!

Julia

10/16/2020 09:43:36 am

I asks myself if you could rate the different style identities, not just D and E, according to their 'aggressiveness' (desperately searching for another word), I think the beauty of R, G as well as D tends to be rather forward moving - - well maybe R summons instead of attacks - - I think the charms of N and I are less 'demanding' rather 'inviting', while C's beauty is regally sitting (on a throne) leaving E to retract.
If what I say has some truth it might certainly be difficult for people who have a very forward moving style id and a retracting personality or vice versa. (Nevertheless, I think some of the ethereality of a face must come from a certain mindset, otherwise DE actors could not go from dreamy to fierce without a change of scene, makeup or clothing, what do you think? )
I have always used to dress according to DR only because I thought otherwise my wide angular shoulders and hourglass figure would look really fat and my winter pallette demands for bold clothing.
However, this is in awful contrast to my painfully shy and absent-minded nature, and people sometimes suggest that I would try to hard to get male attention (though I don't dress overly revealing) - though I hate attention of any kind, I just want to look right and not fat (I also used to have a very puffy face (weight loss didn't help but age and pneumonia did, so now my head is actually elongated, but still too big for my body) .
I fervently hope Rachel will find some E traits in my style Id,
such that it would give some different interpretation to those (very negative and obvious) but retracting personality traits.

Rosetta

9/26/2017 08:12:53 am

I agree with DarryIn - I know style ID & personality are two different things, but then again the two can't be in total contradiction, that's just not credible, I feel... That way one would just present a very contradictory image to the world. I haven't got an ounce of tomboy in me, and have to say I just couldn't dress as a NG if I felt no connection to that style... Luckily I'm R-E-I (N), so I don't have to ;)

Then again, I do have a dramatic side to me that my style ID doesn't have (no D whatsoever), but as that's only a part of me and my other essences represent the rest of my personality very well, it keeps it all coherent & credible :)

Tabi

9/27/2017 05:05:40 am

I've been wondering if personality plays a role in style ID. I think that someone's mannerisms, demeanor and facial expressions can introduce elements from another ID that you might not get just from looking at the surface. The energy someone radiates and the way their presence comes across can give variation.

Katja

9/28/2017 08:45:15 am

I believe that personality and style ID is connected somehow. In my opinion a womans inner beauty is reflected in her physical appearance.
Without any knowledge of the archetypes women tend to choose clothes for themselves that match their style ID anyway. It is as if we instinctly are drawn to the "right" clothes for us.
If a women whose style ID is Natural Gamine doesn't feel like a tomboy I think it is probably because she associates the word tomboy with masculinity. And what woman wants to be considered masculine? But being a tomboy is not the same as being a boy. A tomboy is a girl with somewhat boyish features and a boyish charm, but she is still a girl.
I'm convinced that every NG has a tomboy personality somewhere inside of her, but it can take some time to find it.
Getting used to your style ID can sometimes take a while and sometimes you have to change your point of view on certain things in order to be able to identify yourself with your style ID.

Lena

9/28/2017 08:46:52 am

Rachel, is a style analysis mainly based on facial features? How important is body shape, height etc? Does that matter at all? Thank you.
Reply

Kamila

11/13/2017 06:20:10 pm

I agree with you Katja, 100 %

Rachel

9/28/2017 03:29:41 pm

My first instinct would be to agree that our demeanor and mannerisms come into our Style ID. But I now think that many of us, because of a lack of self-confidence or a distorted self-image, maybacquire a particular demeanor or type of presentation that *undermines* our true beauty, and discovering our Style ID can offer an opportunity to liberate us from that.

9/28/2017 08:42:10 pm

This makes sense. I think most people are more complex than 'a look'. I found that sticking with my style ID freed me up to create a consistent external look that suits me. It doesn't tell you everything about me, but I'm totally ok with just looking stylish at first glance. ;)

Katja

9/29/2017 02:28:09 am

Yes, a lot of women lack self-confidence and many women have a destorted self-image. That is why I wrote about the difficulty in being objective about yourself.

