👙Find Your Best Lines: The Body Matrix
I woke up at 5.30 in the morning with an idea that just could not be slept on. I have thought of a framework for finding your best silhouettes. I have felt for a while there are a couple of gaps in the Kibbe system, or, at least, elements he doesn't prioritise that I would. I have been feeling recently that there are some body types which aren’t represented in other systems, and the style advice given to them would be ineffective. I am so excited to share my thoughts with you!
What you will learn today…
👈 Style Framework: The Body Matrix
👖 How to dress for your body matrix type
🌈 How can you be sure you are right on your typings?
Framework: The Body Matrix
In each outfit there are three dichotomies:
wide vs medium vs narrow
short vs medium vs long
straight vs medium vs round
The idea is to make the process of finding your best silhouettes simpler and more intuitive. For example, my lines are narrow + short + round (NSR). My mum is medium + short + straight (MSS).
If you are in the middle, try as hard as you can to lean one way or another, for example, I know I feel slightly short, so short is the best fit - you don’t have to be extreme of any of the categories. If you feel completely in the middle, choose medium e.g. narrow + medium + straight. There are 27 combinations of body lines.
If you are unsure, trace an outline of your frame in procreate and note down what you see
How to dress for your body matrix type
Dressing for your type involves echoing your features in your clothing.
Your width is reflected in your necklines, sleeves/hems and accessories
Your length is reflected in the length and size of pieces
Your shape is reflected in the shape of the pieces
If you circled ‘wide’, you would wear necklines, sleeves/hems and accessories which are…
flared
open
wide
flowing
chunky
If you circled ‘narrow’, you would wear necklines, sleeves/hems and accessories which are…
closed
narrow
sharp
cinched
little
If you circled ‘long’, you would wear pieces which are…
long
large
If you circled ‘short’, you would wear pieces which are…
short
small
If you circled ‘straight’, you would wear pieces which are…
straight
structured
stiff
geometric
pointed
If you circled ‘round’, you would wear pieces which are…
round
soft
open
lush
curvy
hourglass
If you are 'medium’ for any of the dichotomies, you would wear pieced which are…
medium
moderate
balanced
even
simple
In other words, if you sit medium, slap-bang in the middle between wide and narrow, you would have neckline which are neither particular open nor closed, in other words it would be moderate and even
WEEKLY CURATION
👠 YouTube - How to Recreate 80s Style in a Modern Way by Lydia Tomlinson | I am totally obsessed with the 1980s and I think Lydia did an amazing job at modernising these trends for the 2020s
🐰 TikTok - Should we be wearing fur? by Mina Le | Mina’s take on the fur debate is one I really agree with, but I also love how she is really respectful of how others might feel about it. Mina is a vintage collector and
☕️ TikTok - what Jane and beryl wear | an absolutely hilarious, flamboyant duo in London drinking tea in the freezing cold looking fabulous
👞 Reels - Parker York Smith | I am still completely obsessed with watching parker’s reels, his videos are such beautiful quality and I am going to learn how to do that from him if it is the last thing I do
🤍 Check out our Style Scholars community
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Weekly exclusive livestreams: workshops, Q&As, case studies
Resources: notion templates, exercises and challenges
Community: learn from each other, share your outfits and your learnings
Check out the Style Scholars community HERE
New Uploads:
🥾 YouTube - How Hyper-Practical Basics Will Transform Your Style | You are focusing on the wrong basics! By being more intentional about the practical items you buy like you walking coat, your work bag and your summer sandals, your style will have the biggest improvement it has ever seen.
🎀 Reel - I chatted with Zooey Deschanel about her Kibbe type | Zooey has such iconic Flamboyant Gamine style, and I told her so over on Instagram and she actually replied!
🎸 Reel - How do you dress edgy and feminine at the same time? | I am trying to make more styling videos to put these concepts into practise
👗 Reel - My Mrs Maisel-inspired 50s evening outfit | Can I be the most overdressed person at a restaurant? Absolutely yes
Ask Me a Question!
This week’s question comes from Sidney, thank you so much! She asks…
‘Is there ways to double check what your colors, body type or essence are? I’ve figured generally what I might be. But I don’t want to go out and buy a ton of stuff only to find out I’m like a soft natural not a soft gamine or something like that. Cause sometimes it’s hard figuring out this stuff for yourself. So any advice for double checking in some kind of way?’
Ultimately, it’s something that just takes time. Like with most things in life, there isn’t really a simple, quick answer! The best way is a little trial and error. If you haven’t looked at my advice in this blog post on the L.O.N.G Method (read here), I really recommend that - essentially this breaks down the steps to findingyour types into: learn about them, get objective about your features, narrow down and follow your gut. I think it’s important to remember there isn’t some devine answer; we’re not fortune telling here. All we can do is use them as tools to get closer to your best lines, so have a practise in the shop trying on different lines together and seeing how you feel, doing different types of line drawing, defining your features in more depth. It should never feel like just a guess based on the surface level. I would suggest that you don’t rush into buying a ton of stuff anyway, even if you are 100% sure, you should always start with what you own, seeing what aligns with your guidelines and what doesn’t, then what feels good and why. The testing should start at your home long before you go to any shops!
I would love to use this newsletter to get to know you guys a little and create a little community of style fanatics! This newsletter is a great opportunity to answer some of your biggest questions.
If you would like to submit one you can do so using the button below:
Until next time…
Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter. I post every Friday at 4pm. I am on a mission to make this the best style newsletter in the world, but I need your help. If you have enjoyed today’s newsletter, please share a link with a friend you think might like it to. And if this is your first time reading Curate Yourself, subscribe using the button below ;)
Ellie-Jean x
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