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On Using the Terms 'Masculine' and 'Feminine' in Style Analysis

4/16/2018

Here, you see the same face morphed to appear very masculine, very feminine, or somewhere in between.

Here's an interesting paper documenting some scientists' efforts to develop a computer program that can identify the relative masculinity/femininity of human faces as accurately as humans can. It's a great article to read or skim for a quick exposure to the world of "subjective gender scoring" in scientific research.

Overall, human raters tend to agree about how masculine or feminine any given face is.

Human raters are also pretty good at determining whether someone is a man or a woman based just on the face, although a large minority of faces are ambiguous enough for raters to disagree about their sex.

(There is actually some evidence that people perceive these androgynous faces as more beautiful, but that's another post.)

All of which is to say, "masculine-looking" and "feminine-looking" are things. They are qualities humans perceive, and they're fairly objective, inasmuch as people (even across cultures) mostly agree with each other about them.

Although human biological sex is binary, masculine and feminine appearance is a dimension, not a binary.

In other words, it's not the case that the most feminine-looking male face is still perceived as more masculine than the most masculine-looking female face.

Instead, both men and women vary in how masculine or feminine their faces appear to others, and there is a lot of overlap.

There are average differences in how masculine or feminine men and women appear, and there's also a good bit of overlap.

You have probably noticed that I use the words "masculine" and "feminine" quite a bit in my system, to describe what faces look like.

This sets me apart from some other theorists who use euphemisms like "yang and yin," or "sharp and soft," to describe exactly the same differences. (There are plenty of other euphemisms in use as well.)

I could use words like "sharp" and "soft" where I mean "masculine" and "feminine," and it wouldn't necessarily be inaccurate. I know that some women just don't like having the word "masculine" applied to them in any way.

But I prefer to use the words "masculine" and "feminine," even so, for four main reasons.

1. The first reason I use the terms "masculine" and "feminine" as descriptors is accuracy.

In my system, the terms "masculine" and "feminine" are literally accurate. I use them to describe traits that characterize members of one sex more than the other, and that therefore signal biological sex to human raters.

It's just a fact, for example, that a short nose bridge is more common in women than in men, and that human raters perceive a short nose bridge as feminine.

I care about facts, and about reality, and I assume you do too. I don't care to pretend things aren't true when they are. I prefer to accept the truth, and proceed from that acceptance.

2. The second reason I use "masculine" and "feminine" as visual descriptors is that the seven style archetypes largely depend on gender for their meanings. They derive in large part from our culture's pre-existing ideas about certain archetypal men and certain archetypal women.

For example, features that read as both youthful and feminine tend to communicate sweetness and innocence, and that's because, as a culture, we have a pre-existing idea that "girlhood" is synonymous with innocence and sweetness. The Ingenue archetype is the physical embodiment of this assumption.

(Of course, little girls are neither more innocent nor more sweet than little boys, and to proceed as if they are is to proceed on a stereotype. But we can acknowledge the existence of these obviously sexist archetypes, and use those archetypes to communicate meaning in fashion, without mentally swallowing the stereotypes. I am aware that girls aren't more innocent than boys, but I also know that other people interpret girlish visual cues as signaling innocence, so I am going to use that knowledge.)

3. The third reason that I think it's important to say "masculine" and "feminine" is that understanding your balance of masculine and feminine elements is key to looking your most beautiful.

Almost all of us women have a mix of masculine and feminine elements in our visual appearance. Yet we are choosing clothes and accessories made for women, so they tend to be feminine choices. This can result in us looking less beautiful, because when our clothes or accessories are more feminine-looking than we are, we go from looking "chiseled" or "striking" to looking actually mannish -- which is quite different, and unlovely, because it's jarring.

Consider Jamie Lee Curtis, one of my favorite examples of a woman with a lot of masculinity in her features. Is she her most gorgeous with longer, feminine, hair, or with shorter, more masculine hair?

In the picture on the left, her hair is more feminine than she is, and the result is that her face looks mannish, rather than striking or majestic, by comparison. She's more obviously a woman in the picture on the right; the relative masculinity of her hair is directly proportional to the relative masculinity of her features, and she's a striking, powerful-looking woman -- her best look.

I talked about this phenomenon -- that an appropriately masculine context actually makes a woman with masculine elements look more lovely -- with regard to Winona Ryder, in my blog post about Gamines. Google pictures of this objectively pretty woman: the more feminine her clothing and hair are, the less lovely she becomes. The same is true for Cher, for Hilary Swank, for Jennifer Aniston, for Sandra Oh, for Whoopi, for Frances McDormand, for Elisabeth Shue, and for tons of other women celebs with a lot of Natural or Dramatic or Gamine: when their context becomes too lacy and ruffly -- too feminine -- they are less lovely, not more lovely. The same is true with me! I have a huge helping of Natural, and too-feminine looks are unpretty for me. Messy hair, some gloss, and an unconstructed top, on the other hand -- gorgeous. If I do say so myself. :-)

IMO, we have to talk about "masculine" and "feminine" in order to achieve the proper masculine-feminine balance in our clothing context, to allow us to look our most beautiful.

