Iāve been a slave to fashion all my life. I loved wearing fashionable items that I felt looked good on me.Ā
The thing is though, not everything did feel good on me.Ā
A person knows when theyāre wearing something that makes them feel good.
They feel lighter, it affects their mood and how they face the world.Ā
So, a few years after the birth of my daughter and in search of style, I plucked up the courage to purchase a Kibbe body types style consultation with Merriam Style.Ā
Iād already done some reading about the body types so had an idea as to which one I could be.Ā
All photos, bar the really old one, were taken in the last four years. The one of me in black shorts was taken late last year. This is one of the photos that I sent Merriam.
Please do not lift these photos from the blog.
A person knows when theyāre wearing something that makes them feel good.
Who Is Merriam Style?
Merriam is a Youtuber that blogs about style and how to look and feel good. She touches upon body types and colour theory.Ā She no longer does Kibbe analysis but has her own take on body typing.Ā
Background About Me And My Body
Name ā Nelly but mostly referred to as āmummyā these days.Ā
Age ā Erm, thirties!
Body size ā UK 10-12, US 8, EU 38
Measurements āĀ As of the 6th February 2021:
Height ā 5ā4 ā 164 cm (this did say 5ā5 but Iāve since measured myself as opposed to guessing)
Bust ā 34ā³ around the middle of bust
Waist ā 27ā³
Hips ā 40.5ā³
Iām a mother of dragons. Well, they might as well be because Iāve got three biological children(two teens and a four-year-old) as well as two teen step-children.Ā
My weight has fluctuated quite a bit over the years but the one thing that has been constant has been my thighs.
I tend to gain weight on my thighs, stomach, upper arms and my cheeks get rounder.
My Style Over The Years
Where do I start? One of the styles that I always come back to is a cross between punk chic and the āTeddyĀ Girlā look.
I love ties, skinny jeans,blouses and shirts, biker boots and leather jackets. Iāll throw in sweaters with gamine collars.Ā
Recently though, Iāve been wearing dresses more. Iāve put weight on since the birth of my daughter and dresses made me feel less squashed.
I still wear the odd pair of jeans though, especially because of winter.
Oh, and Iāve dabbled with the natural look too!
Iām on a mission to lose weight so that I can get back to the woman I used to be.
She was not just a mother. Hence the reason for this blog.Ā I want to help other women to find themselves.
My Kibbe Body Typing
Below youāll find an email I received from Merriam with the contents of my ID analysis.Ā
Youāll have some commentaryĀ as we go along with my final opinion of my body type.Ā Ready? Letās go!
Hi Nelly,
I think youāre a romantic! Hereās how Iād answer the body types test for you:
Skeleton: Yin Dominant
Vertical line: E
Shoulders: E
Arms and legs:E
Hands and feet: E
Body (flesh): Mixture of Yin and Yang
Overall shape: C
Bust line: A ā > C
Waistline: B
Hipline: D
Flesh: E
Facial Bones: Yin Dominant
Facial bones: yin dominant
Cheekbones: A
Nose: E
Jawline: D
Eyes: D
Lips: E
Cheeks: D
Total:A+B: 3C: 2D+E: 10
Why These Answers
Let me go through and discussĀ why I chose the answers that I did, and then discuss why I chose theatrical romantic specifically for you.
First, your skeleton is primarily yin dominant. Your vertical line is short, that is, you look short and small, so I chose answer D.
Your shoulders are sloped, answer E. Your arms and legs are a bit shorter, and also have a bit of a wider bone, but remember, because they are short, they are yin, answer E.
Your hands and feet are the same way, shorter and wider bones, the most yin answerĀ E.
Your bodyās flesh is primarily mixed between yin and yang. Your overall shape reads as moderate, not particularly straight or hourglass, so I chose answer C.
Your bust line reads as taut, but slightly tending toward moderate, so I noted answer A tending toward C. Your waistline reads as athletic, answer B, and your hipline reads as soft, answer E.
The flesh on your arms and legs is also quite soft, answer E.
Your facial bone structure is primarily yin dominant also. Your cheekbones read as sharp and structured, answer A.
Your nose is soft and has some rounded shapes, answer E, and your jawline reads as tapered, answer D.
Your facial feature are all yin dominant. Your eyes are rounded and slightly upturned, answer D, your cheeks are soft, answer D, and your lips are full, answer E.
So why romantic? Well for you, itās simple. You have primarily answer D+E for your bone structure.
The five main types are divided into their bone structures, not into their fleshāthat is, romantics have romantic bones, dramatics have dramatic bones, etc. You have romantic bones, answer D+E both to your facial bone structure and to your skeleton. You might have considered that you arenāt romantic because you donāt have an exaggerated hourglass figure like Marilyn Monroe or Beyonce.
But thatās not what makes either you, or them, romantics. What makes all three of you romantic is your short and small bones with minimal sharpness, all short and small and rounded lines.
It doesnāt matter if you have some answer A or B flesh, because this flesh sits on a small and rounded skeleton, and the skeleton and bones shape the flesh.
I would also recommend taking a look at Mila Kunis, TR with an answer B waistline.
āāā
Here are some Romantic line recommendations:
Romantics look amazing in short, rounded lines, with fittedness at the cuffs, waist, and hemlines, and with flowing lines, provided that they arenāt too unconstructed (too natural). They also look amazing in lightweight fabrics, that fit a bit loosely (not too tight so that the fabric has some flow to it), with some gathers.
