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Style Identities, Part III: In Which I Contradict What I Said Earlier...

5/3/2015

...about two style identities being the maximum that anyone can reasonably work with.

I have been attempting to flesh out definable archetypes for three-way style identities.

Initially, I thought it would be impossible. But I'm actually finding it very doable.

For example, I'm thinking of Romantic-Ethereal-Classic as "Elegant Aphrodite."

Other examples of three-way combo archetypes in progress:

Romantic-Natural-Classic = "Alluring L.L. Bean."
Dramatic-Gamine-Ingenue = "Girlish Punk Rocker."
Classic-Gamine-Ingenue = "Darling Prep Schooler, a.k.a. Cher from 'Clueless.' "

My Pinterest boards for each three-way combo are still secret, but I aim to make them public soon. When I do, I'll add info about the trifold combos to this site.

In total, we'll have 63 style identity options:
7 pure essences + 21 doubles + 35 triples.

Do you have ideas about particular three-essence archetypes? Share them in the comments!

Edited to add:
I've made all of the above-mentioned Pinterest boards public. You can see them here:
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/

49 Comments

Bluebell

3/3/2015 06:09:13 am

Oh, wow, I just watched Clueless last week and was thinking about Cher - ok, Classic, Ingenue, what else can she be? So I may have been close :P
It is so awesome you will be doing these! We really couldn't thank you enough (we = the readers of the blog).

Rachel

3/3/2015 07:38:58 am

Romantic-Ethereal-Classic:
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-ethereal-classic/

Rachel

3/3/2015 07:41:08 am

Dramatic-Gamine-Ingenue
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/dramatic-gamine-ingenue/

Rachel

3/3/2015 07:50:04 am

Romantic-Dramatic-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-dramatic-gamine/

Ethereal-Dramatic-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/ethereal-dramatic-gamine/

Romantic-Natural-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-natural-gamine/

Romantic-Natural-Classic
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-natural-classic/

Ethereal-Natural-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/ethereal-natural-gamine/

Dramatic-Classic-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/dramatic-classic-gamine/

Rachel

3/3/2015 07:50:28 am

I hope to share the rest soon! :-)

Chelsea

3/4/2015 07:41:02 am

Please do. :)

Chelsea

3/5/2015 04:07:54 am

Thank you so much!! :) Do you think in the future you might be able to type some R/N/I celebs??

Rachel

3/3/2015 09:41:03 am

Ethereal-Dramatic-Natural
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/ethereal-dramatic-natural/

Rachel

3/3/2015 10:09:54 am

Romantic-Dramatic-Ingenue
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-dramatic-ingenue/

Ethereal-Dramatic-Classic
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/ethereal-dramatic-classic/

Romantic-Dramatic-Classic
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-dramatic-classic/

Dramatic-Classic-Ingenue
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/dramatic-classic-ingenue/

Rachel

3/4/2015 03:15:04 am

Natural-Classic-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/natural-classic-gamine/

Natural-Gamine-Ingenue
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/natural-gamine-ingenue/

Classic-Gamine-Ingenue
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/classic-gamine-ingenue/

Rachel

3/4/2015 04:54:39 am

Romantic-Ethereal-Natural
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/romantic-ethereal-natural/

Ethereal-Natural-Classic
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/ethereal-natural-classic/

Rachel

3/4/2015 05:25:10 am

Dramatic-Natural-Gamine
https://www.pinterest.com/coloranalysis/dramatic-natural-gamine/

Amandine

3/3/2015 10:10:09 am

Hi!

I apreciate all the work you do, and can't wait to see a quizz like the one to guess your season!

For the archetype, I think I'm kind of a mix of dramatic-romantic-ingenue. It's difficult to say... in Kibbe the recomendations that work the most are the TR. (The good point is, I'm sure I have 0% of classic, natural and gamine!). So if you are inspired for a board with those 3, it would be a pleasure to look at it ; )

Rachel

3/9/2015 06:21:58 am

It's up!

Ignacia

3/3/2015 10:12:29 am

Some guesses:

Cara Delevigne - Dramatic Ethereal Gamine.
She has her D intimidating eyebrows and "harsh" facial features. She also looks very young (big forehead, turned up nose) without looking girly, which makes me think G. Yet, she can feel delicate sometimes in an E way, I think. Something about her reminds me of Clemence Poesy, but a more baby faced version.

Marina Diamandis: Natural Romantic Gamine
She has the R curvy body, and her face proportions (big forehead, big eyes, thin lips) reminds me of Gamine. She also has a big, sort of broad nose, that makes her look more N compared to other RGs.