4. The final reason I prefer using "masculine" and "feminine" to using euphemisms is this:

To change my language would be to say that I think it's right or appropriate for the word "masculine" to be insulting as a descriptor of women's features.

To change my language would be to say that I agree that masculine features are somehow inherently unlovely in women.

I won't agree that it's an insult to describe women's features as masculine, because I simply don't believe that's true. Women with more masculine features are beautiful. Women with more feminine features are also beautiful.

To say otherwise is like saying a circle is somehow inherently more attractive than a square. It's all about context. A woman with more masculine features is gorgeous when her context is more masculine; a woman with more feminine features is gorgeous when her context is feminine. (I mean, just compare the makeup in the two pics above: matte finish, neutral colors, high contrast, and straight lines suit the woman on the left; shimmer, gloss, curving lines, and pinks and reds suit the woman on the right. Each would be less lovely in the other's makeup. In their proper context, each is gorgeous.)

Some people won't be comfortable having the words "masculine" and "feminine" applied freely to both men's and women's physical appearance. For those people, another style system may be a better fit.

I intend Truth is Beauty to be a value-free zone, where we can objectively discuss physical features without applying any positive or negative judgment to the fact that they appear masculine or feminine.

My long-term vision is of a world where neither of those words has a positive or negative connotation associated with it.

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59 Comments

RAnne Smith

4/16/2018 11:18:47 am

perhaps this is why as a woman ages & becomes more masculine looking it's best to shorten the hair ?

Rachel

4/16/2018 11:32:47 am

That's *such* an interesting point! Perhaps the reason many of us have this instinct, as we age, is that we sense that more "masculine" hair flatters us better. (I do think more of us cut our hair than are really flattered by it, but shorter hair is best for some older women! Neat observation.)

Lena

4/17/2018 05:22:50 am

Rachel, I'm a little cunfused about this hair thing. I agree with you that Jamie Lee Curtis is flattered by short hair, but I think some women with a masculine style-ID look better with long hair. Sandra Oh for instance, wouldn't look good at all in short hair in my opinion. What is her style-ID anyway? What decides if a woman should have long or short hair? Is it her facial features? Her facial shape? Is it her essences? Should she have long hair if two of her three essences demand long hair?
Jennifer Aniston is another one that I can't imagine looking good in short hair.
And then there are women that have a feminine style-ID and they look great in shorter hair....Marilyn Monroe for instance looked great in shorter hair. I wouldn't call it short, but I wouldn't call it long either. Both Romantic and Ingenue are supposed to have long hair.

Rachel

4/17/2018 11:41:37 am

HI, Lena! Thank you for pointing this out; I should have clarified. Dramatics often look best with extremely short hair, or slicked-back hair, but Naturals actually look better with shaggy hair. It's a big difference -- no wonder it was confusing! Sandra Oh has a lot of Natural, as does Jennifer Aniston.

Elsa

4/18/2018 09:57:39 am

What type is Jennifer Aniston? I'm really intrigued by her as she wore so many different styles on Friends but has settled into a definite natural (and classic?) style that is highly coveted. Could she also have some gamine or ingenue perhaps?

Rosetta

4/18/2018 11:15:32 am

Elsa, Jennifer Aniston has been named as someone who's fully Natural with no other elements somewhere (maybe it was here), but IMO she could also be Natural-Classic.

Rosetta

4/18/2018 11:12:24 am

Actually, I'm baffled by this comment that "as a woman ages & becomes more masculine looking" - why would any woman become more masculine looking with aging? To me, women stay as feminine or as masculine as they've always been, so that is a VERY strange notion to me. And I've always HATEd the idea that women should cut their hair when aging - I'm sure it totally depends on the person in question! For example, anyone with a significant portion of Ethereal will surely look better with long(er) hair. (I'm a R-E-I with some N, and can't ever imagine having short hair, that's just not me!!) I'd much rather society didn't force such ideas on women...

Katja

4/18/2018 12:59:01 pm

I think Jennifer Aniston has Natural, Gamine and Ethereal. Maybe some Classic.

Katja

4/19/2018 02:50:46 am

Rosetta, as women grow older they become more masculine looking and as men grow older they become more feminine looking. But I would not recommend all women to cut their hair when they have reached a certain age. It really depends on the person in question and of course on the quality of her hair. Some older women are flattered by long hair and some are not.
This is not only a question of style types. When we age some of us loses hair and if we lose too much hair a shorter hairstyle is a better choice. Becoming gray also changes the quality of our hair. And with age we get a little lazy and sometimes we get sick and we may not be prepared to offer so much time and effort on our hair. A short haircut is easier to maintain.
But if you are an older woman and your hair is in a good condition and you are flattered by long hair I would say go for it!

