Fashion as Self-Expression
It’s been almost a year since I began exploring my Kibbe body type, color season analysis, and Kitchener essence, all in an effort to discover my personal style. It’s funny how, right in the middle of this journey, I became pregnant, which interrupted the second phase of my style development. The first phase of any personal style journey is unlearning—especially for women. The second phase is experimenting.
I was thoroughly enjoying experimenting with clothes in my closet and shopping with my newfound knowledge, but my baby bump has made it a bit harder to practice what I’ve learned so far. So, I decided to put the experimenting on hold until after the fourth trimester and return to the first phase: unlearning.
The unlearning phase is all about shedding unhealthy and unhelpful concepts we’ve absorbed about our bodies, fashion, and style.
One of the reasons I’m such a strong advocate for the Kibbe system is that it gives us the language to understand our bodies from an objective perspective. His work encourages us to focus on our unique body design rather than obsess over what we wish were different. He offers suggestions on fabrics, proportions, and cuts that enhance the beauty we already possess—and I love that.
Before starting this personal style journey, I had a distorted view of my body. I compared myself to the supermodels on magazine covers, who I now realize likely had a Kibbe Dramatic, Soft Dramatic, or Flamboyant Natural body type. I’ve always had curves, but I confused having curves with being overweight. Now, I know my curves are a sign that I belong to the Kibbe Romantic family, and it has nothing to do with my weight. I couldn’t figure out why, no matter how many stores I shopped at, I never looked like the models on screen or the mannequins in stores. The conflicting information about my body made me judge it as wrong and unfit.
However, after a year of learning about Kibbe, Kitchener, and color seasons, I can honestly say I feel much more confident in my body and excited about my future personal style. Dare I say, these style tools have even helped me love my pregnancy body—something I didn’t expect.
Once I found a style system that helped me truly understand my body, I realized that fashion isn’t meant to conceal, fix, or hide. Fashion isn’t designed to make me feel uncomfortable just to look beautiful. I finally understood that fashion isn’t supposed to change my body; it’s a vehicle to help me express my personal style. But how can I use fashion the way it was intended if I can’t see my body objectively, recognize the colors that harmonize with my complexion, or tap into my own essence?
Ultimately, I want to be fully expressed, and I think that’s the point of this personal style journey—not just fashion, but true self-expression.
