After conducting many body type, essence and style analyses, I’ve noticed that our unique qualities can fall victim to simply getting tallied up and categorized to fit some sort of predetermined persona. And although I do think this is one way to approach style, in my experience a more holistic approach seems to yield more organic results.
“The name given to each type was chosen to suggest to the general impression given by the particular characteristics described and should be considered more as an adjective or modifier than as an absolute noun. It is possible and more probable that an individual will possess some ingenue or gamin qualities than that she would be a typical gamin or ingenue, limited to only one type of dress. However, in any attempt at analysis or comparison it is helpful and even essential to have some norm as a standard for comparison. The six types are intended to serve this purpose, showing gradations from two extremes, suggesting how becoming clothes may be adjusted to relate to individual differences.”
-Art and Fashion In Clothing Selection
So, as a part of my services there are no tests or checklists per-se…..my process is a bit more intuitive and uses McJimsey’s viewpoint of yin/yang as an outline, rather than hard rules to be followed. This allows me to give you a fully custom and limitless analysis; which is what makes it personal to you. I look to see how your features interrelate to each other. And I clearly communicate my findings by offering a variety of detailed style and body type analysis reports. A consistency that I’ve found is that some individuals will usually have very identifiable characteristics of one archetypes. And in rare cases an individual will fully represent/embody all characteristics of one of the 6 main archetypes. But I want to make it clear that most individuals are a very unique balance of yin and yang. I also want to point out that I take a great deal of consideration into analyzing facial features. In my opinion it’s a significant part of the greater whole, has a swaying influence on your overall harmony and offers some insight into your essence…..after all, they do say that our eyes are the window into the soul, don’t they..? 😉
Below is a brief outline of the 6 main archetypes (originally outlined by McJimsey) as well as a sliding scale of essence characteristics to give you a better idea of my preferred yin/yang spectrum metric.
A Simplified Description of Each Archetype (Physical)
Dramatic (Yang): Long vertical line, angular frame, appears mature/dignified
Natural (Casual Yang): Bone structure is larger/blunted, width at shoulders, soft rectangular shapes, appears casual
Classic (Balanced): Balanced, proportionate, blended, moderate vertical line, appears
Romantic: Rounded figure, medium to smaller frame
Gamin: small in stature, compact, appears youthful
Ingenue: Petite, delicate bone structure, small circular lines, appears youthful