Rosetta

4/20/2018 12:02:54 pm

Katja, I'm not an older woman yet ;), but I just generally disagree with this notion that hair should be cut when getting past a certain age (views differ as to what age exactly). And like I said, I still very much disagree with this idea that " as women grow older they become more masculine looking and as men grow older they become more feminine looking" - that was actually my point - I've never seen any evidence of this anywhere! What is this claim actually based on? Like I said earlier, in my experience people tend to stay as feminine or as masculine as they've always been... Some women are even *more* feminine as grannies, IMO ;)

Beth

4/21/2018 07:45:13 am

I totally agree with you Rosetta! How can men with already masculine features, become more feminine as their ears and noses get bigger with age? Also some women’s features get softer with age- I remember my grandma, who was a soft looking woman anyway, got softer and softer as she got older- her skin kept its plumpness, she got a cloud of white curly hair, and her eyes got twinklier and twinklier.

Rosetta

4/23/2018 02:51:59 am

Beth, glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks that! :) (Actually I would think that the majority would agree with us, intuitively :))

DrMere

4/16/2018 11:33:47 am

Well written and I totally agree. Helped me learn also about how our balance in this regard should be mirrored by our fashion choices. Helps me to work on looking at myself more objectively also. Thank you for writing this and creating your system and standing by it.

4/16/2018 12:35:00 pm

This is such an interesting post Rachel! I love this sort of content - the focus on the theoretical side of your style system and the commitment to challenging the cultural focus on a narrow sort of feminized beauty. I would love to see more on makeup and masculinity/femininity as it pertains to the style IDs. So many makeup recommendations are geared towards women with Romantic and Ingenue - as a strong Ethereal with a definite element of facial androgyny (from Classic and Natural), I struggled for years to feel good about my facial features and to find makeup that did not make me look less lovely. (I also struggled, despite my young age, not to look or feel "old," or like a transplant from another era, in a lot of Romantic or Ingenue makeup - any other Ethereals struggle with this? Thinking about some of your previous posts on Ethereals visually evoking old age I guess it makes sense that some Ethereals might struggle with looking overly mature in too-youthful/sexy makeup and styling.) It would be particularly great to see a focus on makeup for women with masculinity in their features who do not have Dramatic - short of no makeup or the no-makeup look, what might be some flattering beauty looks for women with some masculinity who cannot carry the intensity of those gorgeous Dramaric heavy eye looks?

Rachel

4/16/2018 12:44:12 pm

Hi! I am embarrassed to say that my makeup guides are *still* a work in progress. (There's just so much material!) I can give you a few pointers for very D features, though:
- Play up eyes or lips, but never both
- Keep a matte finish
- Contouring is great
- Straight, full, dark brows
- Let your lips appear thin -- don't overdraw them
- Let your eyes appear narrow
- Palette black eyeliner and eyeshadow are great
- Avoid vivid color; create high contrast with light and dark neutrals

I hope this helps!

Nancy

4/16/2018 01:38:58 pm

Yes, more about makeup, please!

4/16/2018 02:21:56 pm

Such an interesting observation about the struggle with E makeup! I have practically given up on makeup. Combine E + being super pale (LSu) and the slightest bit of anything overwhelms. I totally disappear into makeup. All you see is the dramatic, none of the delicacy. I have a friend who keeps trying to get me to dye my brows dark, wear mascara & eyeliner - but I'm one of these white-blonde brows people where it just looks weird. Or if not weird, it sure doesn't look like me anymore. My face is completely transformed by makeup to where I don't look at all the same.

Thinking out loud here, but for the 'receding' ethereals, makeup is tricky. It just feels like I'm painting myself a new face.

4/16/2018 03:24:53 pm

I totally feel the "painting a new face" feeling with makeup! And with being overwhelmed easily by the combinations of strong Ethereal and delicate coloring (I'm Soft Autumn, and I have finally learned to resist all my Winter friends who insist that "everyone" looks great with heavy black eyeliner. Not so!).

The best Ethereal makeup, I've found, is adapted from the runway - the "bare" face with touches of highlighter/other delicate details that has been trendy in the past few years is very flattering to Ethereal features. I also look to period film/TV makeup for inspiration - particularly examples where the makeup is meant to both suit the time period and appeal to more modern ideas of physical attractiveness (ex: no lead makeup!). So long as you go easy on the blush/avoid it altogether (too much blush, particularly on the apples of the cheeks, will make an Ethereal look like a Rococo painting in a bad way), the flushed/delicate/rosy beauty looks you see in a lot of media set in the Renaissance/18th or 19th centuries will be flattering combined with slightly more modern hair. For instance, so long as the hair and outfit isn't excessively costume-y, the makeup Holliday Grainger wears in The Borgias would be perfect for an Ethereal - light, attention to skin finish over eyes or lips, and minimal brown liner and next-to-no mascara. LOTR is also a good source of inspiration - the makeup that Liv Tyler wears is super-minimal, she just has her lash line emphasized and has an airbrushed, flawless skin finish. I personally find that, while it's not as "fun" or creative, the single most important element of my makeup is my skin. Using makeup to give off a sense of inner light radiating out helps to honor the otherworldly/supernatural/"stepped out of a painting" vibe.

It can also be great to look at actors from period/fantasy media who have a lot of Ethereal and see what they do to look modern in real life while honoring their essences. Sophie Turner looks amazing in this photoshoot - she's not wearing much more makeup than she does as Sansa, and the additional makeup details are all iridescent/light enough for her style ID and coloring. http://www.instyle.com/celebrity/sophie-turner-game-of-thrones-joe-jonas

4/16/2018 03:31:17 pm

Red lips and nothing else is a beauty look I think would suit ethereals. If the lid is starkly bare and the brows and lashes are light it can come off pre-raphaelite, perfectly ethereal imo. Dante Gabriel Rossetti painting vibes.