Julia B

9/29/2017 10:44:11 am

I'm actually not so sure about this. Assume we have got someone when is a IRE but really feels and acts like a tomboy. Than assume she wears the IRE clothes. In photos, you will say she looks great. But if she feels like the clothes she wears are just not right for her and she feels like putting on a show to look good, she might not feel good in those clothes. And one shouldn't underestimate the power of feeling good in one's body in regard to how one is perceived. Really, it might be she only looks nice in pictures but people who know her will be like "Yeah, no, I know you're trying to look good but you're trying too hard."
If she however feels nice in it and likes to surprise one with her personality that's fine. Really just anything one can feel good with seems fine. But putting people in clothes they don't feel comfortable in... I don't think that will make them look good.

Katja

9/29/2017 11:51:22 am

Julia, have you ever met such a person? I haven't.

Julia

9/29/2017 11:59:34 am

I haven't, and therefore wonder if it can be that the style ID and personality and demeanour can really be that unrelated.
I do however look nice with ingenueish things when making a selfie and a lot of people told me to look ingenuieish based on selfies only but look very wrong in it when actually wearing it. That might be because my overall bone structure, body and way of behaving don't fit to the ingenue vibe very much, but I'm not sure.

Rachel

10/3/2017 09:54:46 am

I really appreciate your points. I got into this because I wanted to look good. But why did I want to look good? Because I wanted to *feel* good. That's what we're all really searching for. And if a person can reach "feel good" without using my recommendations, then bless her! She should keep doing exactly what she's doing. :-)

9/29/2017 11:01:56 am

So, I was thinking about your more, and it occurred to me that one of the most natural-gamine celebs I can think of is Alexa Chung. But she doesn't look "tomboy' to me. She just looks cool (like all the time).

I guess what I mean is that a lot of these style IDs are shorthand: they are the most common way for us to get our heads around a complex mix of lines in clothing that flatter lines of the face. They are a lot more flexible than the label and can be extended in multiple directions.

Example: I've been leaning into ENC. At first I was thinking "oh heck no." Like, this was all stuff that looked like 'the good witch next door' to me. And in my heart, I wanted to be a NG cool girl. But the more I've messed around with ENC, the more I can work the lines and fabrics to work for me. Like, cropped stuff is a no go. But the jeans-and-tee can work, IF the separates are low contrast, IF the tee had a bit of flow, IF the jeans are long, etc
Etc. Same idea, just the lines elongated and fabrics in right colors and contrast. But even if ENC is the land of maxi dresses, I rarely wear them, because that's just not me.

So, TL,DR. I think it makes sense, but maybe the shorthand label of 'tomboy' is confusing. I am nothing like a 'posh earth goddess' (ha!) But the lines of that style are flattering and so I find using them as a guide when looking for clothes is helpful.

My (2nd) 2 cents...

Katja

9/29/2017 11:56:37 am

Alexa Chung sure looks like a tomboy to me. But I don't think she is all NG though. She might have some ethereal element as well.

Nancy

9/29/2017 12:12:17 pm

Are there any Natural Gamines out there? If there are, do you feel like tomboys? Does your personality match your style ID? It would be interesting to know.

Inez

9/30/2017 02:30:57 pm

Nancy, My style ID is Natural Gamine and I consider myself a tomboy at heart although my personality has Ethereal elements as well.

Rachel

10/3/2017 09:52:48 am

Great points. Because there are multiple options for every style ID, it's not hard to find the "you" in a style ID if one looks hard enough. As you say, both maxi dresses and casual jeans can be ENC.

Also, "good witch next door" -- I absolutely love this. :-)

Katja

9/29/2017 12:21:59 pm

Julia, I don't think that the style ID and personality and demeanour can be that unrelated.
It might be that you have some Ingenue element but some other element can be the dominant in you. Do you have any idea of what that might be? Maybe Natural? Sometimes your body can be mostly Natural and yor face mostly Ingenue for instance.

