I, Flamboyant Gamine (maybe…)
I’m a 50ish, whiteish, willowy femme, who lived through the 80s as a conscious presence — a weird, wild, nerdy poet-playwright and an anarcho-syndicalist — in Catholic school. You know the type.
Left San Fran via Spokane, and went to Paris in a “study abroad” program. Ended up a model-actress, and did quite well, considering the stats. 5'6" Kate Moss, often stated as a Kibbe Dramatic, was the lightning rod who illuminated the path for us quasi-shorties. As with Kate, whose agencies always added an extra 1.5–2", my agents fudged the facts, listing me at a barely-squeaking-by 5'8, when I stood 5'7 at best.
I moved into Claudia Schiffer’s old apartment, or so I was told. Maybe some of her well-deserved luck rubbed off, because in spite of a bump on my nose, some pale, marbled skin, and a pair of feet too short for my balance — casting and wardrobe were already a pill. To add insult, my walk was timid, my poses, rigid, and my demeanor, indecipherable. I wasn’t just the odd-girl-out, I was plain odd.
And now that I’m digging into the David Kibbe body types, I am still very confused about my “Kibbegory.”
Descriptors like Dramatic, Flamboyant and Theatrical denote an Eastern-derived masculine principle in his woman-analyzing system. “Wearing your lines” meant obeying the rules of the day, including those governing shapes that are no longer seen and fabrics which are no longer made. We’re all in stretch Lycra now, so we’re already wearing our lines!
DK’s now-passé, but still searchable, quiz, has yielded me not just an androgynous Flamboyant Gamine, à la Liza Minelli or Kelly Osbourne, but straight-up Gamine — a mid-road group that David has made obsolete, due to every woman having a little more Yin or a pinch more Yang. Although we think of this family as boyish, Brigitte Bardot is listed as a Soft Gamine. The intriguing part is that not only does BB have that va-va-voom that most would consider alllll woman, the Soft variety is the very shortest of the 13 types, and BB is 5'7'— so it’s complicated.
Then there’s Dramatic Classic — think Jackie O, Polly Bergen, or
Suzanne Pleshette — coming up about as frequently for me, and even Soft Natural, at times, depending on how I tweak the answers. You could call this posse Natural conjunct Romantic. Naturals would be most of your Glamazon runway models, and if Classics are the Jackies, Romantics are pure Marilyns. After a while you start categorizing every girl you see, or at least I have passed time in such head games. At least one Gamine has ended up dancing at any given Burlesque show I’ve attended.
One thing that stands out is the dearth of women of color making it in these YouTube videos or on these Pinterest lists. It’s not just about breasts, hips, upper arms, and leg lines, but hair textures, skin colors and facial features. Every single woman has a Kibbe type, not just white and white-passing gals. But it’s so difficult for most of us to see ourselves clearly in these terms, that there are self-appointed experts who will look at your pictures and take the test for you — for a couple hundo — and that’s in spite of David having rendered the measure obsolete!
You see, style identity is not just shape-pegging, and it’s certainly not about letters or fruit. Increasingly, there is more spirit added to the recipe, which is why David pieced together some insight-inspiring worksheets, available in his self-guided Strictly Kibbe Facebook groups.
Here’s Aly Art’s list. She’s a social media celeb in her own right.
Dramatics include Anjelica Huston, Faye Dunaway, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Kathleen and Lana Turner, Lauren Bacall,
Lena Horne. They are top of the Yangs.
Soft Dramatics, a hair more Yin, claim Anne Bancroft, Ava Gardner, Barbra Streisand, Christina Hendricks, and Diahann Carroll.
Flamboyant Naturals have Bea Arthur. Does that surprise you? I would have thought Dramatic, for sure!
Go on! Have a peek. You might be surprised at Who’s Who in Kibbe’s categories — or you could be dismayed that such a soulful gentleman would seek to peg every woman in a class defined by A. Bone Structure, B. Flesh, and C. Facial Features.
I can see all sides, at least all sides of the image ID issue. I can barely see any of my own — yet. Being a model has little to do with personal style.