Miranda

4/16/2018 11:54:42 pm

I know this Ethereal feeling! Though I'm a little more high contrast than you, W., I'm an SSu reddish sandy blondish brunette-ish whatever. And AM, I have a strong enough dose of Ingenue that I look too young for makeup, even at 33. It looks dirty and wrong on me. I keep trying!

(Slight diversion, I wonder if other Ingenue blends have issues with giving off not just a childish but a rather disturbing impression if they try to dress without the Ingenue elements.)

When I was 16 or 17, I did shimmery eyeshadow and liner. After many makeup adventures ranging from Goth to natural, I'm returning to that look. Right now full face makeup for me is foundation, mascara and brows (I'm not so sure about those), and a colorless mineral highlighter. I'm taking Rachel's SSu suggestions to the MAC store because I'd really like a lipstick that doesn't make me look like I raided Grandma's makeup, but even though I need a bit of contrast, it's going to be the sheerest shimmery finish or it's going to be lip gloss.
I do love a dolly eye (ENI), but even with the lowest contrast eyeliner I can find and eyeshadow with a light sheen, I'm not convinced that I can pull it off. It might be dipping into what I think are Dramatic Ingenue looks (?).

I'm still figuring out what "dressed up" means for an ENI, since for me in the past it's always been going Romantic or Dramatic with a good deal of attention to makeup. I think it will involve Ethereal fabrics (while I intend to stick with Natural fabrics day-to-day) and more time devoted to braiding.

Miranda

4/16/2018 12:39:48 pm

I do love that you don't beat around the bush about this aspect. It's one of the reasons your system makes sense to me.

Like I've mentioned before, there are a couple of trans friends who I'm more careful with when talking about this system than I am with cis friends, but "careful" is not the same as "can't." I think it helps that there are so many examples of (apparently cis) women with the masculine essences.

I don't want to give the impression that I think all trans women have a lot of a masculine essence. One of my friends dresses Ethereal Romantic and I can't imagine her in anything else. But there's a higher percentage who do than among cis women and a higher cost if a woman misjudges what is flattering to her, and a clear system such as this one can be an invaluable navigational tool.

I admit that even as a cis woman I struggle with the masculine label, but I don't approve of the fact that my brain is afflicted with that cultural conditioning and it's healthy to deal with it.

Rachel

4/16/2018 12:50:59 pm

I often think my system could be super useful to trans women concerned about passing. Martine Rothblatt is an example of a trans woman who, IMO, successfully increases the impression of visual femininity she creates by keeping her lines relatively masculine:

https://api.hub.jhu.edu/factory/sites/default/files/styles/hub_medium/public/martine_rothblatt_102716.jpg?itok=PP_M3Tnu

Overdoing the femininity of clothes and makeup can make some trans women pass less well.

Miranda

4/16/2018 01:21:04 pm

Oh wow, she looks amazing!

4/16/2018 02:28:41 pm

This is brilliant. Science + gender theory & fashion and personal identity vs. cultural perception and wow. Just really fascinating and brilliant.

Another Rachel

4/16/2018 10:22:50 pm

Brilliant, as always. Thank you for such in-depth explanations. (And I love your new profile pic—beautiful!)

Ryan

4/16/2018 11:56:02 pm

I know men are less covered by style analysis to begin with, but I think sexual orientation muddies these things a little too...from the studies I've seen gay men have more typically masculine facial features, but the socially perceived stereotype of gay men is not typically masculine. People and computer programs are surprisingly pretty good at picking out gay faces based on facial features alone, such as the eyes and lips, so there is something going on, maybe a certain twinkle in the eye. I'd say most of the gay men I know, even the most yang, have a boyish quality to them. At 30 I still get mistaken for 18, but I don't think you would consider all of us gamine,I find it it difficult to describe myself or any of my friends without using multiple categories, and the categories for men seem less defined. Maybe there is something inherent about being outside the population norm that automatically makes us a little bit gamine/dramatic etc. to begin with?

Nancy

4/17/2018 04:31:26 am

Gay men are not automatically Gamines. And not all gay men are youthful or boyish. And youthful doesn't necessarily mean Gamine. There is another youtful essence: Ingenue.
I usually can tell by looking at a person if she or he is homosexual. In general, I think a gay man has more feminine facial features than a straight man. (This is not always the case. Some gay men can be very masculine looking). This goes for women too. For instance, Ellen Degeneres look very boyish to me.
Of course this isn't just about looks. I can also tell by looking at a persons behaviour, gestures etc if she or he is homosexual.
Ryan, you are right about that most people need multiple categories to describe them. That goes for everybody, not just gay men.
I think that in general gay men have more feminine essences like Ingenue, Romantic and Ethereal in their style-IDs than straight men. And lesbians have more masculine essences like Dramatic, Natural and Gamine than straight women in their style-IDs. What do you think?