Gwendoline Christie: Dramatic Ethereal Ingenue.
A very tall woman, but feels quite feminine. I have the feeling that E could look grat on her. I've also seen her photographed like a D, and she sort of pulls it off. And her face can look very, very sweet and I in some pictures.

Giselle Bundchen: Dramatic Ethereal Natural
I know you have her as DN in pinterest, but I always felt EN could work too, so maybe?

Sile

3/3/2015 01:06:57 pm

I'm SO EXCITED to see this! My Pinterest style board started out with one essence, than 2, and I finally settled on 3. ;) So I'm psyched to see your Ethereal Dramatic Natural board, which was the 3 I ended up picking! Also would love to see Ethereal Dramatic Ingenue, as Ingenue was the one other essence that I resonated with but wasn't quite sure about due to my height...I shall have to look up Gwendolyn Christie, whom Ignacia mentioned above...^_^

Quillet

3/3/2015 02:24:53 pm

This makes me think of enneagram tritypes.. always give me a head ache (i.e. they leave me with the feeling of having figuratively banged my head against a wall for some time). Since I'm still eagerly awaiting the post about Ethereal, I'm hoping this won't cancel it..? Maybe after that I'll be ready to contemplate a style tritype, although I'm not sure what the third'd be for me personally.. But I'll willingly admit that I find the concept fascinating :-) Of course now I'll also be looking forward to seeing the E-C-? types.. (maybe I'll get my N THIS time!! Or maybe I should just try to figure out my "style stack" instead and get it over with.. maybe N is my style "inferior function" equivalent??).
The plot thickens.

Tanja

3/4/2015 01:43:32 am

I'm so excited about this three-type idea! :D I guess, that I'm Romantic-Ethereal... but I always felt, that there seems to be a further influence. Now I can find out what component that is! Thank you so much for writing such a great blog! I visit this site everyday to see if there's a new post and I already have learned so much from the fantastic information you share with us. To find "the truth in beauty" has surely become a much-loved hobby to me. :)

P.s.: I like that you "name" the style identities. It's as if the respective style is putted in a nutshell, so I always have some kind of a "key picture" about the style I'm looking for, while there's still enough room for own interpretation.

Fil

3/4/2015 07:20:30 am

Rachel, brilliant as always! I've been enjoying this series a lot and am so glad you came to this conclusion. Back in the days of Kibbe :) I came to the conclusion I was a short(er) version of a cross between flamboyant natural and classic. Since you described your feminine types, I have also added a touch of ethereal to that. In your "tritypes" above, I would recognize myself as Ethereal Dramatic Natural, with a tendency towars Dramatic Classic Gamine and Natural Classic Gamine. What I concluded from before and now with your types also, is that if one fits a type that requires a certain height, but one is shorter or somewhat gamine or ingenue, it changes just slightly the way one would do that type. For example, I've noticed that I do front to back asymmetry better than side to side (as in a top that is slightly longer in the back than the front, as opposed to one that is longer on one side than the other) -- that is, the shorter stature of a person who is EthNatDram would require a certain move towards the symmetry of classic or the smaller scale of gamine. Does it make any sense to you? Or could it be what I'm looking for is a EthClassGam? Thanks!

Fil

3/7/2015 08:02:40 am

Hmm, NaturalClassicGamine -- very, very close to what I had in mind, something close to 'European Prep'. The ethereal bit is just a touch of flair or fluidity on top.

Chelsea

3/4/2015 07:35:31 am

how about Ingenue/Romantic/Natural?

Rosewren

3/4/2015 08:02:02 am

Hello Rachel. Thank you for doing this! Hopefully you will be able to share how to do these blends at some point. J Kitchener has typed my essences as 40R, 25N, 25C, 10 HS....so does this put me in your Romantic-Natural-Classic type? You are fab!

Melissa

3/4/2015 09:29:06 am

Does Michelle Dockery have a third type, do you think? Dramatic-Classic-what?

Sonny

3/5/2015 12:11:24 pm

Ingenue? I think she has very "girl-ish" facial features.

Katie

3/4/2015 10:37:12 am

I'm really intrigued to see you take your system in this direction, because I'm very much a tritype -- per JK, I'm 25% Romantic, 25% Youthful, and 20% Classic (with 10% each in HS/Gamine, Angelic/Ethereal, and Natural). It makes much more sense to me to expand beyond two primary types, especially as those of us with more types tend to find it so much more difficult to find our place in these systems.

Sola

3/4/2015 07:02:41 pm

Wow! Mind-blown. Just when I though it couldn't get more exciting it DID. I know I've told you before, I like the way your mind works, well this time I'll say you're a proper genius!
Giddily excited to see the rest. :)

Ragnhild

3/4/2015 08:22:02 pm

I love this! I`m so glad to see Natural - Classic - Gamine to pop up on your Pinterest board. I have thought for a long time now that might be it for me. I also like the thought presented here, that the percentage of each style identity can vary. I guess I`m somewhere around 40-50% Gamine, for instance.