Julia B

9/29/2017 05:59:03 pm

I think I'm an ECG. I don't really know the difference between a natural and an ethereal body but I can't wear natural without looking sloppy.

Katja

9/30/2017 04:21:15 am

The natural body is usually tall and sturdy. It is straight with broad shoulders.
The ethereal body is tall but small-boned. It is gently curved.

9/30/2017 02:09:07 pm

I had an analysis last year and discovered that my trying to wear the "wrong" clothes correlated with a tendency to try to act differently from my true personality. I would put on boyish or dark clothing or mannerisms as a defensive armor. At least from my own experience I found that my ID correlated with my personality. Everything clicked when I tried on those new clothes.

When I think of others that I know and can estimate their type, I don't know anyone whose physicality clashes with their personality, but I could see individual personality traits expressed through multiple styles, and in turn the personality traits of the style IDs manifested in different ways. For example I have ingenue in me, but in light of my personality it reads as idealism rather than naivete or hyper girliness.

Rachel

10/3/2017 09:50:04 am

"I have ingenue in me, but in light of my personality it reads as idealism rather than naivete or hyper girliness."

I *love* this point, and I think it's really important. I have some posts coming up that look at different ways of interpreting individual essences. As you say, Ingenue can be girlish, or naive -- but it can also look like idealism. Depending on what suits an individual Ingenue's personality, it can be innocent, chaste, youthful, virginal, optimistic, saccharine, pure, fresh... each of those words has slightly different connotations, while still being closely tied to the Ingenue essence. There's a lot of room within *every* essence for a woman to find her own version.

Nancy

10/1/2017 04:43:31 am

Inez, do you feel that your tomboy personality correlates to your physical appearance?

Katja

10/1/2017 07:21:49 am

M, I totally understand what you mean. :) We always have to consider the individuality in these matters.
For instance, women with the same style ID can look and be very different from each other depending on the amount and the division of the different elements. Just think about all the fantastic combinations there are! I think it's great.

Kamila

11/13/2017 06:37:18 pm

I think that like the way facial features harmonize with each other in one person, which is according to a pattern, not random, in the same way your personality hamornizes your facial features, and your personality fits your voice, and your voice fits your facial features. And all those features fit your body and face expressions, and so on. One can compare it to a pattern in nature, with certain plants for example: "Fractals are infinitely self-similar, iterated mathematical constructs having fractal dimension." For example a certain flower has a round overall shape, with smaller parts also in a round shape, which is dividable in round shapes again etc.. It is all one, one pattern is similar to the other and creates harmony. I think, it wouldn't make much sense if nature would give us people contradicting personalities and outer appereances. Just like citrus fruits have similar visual patterns, but also a similar taste and similar smell, so it goes beyong the visual, there is a deeper, functional part in visual patterns, in plants, in fruits, in people.

SuD

11/25/2017 09:58:02 pm

Interesting topic. I’m an NG and was a tomboy when I was younger and still am to a certain extent as I get older. I’m naturally athletic and have athletic physical traits as well. So, the style definitely fits me overall. I add other elements of my personality to the mix, usually with accessories. When I want to add “sexy” I keep it streamlined and simple.

12/5/2019 02:27:18 pm

It strikes me that a lot of people are using other stylists ways of determining their type. Rachel says use your face as your guide.....simple! Stick with 1 stylist, don't complicate it by bringing in others. And really study your type. I am gamine but it doesn't float my boat, however there are ways of making it work. As there are ways of making natural work even if you are at heart a romantic.
Rachel's suggestions work. But don't be too literal about it.

Marie

10/8/2020 03:28:13 pm

I find it beneficial to read through all of the blends that use the ones that make my composition. I look through all the natural combinations, all the classic and all the ethereals. A natural gamine may not see her self in the natural gamine blend, but may find great inspiration from other natural and other gamin blends.

Truth is Beauty

But I Don't Feel Like a Tomboy!

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