Rachel

4/17/2018 11:51:09 am

Hey, Ryan! I too have seen a study showing gayness was easily identifiable for most raters just from the face.It's fascinating! And it does suggest that there's *something* there to be perceived -- what is it, though? I think you're right to suspect that whatever it is, it would influence a person's style type. I'm honestly not sure if it's more masculinity, or more femininity, or neither. I need to look at more pics and think about it more. It's fascinating.

4/17/2018 06:07:53 pm

We're really veering pretty close to "gay-dar" territory here.

4/17/2018 06:15:56 pm

I think LGBT people flag for prospective friends and partners, which leads to us using our appearance to define ourselves. I'm femme, and wear sundresses and skirts, but that is also likely informed by the amount of Ingenue I have. I have never been clocked outside of LBGT spaces. I see no evolutionary reason for why a gay person would inherently look any different from a person of any other orientation. Maybe you're reacting more to personality or mannerisms?

Miranda

4/18/2018 02:47:42 am

^ I'm bi and one of the reasons I mostly date men is because I have difficulty flagging due to my appearance (ENI). I'm still working on a solution to that.

I have heard of those studies and I wonder if they have controlled for how people use their faces. Different expressions = different musculature = eventually affects the bone underneath. I'd be curious about age and cross-cultural applicability, and then we have our good friend Sampling Bias.

4/18/2018 02:27:14 pm

This is interesting... I'm not sure I buy that sexual orientation is related to inherent facial features, any more than personality is related to seasonal coloring. Still, I think all these biases about masculinity/femininity and such really influence what people are willing to wear. I know for myself, I have stayed *away* from flattering clothes out of past fear of flagging myself - and it's pretty ridiculous now that I look back at it. I'm a very tall -- I'm going with ED, because that seems to work really damn well. ENC isn't so bad either, but it's less flattering. Somewhere in the decidedly tall, decidedly pale, fairly androgynous 'scary elf' category. I'd been looking to Cate Blanchett for style ideas, now also Tilda Swinton. Growing up, I came from a conservative background -- and then starting about highschool, rumors began that I was gay. I didn't know what to do with that -- but I also realized I wasn't straight. But as bi 'wasn't a thing' in my community, I had no idea what to say - or how to dress! Like... I look really good in menswear - but then I'd have people continue rumors or rude comments. I wasn't prepared to deal with them at the time. I went out of my way to dress feminine - keeping my hair long, wearing stuff that *Didn't* flatter me. I dunno what I was trying to do. Just not get outed, I guess? Funny how absurd that seems now. Now, years later, I'm happily married - to a man, so everyone assumes I'm straight. :/ (Guhhhh, don't get me started - heteronormativity is a b*tch). Point is, now that I'm supported by someone, I finally felt the freedom to dress more flattering - which is more androgynous and gender-bent than I felt comfortable doing before. I cut my hair (it's basically that jamie lee curtis cut. that is almost exactly how bad short hair looks on me - i can take a bit of side-swept curling bangs). For a while, I lived in a conservative community again, and felt WAY pressured to go back to hiding behind long hair and 'girly' dresses. But all this mucking about with style ID has got me back to realizing that what looks best for me is some definitely male-inspired stuff, and I'm not shying away from it out of fear of what people will say.

So, I'm not quite sure where I'm going with that or if that in any way proves wrong the idea that orientation is visible? In me, it was in a weird way, though I didn't realize it or want to admit it for a long time. But again, being bi and ethereal dramatic isn't something I'm worried about anymore. It's just, ya know, me. :)

Miranda

4/18/2018 03:42:46 pm

W. I'm glad you're in a place in life where you can be more yourself! Being forced to hide is hard on the soul.

4/18/2018 03:52:48 pm

Thanks Miranda! I appreciate that! I also appreciate your journey with style and how you're helping friends with their self-discovery. This entire style ID project has been part of self-discovery and self-care for me, and it's been great. So thankful for this blog and all the useful advice here, Rachel! I'm continually impressed with the way this style system has such helpful objectivity to it, yet doesn't use that objectivity to force people into a particular way of expressing themselves. For me, I used to be tempted to play up femininity - but I didn't understand how to make the most of my ethereal element, so I always went for gamine (thinking that was feminine as it is in kibbe) and it was just bad. Now, I'm willing to embrace 'sorceress' (or, ya know, bi elf) and be quite okay with it.

Jamie

4/17/2018 12:42:42 am

I had very long hair for the first 40 years of my life. Then I cut it short (a longish pixie), and I have received more compliments on my hair in these last 2+ years than I ever did before! And the comments are about how well my hair "suits me", instead of just "your hair is so pretty". Rachel typed me as Gamine Classic Natural.

Nouveau

4/17/2018 01:04:30 am

Rachel, this is a fascinating concept. I'm a gamine lady who looks more masculine (boyish). When you came out with your post on this phenomenon -- that an appropriately masculine context actually makes a woman with masculine elements look more lovely -- with regard to Winona Ryder, that was an epiphany for me. It's been a game-changer for my style and wardrobe. Thanks so much for that! I have never liked wearing dresses, skirts, ruffles, etc., and now I realize why.