I have also tried to think about celebrity examples. I`m wondering if Jean Seberg can be a candidate here. Though I guess she is dominantly Gamine too. I find it almost easier to think of blends than tho think of pure style identities.

Amandine

3/5/2015 07:40:13 am

what about

Romantic-Ingenue-Gamine
Romantic-Ingenue-Ethereal
Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine
Ingenue-Ethereal-Gamine

I wonder what's the difference between those combinations...

Tanja

3/6/2015 01:47:07 am

Wow, I would also love to know more about these combinations! Especially Romantic-Ethereal-Ingenue... and Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine.

Sally L

3/6/2015 12:43:21 pm

Fascinating! I love this!

mae

3/6/2015 04:28:03 pm

This is perfect because, when sticking with the principle of binary combination, I couldn't decide which archetypes I can successfully wear. Romantic Classic, Romantic Ethereal, Ethereal Ingenue, Ethereal Ingenue... Now that I've checked out the new boards, Romantic Ethereal Classic really clicked with me.

Sola

3/6/2015 07:14:38 pm

Hi Rachel. May I suggest Katherine Heigl for Dramatic Romantic Classic; I have proof:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/524810162803444160/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/524810162803444179/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/524810162803444499/

Dramatic: She has a sharpness to her features...
Romantic: that is softened. And though she is alluring...
Classic: it's not in-your-face, it's restrained. Messy details that look good on Naturals overwhelm her.

And may I just say that she is STUNNING. She just doesn't seem to know how to bring it out consistently, I guess.

Mary Ellen

3/7/2015 09:47:50 am

Wow! All of this is definitely mind blowing! Could it be that some of us are predominantly one type in our faces with our bodies falling into another? If so, it would seem that we would dress to suit our faces in the top half, and change style, somewhat, on the bottom. Also, Rachel, you said that our essences can change throughout our lives. Does our color season change, too, or is this a constant?

Melissa

3/7/2015 10:30:42 am

I have the same question about the face/body types. I have a ton of Dramatic in my face, but on my 5'3" body, some of the clothes look kind of strange. So what should I dress for, first and foremost?

ruby

3/13/2015 12:52:34 am

My observations of me and my friends suggest to me that you should match the level of detail, acessories and overall feel of your clothes to your facial features, but the outlines and general shapes to your body.
To give you two examples of how I have observed this working: I have a friend who is very dramatic in the face but very romantic in the body. She looks great in rather flouncy feminine shapes, e.g. a tiered flared skirt, a low cut top with frills on etc, but in rather gothy OTT styles. Despite being tiny height-wise she also looks great with a HUGE flower hair accessory, this in no way looks unbalanced on her.
As for myself I come out as DC on Kibbe questionnaires and this probably is true of my body proportions, but my facial features are much more flamboyant natural. I seem to suit the overall shapes and proportions suggested by DC but need some FN jewellery, pattern, textures or layering to look right - DC on its own is too plain and too neat for me.

Sola

3/17/2015 09:33:48 pm

@ruby. That's a very interesting way to look at things and I'm still learning. I'm busty/top-heavy and short but my face is Natural and Gamine combined and I honestly don't see any Romantic in it so should I dress ala Natural Gamine Romantic to accommodate the lines of my body or just Natural Gamine style? Thanks.
@rachel. Would you recommend the same thing? Thanks.

Melanie

3/10/2015 04:38:54 am

Hi. I'm new to this site and find it very interesting. But I'm confused. How can I determine what's my type?

Kate

3/10/2015 08:18:02 am

Just looking at your ethereal/natural/gamine board and spotting the previously radiant miss Tori Amos, who has really made a hash of things with plastic surgery. To the extent that you just want to close the browser, it's so damned depressing to see a previously unique beauty go ape*** on the botox. Not something I thought she would ever go in for!

Kate

3/10/2015 08:37:56 am

And also, finding little clues here and there in the boards and info on your blog posts...sometimes you feel you've got things downpat and then a new category comes to your attention or something...I feel I can safely eliminate Ingenue and consider that Classic, Romantic and Ethereal could only have a very small part to play indeed. Ethereal seems quite approachable initially, but am I correct in thinking that the line is very long here? So, long, supple or flowing downward movement? Definitely not working for me. Amazing how these subtle things can have such a big effect. I'm finding elimination is easier than identification. My face just doesn't give a lot away. Thank you for all your amazing efforts here!

