Style Types: The ETHEREAL

The Ethereal type embodies a variety of beauty that exists, but that most systems don't allow for: feminine beauty that's neither youthful nor sexual. 

Some systems describe the Ethereal type as the most "yin" -- a synonym often used for "feminine." But I don't think that's accurate.
 

Physically, the Romantic type -- not the Ethereal -- most closely embodies a physical form with exaggeratedly estrogenized features. So Romantic, I think, comes closest to being the most feminine type. Romantic is certainly the most womanly type.

Ethereal beauty, like Ingenue beauty, reads as distinctly feminine but not overtly sexy. Ingenues are girlish and perpetually youthful, while Ethereals are at the other end of the spectrum:  even at a young age, they have an air of great maturity and wisdom. You might use the word "ancient" to describe them, but in the sense that they seem to be old souls. It's easy to imagine that they've traveled here from a far-distant time.

Joyce Carol Oates.

Rooney Mara.

Physically, Ethereals are defined first by the curving line, as all feminine types are. But their curving line is an elongated S or oval. Their faces tend to be long and gently sculpted. 

Carolyn Bessette.

Carolyn Bessette.

Ingenues: small, neat curving lines.

Romantics: lush, generous curving lines.

Ethereals: long, cascading curving lines.

Ethereals look very much like themselves when they're looking into the distance, with a knowing half-smile or an air of distraction. One gets the impression they're actually looking inward, or seeing something others can't see.

Cate Blanchett.

Corinne Bailey Rae

Faded-looking, subtly colored hair and skin read as Ethereal, for a few reasons:

- Subdued colors suggest age, since human coloring naturally fades with age. So muted coloring helps create the ancient or timeless quality that Ethereals have.

- As objects move farther away in our vision, they appear less saturated. So people of low saturation often have the Ethereal quality of seeming to retreat or fade into the distance.

 - Misty coloring on an Ethereal contributes to the impression that she is a misty entity, only partially present on this plane. 
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Vanessa Redgrave.

Corinne Bailey Rae.

Iekeliene Stange

Look at actors who have played magical beings or figures from myth or legend, and you'll likely see people with Ethereal qualities. Casting directors know how important appearance is in communicating a character's nature.

Cate Blanchett as an elf.

Bryce Dallas Howard as a nymph.

Daryl Hannah as a mermaid.

Tilda Swinton as an angel.

Uma Thurman as a goddess.

Carol Kane as a sort of fairy-ghost.

Cara Delavingne as a mermaid.

Ethereal beauty is aesthetically appealing but not erotically appealing. It's passionless. For this reason, Ethereal women are often the women that other women find beautiful but that some straight men find weird-looking. If a rude guy has ever looked over your shoulder at a fashion magazine and asked, "Is she supposed to be pretty?" you were probably looking at an Ethereal.

Lindsay Scott.

Amanda Swafford.

Ethereal beauty is often confused with Dramatic beauty, because it's unusual-looking, and rare, and because both types tend to have long faces and frames. 

Najarra Townsend.

Riley Montana.

But Dramatic edges seem pointy, while Ethereal edges are gently rounded.  And Dramatic energy is aggressive, even threatening, while Ethereal energy is peaceful. Dramatics look ready to attack; Ethereals look as if they can maintain Buddha-like calm even if they're punched in the nose.  Dramatics feel like they're moving toward you and Ethereals feel like they're drifting away. 

Jamie Lee Curtis: Pointy. Headed right at ya. Possibly about to kick your butt.

Frances Conroy: Rounded. Drawing back from you. Very calm.

Ethereals are flattered by light-as-air fabrics, translucency, ornate detail, and anything suggesting flight, such as winged shapes or feathers. Ethereals look like themselves when they look as if they're clothed in clouds, mist, starlight, or moonbeams.

Lisa Bonet

Corinne Bailey Rae.

Cate Blanchett.

Uma Thurman.

And so ends my series on the seven basic style identities. Most people aren't a pure type, but rather a blend of two or three. If you know what looks good on you but don't know how that translates into a style identity, try the Style Identity Calculator!



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Originally published July 2015