And thinking about the opposite situation - a very feminine-faced woman in more masculine clothes and hair - can you share a photo of that, so we can see how that effect would look? Thanks so much for all your interesting and helpful insights!

Alex

4/17/2018 10:50:18 am

This is fascinating! I'm curious about what Lena asked above, about long versus short hair and style. I'm mostly Natural (with a little bit of Ethereal - just a bit) - and short hair looks terrible on me. Is it Dramatics and Gamines who tend to best in short hair?

Another question: how do you look sexy as a Natural? I'm just starting to date again after a LONG time. As a Natural, I don't look good in most sexy clothes, and as a 40-something woman, I don't want to look like I'm doing the fake-young thing either. But I do want to look attractive to potential dates. Any advice?

Thank you so much...for this entry, and all the entries - your blog is WONDERFUL!!!

Rachel

4/17/2018 11:46:37 am

HI! I think I cleared this up above, and I'm sorry for the confusion. Naturals need big, rough-edged shapes, and that includes for their hair. :-)

Natural women look their best when they lay off the feminine elements and do minimal makeup -- fuller brows, a healthy glow, visible freckles, some gloss or chapstick. To create sex appeal, cleavage, waist and butt emphasis look wrong on Naturals, but bare arms, legs, and feet look amazing. Jennifer Aniston does a great job looking sexy in this way.

4/17/2018 12:44:05 pm

Hi Rachel,
Not entirely related, but how do bangs work for the various style types? Are they automatically youthful? I'm an Ethereal/Natural/Classic (probably most strongly Ethereal or Classic) and while bangs do great things for my face shape and bring out my narrow eyes (a touch of D?), I'm not sure the bangs work for my style ID when I take my whole look into account, head-to-toe. Thoughts on bangs and the various style IDs?

Beth

4/18/2018 04:54:20 am

Hi AM, I’m not Rachel, but thought I’d respond to your question about bangs (or fringes in the Uk). I think it massively depends on what style of bangs your looking at. Heavy full fringes can either read as Ingenue or Romantic depending on the face underneath them. You got to say, Taylor Swift looks at her most ingenue with her straight across lash skimming fringe- however on a romantic, the same fringe could be very seductive. Short blunt cut bangs are very gamine. Long parted bangs/ heavy side fringes are probably natural, especially when teamed with long wavy hair.

It’s interesting that you find that a fringe conflicts with your style ID. I’m an Ethereal/romantic blend, and all through my twenties I’ve worn a heavy blunt fringe that sat on my lashes. I used it to disguise my slight widows peak and make myself look older so that I would be taken more seriously at work. I’ve recently grown it out, and have found all of a sudden that my face looks a lot more ethereal. It also helps to mirror the longer lines I wear in my clothing and that are in my body (I’m 5”8). So I do agree with you and think that fringes/bangs are not great on ethereal blends. I’m not convinced they’re great on dramatics. Usually because dramatics have great foreheads, brow lines and facial structure.

Alex

4/18/2018 09:25:25 am

Thank you, Rachel!

4/18/2018 11:06:58 am

Hi Beth,
Thanks for your response! I'm in my twenties and have had a heavy blunt fringe for three years now. It's not terrible on me, probably due to Classic/my individual proportions, but it conflicts with longer-lined Ethereal clothing (I'm also 5'8) that I'm starting to incorporate into my wardrobe after discovering this blog. (I must give credit to Rachel and her work with this style system for helping me break out of some lingering teenage body dysmorphia and dissatisfaction with my face - I always thought Gamine/Romantic/Ingenue clothes looked bad because I wasn't pretty enough, not because they were in direct conflict with my lines. Thanks Rachel for helping me appreciate my own beauty!)

I find my fringe also goes best with no makeup/borderline-Dramatic eye looks, plus more masculine clothing. Whenever I try to wear more feminine makeup with the fringe, it reads very Romantic/Ingenue and makes me look not so great by comparison. I also have Classic and Natural (and maybe a hint of Dramatic), so a more masculine/androgynous look can work, so long as it has some structure and polish, but ignoring my Ethereal can make me look a bit misty or lost in more masculine looks.

Long story short, I think I will commit to growing out the fringe! I've noticed a lot of Olivia Palermo on the ENC Pinboards and I think her longer haircuts could work for me. Thanks for your help!

Beth

4/18/2018 05:37:22 pm

Hi AM again,

I agree Olivia Palermo is ethereal hair goals!

I also think you’ve hit on a really important point about us ethereals acknowledging our etherealness. I find I never fit in when systems don’t have ethereal. When we fight it, we get lost. We either blend into the background, overwhelmed by too much classic or natural. Or if we go to far to either dramatic/romantic we look overdone. (Though as an ethereal/romantic blend I find this happens less- I don’t have the makeup issues mentioned up thread, and I’d rather be overdressed than underdressed.) Dramatic looks to harsh and intimidating - which is ironic as most other systems have me as dramatic romantic.
So we need to own our etherealness! Shimmer and sparkle and glow and waft around in lovely long wafty clothes!