Romantics also look amazing with an excess of detail, but at the same time, this doesnāt mean that you must always look super glamorous all the time. A touch of glamour is all thatās needed for a casual look, and even some more glamorous hair with some rounded edges, and a casual top with a rounded neckline, with pants fitting and cropped at the ankles would be enough to look wonderful as a romantic! No need for extremely over the top looks, but at the same time, if you want to, you are the type that can pull this off!
Bright colors are great, as well as soft pastels and sparkles. Patterns are great if they are softened and not overly defined or animatedāoversized watercolor patterns are lovely. And overall looks are best when they are blended together in colors and textures, for an ensemble look. For example, avoid breaking up your silhouette with a very dark bottom, and light top, or vice versa (this color contrast would break up your lines, and itās more for gamines).
Also avoid mix and match looks like a dress with sneakers (also for gamines), and avoid anything thatās too angular or sharp (although in my opinion, romantics can look quite cute in an oversized blazer for example, which would look more like they are wearing their boyfriendās or husbandās blazer, which can certainly be a nice look if youāre interested in that)!
Avoid harsh colors like black, or one long line of the same color (colors should be blended, but not too contrasting, not too similar to the point where itās one long line, but not too different so that they create too much contrast).
Romantic lines are pretty easy to explain in a succinct way because they donāt have an undercurrent, and theyāre also relatively well understood, so I will stop here, but please let me know if you have any questions at all in your complimentary email!
Hair and Make Up:
Romantics look amazing when their hair has a soft surface to mimic the softness of their body type, and also is well manicured with some rounded edges. They also look amazing if they have some layers around the face to add softnessāalways a soft texture to the hair, whether itās straight or curly, and some rounded shapes. I find that some people think itās necessary to heat style your hair as a romantic to create curls. I personally donāt think so!
There are lots of ways to create some rounded shapes in your hair even if you style it straight. You could wear your hair straight in a half up/half down look to create some rounded edges, or other hairstyles that are intricate in some romantic braids, or a soft up-do or bun with some soft strands of hair taken out to frame the face would also look lovely.
Avoid overly stiff hair, messy hair, pixie cuts, and angular haircuts. Also avoid looks that have very oversized shapes like Sophia Lorenās hair because this is more for Soft Dramatics. If you curl your hair, better to have small-medium sized curls like Marilyn Monroeās.
Make up is best when itās blended without any harsh lines, and glowy or sparkly. Overly matte looks can be tiring. Glossy lips are amazing, fresh colors, watercolor-blended. As well as sparkly eye shadows. Liner and lashes are best when they have very thin delicate lines. For example, delicate liner, or a mascara application that separates the lashes for a very dainty look (not clumpy)! Avoid harsh lines, matte dark colors, or too many neutralsāall can be a bit tiring or a tiny bit boring on any Romantic!
āā-
I also wanted to add that you have some ingenue essence, that is, you look cute, so you might have considered soft gamine. I think you simply have ingenue essence, but you donāt have enough yang to your bone structure to be a soft gamine. You could take a look at Christina Ricci, who is ingenue and also a romantic.
But also remember that essence here isnāt like body type, you donāt have to wear ācuteā things to look put together, but if you donāt work with your native set of lines (either following your lines or intentionally creating some effects by using other typeās lines), then it could look separate from you. And essence is a certain styleāingenue is cute. But body type is a set of linesāit can be made to be cute, sexy, edgy, elegant, or casual.
So think of ingenue as another dimension of your style that you can include or completely omit based on what you want.
And to include ingenue elements in your own lines, go for soft bows, colors like pink and peach, and frillsā¦.things that we consider cute as a society basically.
But still in romantic linesāthat is, lightweight fabrics, soft and rounded shapes, waist definition. But again, the ingenue style is just a styleāitās completely āoptionalā and if you donāt go for it, you will still look amazing in your romantic lines!
Please let me know if you have any questions at all!
Merriam
Heather says
You look lovely but didnāt you mean to put a busy measurement of 37 not 27? I could be wrong here but you look more hourglass than pear really.
Heather says
You look lovely but didnāt you mean to put a bust measurement of 37 not 27? I could be wrong here but you look more hourglass than pear really.
Womanology says
Hi Heather, thanks for the heads up! Yup,Youāre right, there was a typo. Iāve corrected it with the correct measurements as of the 6th feb 2021. Iād love to be a romantic. The trouble Iām having is that Iām comparing myself to celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Beyonce and some of the women on Strictly Kibbe and I donāt feel as lush as they look.
Iām quite comfortable wearing Yin clothing so thatās not where my resistance lies. It lies in being in my 30s and still being asked for ID when buying alcohol. It lies in being asked if my parents are home when I open the door. Iāve got a few Romantic outfits that Iāll try on a post photos of. Iām going full-blown romantic.š¬š
Haze says
Just so I can understand , Merriam typed you as a Romantic not a Theatrical Romantic right?
Womanology says
Hi Hazel! The text is exactly as Merriam wrote it. All I did was copy and paste it. This is part of why I thought I was a theatrical romantic and not a romantic. I willingly accepted her writing TR because looking at the verified Romantics, Iām not full- looking. Not like them. Iām not busty. Not like the line drawings I kept seeing on Strictly Kibbe.
I resisted not because I didnāt want to be a romantic but because I couldnāt see myself like them. I felt inadequate. I had K.B.I.S ā Kibbe Body Imposter Syndrome. (Yup, thatās what I call it!)
Since my last self analysis post, Iāve taken David Kibbeās advice to stop comparing myself to others and and that lodestars are just that- lodestars. Iāve stopped overthinking. I can see my āromantic-nessā more and I love what I see.
Thank you for your comment.Itās appreciated!