Like April, May has been a total bust as far as personal sewing goes. I did somewhat anticipate this at the beginning of the challenge – I didn’t really expect to have a lot of personal sewing time until the end of summer, and this is turning out about the way I predicted. I am happy to report, however, that a majority of my commissioned projects are finished (yay!) which means my sewing time can return to focusing on me and my Sew Your Kibbe goals in the next few weeks. I’ve got a few mending projects outstanding, one embroidery/crafty commission, and a pair of pants that just needs a fitting. Then, the selfish sewing shall commence! I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my forever UFO, which I started back in 2016, and I really want to get back to working on that to see if I can finish it and get it off of the dressform and into the closet. Despite not being part of my original Kibbe plans, it might be my first selfish sewing project after I finish the last of my commissions.
In the meantime, here’s what’s been going on around the sewing blogosphere…
- Merriam Style’s YouTube channel continues to provide interesting Kibbe related content, though this month has focused more on color typing. However, she did post a fun guess the body type video.
- Also found some new Kibbe YouTubers. Watch Me Glow Up seems to be a Kibbe/Style Typing Focused Channel, and has already done videos on Confusions in Kibbe Typing, How to Create Optical Illusions with Clothing for those with atypical proportions among the Kibbe Types, how to Adjust Kibbe’s Makeup Recommendations, and “Essences” which she expands on in her video about Olga Brylinska’s Ethereal System that can strongly impact the perception of the Kibbe types. It looks like she is also starting a longer series looking at each etherial in depth, starting with the French etherial. This discussion has turned me on to Olga’s website, and I’ve been studying how that system corresponds to Kibbe’s. Hopefully I’ll have the time to write a post about how that system (and possible some other style systems) correspond to Kibbe. Watch Me Glow Up is a new blog/channel and doesn’t have quite the production quality of some of the more established YouTubers, but she does use both male and female examples, and the content is certainly interesting!
- Elyssa seems to be making a more general fashion/lifestyle channel, but her second video is about shopping for Kibbe recommended clothes at Target, which could be a helpful way to check out the latest trends in a non-sewing-pattern way.
- The #sewyourkibbe has even more posts on Instagram!
- Flamboyant Natural: Ann at Sew Baby News continues to make inspiring Flamboyant Natural looks!
- Natural: Sew Ruthie is looking awesome in her SWAP Stained Glass inspired collection and has started a SWAKOP Collection too, which is progressing quite nicely!
- Soft Natural: Sewing is My Happy Place shows a great way to use fabric you love even if it doesn’t match your Kibbe recommendations with her cute summer PJs!
- Dramatic Classic: Anna-Jo Sews made some awesome pull on Jalie jeans for summer!
- Classic: Over at Bobbins, Bikes, and Blades, the perfect casual Classic cardigan is seeing some progress!
If I’ve missed your posts or you would like to be included in my future Kibbe round up posts, please feel free to leave a link in the comments!
And, as always, here are my top picks for the new pattern releases for each Kibbe type. We had a lot of new pattern releases this month, but I’ve done my best to go with a Top3 for each for the month of May:
Dramatic
McCall’s 7944, New Look 6627, and Jalie 3906 (Tania). While the Jalie pattern might not be the best option for summer, it was too good to pass up. It has some great dramatic lines, while still feeling casual, yet not too casual. It could be a really great option for a fall Dramatic jacket. The McCall’s and New Look options offer some more casual looks, both of which utilize the button trend that is wildly popular this summer.
Soft Dramatic
McCall’s 7957, BurdaStyle 06/2019 #124B, and Butterick 6680. Lots of bold, sweeping drapes in these styles. These could all factor into a summer Soft Dramatic wardrobe.
Flamboyant Natural
McCall’s 7945, New Look 6625, and BurdaStyle 06/2019 #103B. There are lots of great options for Flamboyant Naturals this month; these are only a few of the more obvious unconstructed styles that work well for this Kibbe type.
Natural
McCall’s 7953, Butterick 6677, and New Look 6618. There is definitely a continuation of the unconstructed lines here, but not quite as strong as for the Flamboyant Natural. These styles really could easily work for any of the Natural subtypes as well as the main type.
Soft Natural
BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #117, Butterick 6675, and BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #105 (top). These all have some waist definition, but also an unconstructed Natural vibe. I think the Butterick pattern would be a great option for a more casual summer wedding or graduation, whereas the jacket could be part of a more casual summer wardrobe.
Dramatic Classic
McCall’s 7949, Jalie 3900 (Charlotte), and BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #128. There are lots of summer dresses in these releases, but this McCall’s pattern really allows for use of dramatic elements with the fabrication, while still having a Classic silhouette. It would definitely be very casual for a Dramatic Classic, but I feel like casual Dramatic Classics looks can sometimes be hard to find. The Charlotte has some nice sharpness to the lines, but is still soft enough to be suitable for a Classic. Meanwhile, the Burda dress is a bit more elevated look, but is a great Plus option for a Dramatic Classic who needs something a bit fancier.