Rosetta

4/19/2018 02:40:39 am

AM, I think I remember reading here that bangs only really work for Gamines? Or maybe some Ingenues as well. And that seems intuitively true for me.

Katja

4/18/2018 04:19:30 am

Hi Alex, a woman who knows what clothes and colours flatter her feels good about herself. And if she feels good she also looks good. A woman with self-confidence is an attractive and sexy woman, no matter age or style-ID.
A natural woman is her most beautiful self wearing minimal makeup, little jewelry and comfortable clothes.
For a date she could choose a sleeveless top or dress. Bare arms are sexy. In my opinion a Natural woman is extremely sexy when showing off bare, suntanned arms and legs. She can wear strapless dresses, but cleavage is not for Naturals. Her clothes should not be too tight either.
A Natural doesn't need a fancy hairstyle or heavy makeup to look her best. Not even on a date. Her long, tousled hair, her fresh-looking face and her big, inviting smile is enough. I mean, what man can resist that?
If you have a little bit of Ethereal you can use that when dressing for a date. Add more shine in your outfits, try Ethereal earrings or choose more flowing fabrics for your clothes.

Nancy

4/18/2018 06:03:27 am

Hi AM, I agree with Beth. Bangs might not be great on Ethereals. I think bangs in general read as Gamine or Ingenue.

Alex

4/18/2018 09:27:18 am

Thank you, Katja!

Alex

4/18/2018 09:31:56 am

All three feminine essences are age-related, and interestingly correlate with the ancient idea of maiden-mother-crone. But while Gamine is youthful masculine, neither Natural nor Dramatic seem age-related. Dramatic and Ethereal are otherworldly - as Rachel explained so beautifully in the previous post - but Ethereal also has an aged quality, while Dramatic doesn't - is that correct? Dramatic is definitely mature, but not aged the way Ethereal is. Is that because of our cultural assumptions about gender and age? But it also seems to me that both men and women tend to get a bit more Ethereal as they age...

This is all fascinating!!

Alex

4/18/2018 10:49:39 am

Another question (sorry!): it seems like essences are a combination of the recognition that people look best in lines that echo the lines in their faces, AND concepts/ideas/associations that particular lines generate. It seems like the style IDs have both - so Ethereal has both s-curves (echoing the curves found in the face) and shimmer (something we associate with otherworldliness). But...our associations are cultural, and very subjective while shapes and lines are much more objective. Is it possible to separate the two?

And, how much does personality have to do with the subjective side of it?

4/18/2018 11:48:48 am

Great points! Likewise, while I generally agree that dressing for one's actual lines and colors is not only SO much easier once you've identified them, but promotes greater appearance of health, more self-esteem, and increase in your perceived truthworthiness in the eyes of others, as you're not dressing as "something you're not," dressing for one's personality/preferences when it conflicts with the styles that suits one's lines can create a very interesting dichotomy that can be intriguing, perhaps in a slightly unsettling way. I think that is probably most relevant to films and TV where perfect lighting/makeup ensure that the impact of inharmonious colors or lines doesn't look unhealthy or just plain bad, and when the disharmonious clothing speaks to something about a character's internal conflict/wanting to be something other than what they are.

I think when it comes to dressing for one's personality, disharmonious styles away from the face, just like Winter red handbags/shoes for Soft seasons who really insist on wearing bright red, is probably best if you really love something that isn't harmonious with your lines. I think sometimes we want one part of an outfit to be a bit jarring, to be the "focus" of the look, and knowing our real lines can help us decide what part of an outfit will "stick out" from us without making us look unhealthy, constricted, or overwhelmed. Shoes are the obvious choice here. While it's not totally harmonious for me as a SA ECN, I love wearing bright red, super-flamboyant combat boots with otherwise harmonious outfits. That being said, trying to incorporate *some* of our real lines into disharmonious pieces can help to ease them into us. When I choose to honor my personality over my style ID with my shoes, I try to choose styles with some details that honor my actual lines - for instance, Ethereal celestial details/shine/lacing, Classic polish/luxe materials, and Natural practicality (flamboyant combat boots, yes, but always a block heel, never a six-inch stiletto).

I think ultimately though, dressing as we actually are helps bring our personalities to the forefront and creates less distraction for the viewer. And if you do choose something disharmonious that feels like your soul, I think your personality fills in the space and makes it work, so long as you're honoring your essences somewhat, especially near your face.

Miranda

4/19/2018 05:28:45 am

I think the idea of using words to create personal focus in style may be what helps with this, as well as "creating/avoiding the impression of." So since S-curves are associated with an otherworldly impression, if there is a detail that doesn't translate cross-culturally, then figuring out what *does* create that impression would look harmonious.
Like Rachel mentioned above, the idea of girlhood as sweet and innocent is a cultural thing. So if one were in a time or place where that was not the case, where children were considered more as a group altogether (for instance), maybe Gamine and Ingenue would be expressed similarly while keeping the childlike lines.
I might be wrong, but that seems to me how those details would be teased apart.

Rosetta

4/18/2018 11:25:16 am

I'd like to comment on this part of the article: "Almost all of us women have a mix of masculine and feminine elements in our visual appearance. Yet we are choosing clothes and accessories made for women, so they tend to be feminine choices."