Kathryn

3/10/2015 10:48:35 am

Hi Rachel! This is a tremendous public service you are doing. I've taken a look at your Pinterest boards, found my three top essences (which are only 5% apart!). My top two are Natural/Ethereal. (I'm sharing to illustrate how we have to be prepared to modify things.)

Personally, I found the Natural/Ethereal to be more Natural than I can take--too heavy fabrics, too rough (in a general way), prints not quite right, too much bulk waist-to-ankle in some case. I think some differences in these types occur because of how much of the essences we carry and by how far the first essence leads the second one. So I have to narrow down the bulk a little and go even smoother.

So I looked at Romantic/Ethereal. Interestingly, this was a little better for me even though Romantic is in my third place. However, my leading essence is only 30% N (yang) and the second two are 45% yin between them. So, together, they overpower my actual lead!

Loved the Soft Surroundings you chose for the mixes of Natural-Romantic-Ethereal--but likely because N is my lead, that is the reason that skirts from Soft Surroundings are often too wide (as are often pants). The overall feeling of my look is more refined than strictly Natural/Ethereal....So, now that we know something about how percentages can uphold, modify or gang up on a leading essence, we can all be prepared: Expect minor adjustments.

Monica

3/11/2015 07:57:19 am

Hi Rachel,
Would you please consider a board for Ingenue/Ethereal/Natural (Ingenue dominant and split equally between Ethereal & Natural). Also, what combination would Laura Linney be & what would be a casual outfit (with pants or jeans)? Adult Ingenue comfort style suggestions?
A billion thank yous! 🌻

Ignacia

3/12/2015 12:43:40 pm

Personally I think Laura Linney is a Natural Ingenue.
The ingenue in her is especially noticeable when she smiles (then she looks very sweet and adorable), her soft cheeks and her colouring. Her more triangular eye shape I think is common among naturals, her nose and jaw are a bit broad and her body seems athletic.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9d/cf/cf/9dcfcf3019f6cc7fbdcce024168b8365.jpg

Sola

3/12/2015 12:50:07 am

Hi Rachel.
Would you consider Noomi Rapace as Dramatic Natural Classic or just Dramatic Classic? She seems sharp and dangerous but she also seems "friendly and approachable"? What do you think?
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/524810162803524558/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/123286108521450363/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/446489750531448175/

Fil

3/16/2015 07:17:18 am

Rachel, I've been browsing through the different style identities and am amazed at how clearly you see the fine differences between the types. I am certain now I am NaturalClassicGamine. I was admitted to hospital recently and watched a lot more TV than I normally do. I think one of the Dougar sisters, Ginger, is also a Playful Prep/Posh Tomboy. Thanks for your wonderful insights!

katherine

3/20/2015 01:06:28 am

these boards are super-interesting! especially the romantic/dramatic/classic one -- I've been typed as more-or-less Theatrical Romantic and while I was secretly thrilled about it (I'd been previously convinced I was actually a soft natural and just liked the idea of being the "femme fatale" type) a lot of the clothes I see online are glittery bodycon everything and I work in a more conservative field.

as far as people that might go here -- maybe sarah brightman? she's had a lot of work done in the past few years but I'm pretty sure she's Romantic of some sort, and I would guess the more yang variety:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/347621664963825832/

Susan TW

3/31/2015 03:40:49 pm

Hi. Browsing through … is there one for classic/romantic/gamine? I'll look again

Mairead C. link

4/11/2016 04:45:04 pm

What about quadruple styles? Like a Romantic-Ethereal-Gamine-Natural? As in Gamine and Natural are equivalent but both are less present than the ethereal, with Romantic dominating?

Rachel

4/13/2016 03:35:57 pm

Hi, Mairead. Good question.

I actually have this going on; I'm primarily Ethereal Natural, but (in John Kitchener's assessment) I have 15% each of Romantic and Ingenue.

Now, neither of those portions is enough to do anything with in itself. So what I do is combine them into 30% General Feminine. (30% is a portion a person can work with, right?) I fill in gaps in my ensembles with elements that are generally feminine without being specifically sexy or sweet. That usually means curving lines and increased detail.

Another way I sometimes think of it is I use femininity as a tie-breaker. If I'm torn between two Ethereal Natural sandals, for example, I choose the more feminine sandal.

The situation you describe, I'd think of as Romantic-Ethereal-(General Masculine). So, fill in the gaps in the ensembles with masculine elements -- straight lines, more animated prints, fewer accessories. And, like I described above, use masculinity as a tie-breaker -- of two RE shirts, choose the less feminine one.

Eve

7/16/2017 05:28:28 pm

I typed %25 romantic and %25 ethereal I selected ingenue as my 3rd after looking my answers and the board reveals after the test. Thank you so much this has been incredibly helpful.

Style Identities, Part III: In Which I Contradict What I Said Earlier...

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