Classic
New Look 6623, Butterick 6690, and McCall’s 7950. All of these have really minimal Classic lines, but with just enough detail to make them all feel special in a Classic wardrobe.
Soft Classic
McCall’s 7951, Butterick 6684, and Butterick 6674. The Soft Classic silhouette is really evident with these styles, as is the subtle soft detailing that adds the touch of yin a Soft Classic needs.
Flamboyant Gamine
New Look 6619, BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #108B, and New Look 6622. These styles all have the higher necklines and cropped cuts that a Gamine needs. The New Look dress is great because it can easily be used with color blocking to get that Gamine effect.
Gamine
McCall’s 7947, BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #101B, and BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2019 #108A. A bit more of a mix of yin and yang elements here to get the Gamine styles. The jacket from Burda is so good I had to use it for both Flamboyant and regular Gamine options!
Soft Gamine
McCall’s 7946, McCall’s 7956, and Butterick 6676. There are a lot of Soft Gamine looks in this month’s releases! These are only some of my top picks, but I think Soft Gamines who go back and look at all of the May pattern releases will find a lot that they could happily add to their pattern stash.
Theatrical Romantic
New Look 6615, BurdaStyle 06/2019 #102 (skirt), and McCall’s 7952. I tried to find a mix of formal and casual looks, and I think this is a nice mix. The McCall’s dress would clearly be a Level 1 (casual) on a Theatrical Romantic (possibly for a day at the beach?), whereas the New Look dress is definitely worthy of being a Level 3 (formal) style. The pencil skirt is a nice medium option, that could work for any outfit depending on fabrication and styling.
Romantic
Butterick 6682, McCall’s 7958, and McCall’s 7954. Obviously 50’s Retro reprints are going to be fantastic for the Romantic types. The crop top and dress options also work well with Kibbe’s recommendations for Romantic styles.
And that’s it! If you’ve found any other great Kibbe related content to share or have any updates on your own Sew Your Kibbe challenges please feel free to drop a line in the comments!
Doctor T Designs 
So here’s a question for you: do you think your Kibbe can change? In my late 20s/early 30s, I think I was definitely in romantic territory, with a touch of dramatic. Now I’m in my early 40s (and a mom to 2 preschoolers), and I feel like I’m more of a natural. Partly because the right of putting on anything constricting is just exhausting. All I want is comfy clothes. My body did change a little after having kids, but is it possible that my mental attitude has also shifted my Kibbe?
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I don’t think your Kibbe type changes over time, but I definitely think personal style can. As I age I’m also much less inclined to wear tighter fitting styles, but it doesn’t really fundamentally change what looks good on me. I think what’s happened is that I’m more willing to explore options that meet the comfort + style needs, instead of sticking to the same formula I always used when I was younger. My body hasn’t really changed though; I still have pretty thick/wide bones and very soft features. Where the softness is located seems to be migrating a bit, but the Kibbe determination (bone structure and fleshiness) haven’t fundamentally changed. I have been recently reading about the idea of Etherials which overlay the Kibbe types (I plan to do a write up of this later), and I think it is quite possible that these sorts of influences might be more or less prevalent at different times of life. It seems people can have multiple Etherials, and this can allow people to create very different looks for themselves, while still staying the same Kibbe type.
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I read somewhere – maybe here? – that Kibbe type is easiest/best determined around your late 20s/early 30s because your face and body have reached their fully mature forms but have not yet started shifting (out, down, etc) due to age. I used photos of myself at that age to ID myself as Dramatic Classic. I’m pretty sure that your early 40s is still well within typing range, however. Now if I had tried to ID myself today at age 60 I might have been misled into saying Natural. In fact I would think that’s fairly common as gravity turns many of us into rectangles. But even as my face sinks and squares off, the underlying symmetry (Classic) and sharpness (Dramatic) are still there. And if I allow myself to dress completely into the Natural styles (because like you I’m all about the comfort) I get completely swamped. So I know I haven’t somehow morphed into a Natural!
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I haven’t got much done Kibbe-wise because I’m working on my second neutral which is taupe. It is hard to find anything less inspiring than taupe. I just have 3 pieces to do but it’s hard to sit down and just sew taupe, taupe, taupe. Blah.
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Taupe really isn’t the most inspiring color is it 🤔
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Really appreciate the top picks for each type! Hope you can get some sewing time back soon; the year is going by so fast.
Question: What patterns would you pick for each Kibbe type for vacations?
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Hmmm… guess it depends which kind of vacation… 🤔. Maybe I could do a post on things like bathing suits and shorts, etc. that might be good for vacations but aren’t in the original recommendations.
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Would love your take on that!
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Thanks for the link to Olga Brylinska – that’s a rabbit hole I may never climb out of! Yay! It looks like it will be very helpful in further narrowing down the styles within Kibbe type, but there are sooooo many etherials to consider. Good thing I have the week off!
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Yes, I’m going to try to do a summary post on that this month, but it’ll take me a while to wrangle it all!
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No matter how much I try, I wouldn’t know which one my Kibbe type is . But I really dont look like any of the women in the Dramatic Classic category.
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Love your roundups.
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Thanks!
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Soooo interesting..
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