Actually, by far most clothes sold for women & used by many in the Western world nowadays tend to be VERY masculine - jeans & other trousers, T-shirts, suits, all sportswear, trainers & sneakers... The list is endless! And by the same token, they make many of us look "wrong", as bad as too feminine clothing on masculine-looking women - and yet they are the "norm" everywhere nowadays. I feel especially those of us with feminine style ID's should rebellion and start wearing clothes actually suited to us, i.e. actually feminine clothes like skirts and dresses, and make them more generally accepted in the Western world :)

Becky

4/18/2018 12:33:27 pm

Very interesting post! When I was very young I noticed as much as I adored ruffly, gathered peasant blouses, they looked stupid on me. I was a tall, skinny kid with broad, sharply defined shoulders. I looked really bad in peasant styles. You have just explained it! Thank you, I love your web site.

Beth

4/19/2018 11:42:14 am

Hi! I was reading some of these interesting comments on this article. I would like to share a few personal observations. Also, I want to know that I am not the same "Beth" who previously posted; but who is full of illuminating ideas and comments.
First, as far as short hair as one ages; I am not so sure. I have read that long hair can weigh down a woman after a "certain age." Yet, I have seem many woman with gray or graying hair who look quite beautiful and right for themselves. My hair went prematurely gray. I did not or would not dye it. For one thing, too much mess! and I guess I preferred a more natural look. My hair looks better short; like a pixie. I have bangs or fringe as they call them in Britain. However, the bangs have been my trademark since my preschool days and in the pictures of school-age when I did not have bangs made me look strained, tired, and even them older than my real age. My present pixie style is loved by all it seems.
As far as gray hair being different than one's natural color as far as its features, etc. I am not quite sure if that applies to everyone. When my hair did go gray; it's texture barely changed. It's thick-ish and wavy-ish just like when I had my "natural" hair color. Actually, I noticed more texture change when I moved from a dry desert climate to a more humid Eastern climate. I did not actually realize the natural curl/waves in my hair that I seem to inherit from my great grandmother while living in the dry desert climate; but, it became more evident when I moved back East.
I think my main observation is that like in everything whether we admit it or not; it is not one size in anything fits all and that we are each uniquely made. But, I think that innate uniqueness does have a purpose; learning and helping each other to greater connectedness. Thank you.

Alex

4/19/2018 12:08:30 pm

I finally bought the Style ID Calculator, and it is amazing! I should have done it a long time ago. It turns out I've more Ethereal than I thought. I think I just assumed I couldn't have that much Ethereal because, well...I'm no Cate Blanchett, if you know what I mean! But it's interesting: people here have pointed out that Naturals look best in big friendly smiles and Ethereals look best gazing into the distance; if I take all the best photos of me taken since childhood, about half are big smiles and about half are gazing into the distance...interesting! (It's also interesting that "cute" never looked right on me even when I was a young child.) Anyway, I'm embracing Ethereal Natural as my style ID. Thank you, Rachel! Thank you all!

Katja

4/19/2018 12:44:22 pm

Congratulations, Alex! This will give you more options concerning clothes for dating. As an Ethereal Natural you can wear more feminine dresses for instance. You can also wear more jewellery and more shine.

Alex

4/21/2018 06:27:09 am

Thank you, Katja!!

Alex

4/21/2018 06:29:07 am

Rachel, I noticed some Doctor Who photos on the calculator boards. Any chance you might do a post on the style IDs of Doctor Who characters?

4/21/2018 01:18:32 pm

I keep wondering about the hair/fringe discussion on this post --

Is it that length is the issue, or is it the fringe?

If the goal is to focus on the face as the starting point for styles, then it would seem that framing the face is key. The back of the hair, the side view are secondary. Thus, some facial-framing looks could not be achieved without long hair -- for example, the EN long curls look that you have RAchel (love the new profile pic!) -- that would definitely require long hair. Romantic looks can definitely work with long hair (Jessica Rabbit hair, say) but I've also seen short, touchable curls work wonders (Elizabeth Taylor or Marylin Monroe) -- it's the detailed, curving frame that matter there, right? It seems the length is secondary. Or you've got Gwen Steffani, who's very gamine, but she works the short fringe and slicks the rest into a ponytail.

So I guess I'm thinking that some style IDs look better with long hair because the fringe-frame that most flatters needs some length, while other style IDs are best suited to a shorter, choppy fringe. But the hair in *back* of that seems like it's a separate issue?

Another example, I used to have very long hair. Best look was either pulled back to the nape of my neck with a few loose pieces coming free, or very sleekly straightened. Now my hair is short in back and on the sides, with long, wispy fringe in the front. Funny enough, on my style ID guide, the 3 hairstyles shown are exactly those 3 styles: long, long and back, short and wispy.

I'm just thinking that the framing effect on the face seems to be the critical detail. That might then influence the style (classic long hair in a neat, perfect chignon or classic short hair in a neat, perfect bob), but it might not necessarily affect the overall length in the back. So, assuming the frame is suitable, couldn't a longer or shorter length work?

On Using the Terms 'Masculine' and 'Feminine' in Style Analysis

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