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A few years ago, I became fascinated with figuring out my Kibbe bang out.
photo: Mattias Edwall
But I soon discovered that Romantics were strictly capped at 55, and alas, I am 57.
KibbesMetamorphosiscategorizes 13 body types along a yin-yang continuum, assigning each an image identity meant to guide personal style.
Theres a junk food side to it and a whole meal side to it, she says.
Kibbe himself, now in his seventies, remains both the systems prophet and its greatest mystery.
He insists that he is not classifying body types at all, but something deeperstyle identities, image archetypes.
Yet even his most devoted followers struggle to articulate exactly what that means.
The result is a framework that offers both the thrill of self-discovery and the frustration of an unsolvable puzzle.
Copies sold forhundreds of dollars, its scarcity only adding to its mythic appeal.
Would this finally be the book that unlocked the mystery of my throw in?
But as I opened the book, I was struck by the sheer datedness of the images.
A cream-color shirt dress with lace overlay and three-quarter-length sleeves that recalls a mother-of-the-bride outfit from decades past.
And this is coming from someone who sincerely loves this system.
Yet amid the backlash, there are defenders too.
Arruda, who recently interviewed David Kibbe for herpodcast Style POV, sees value in the new book.
She notes thatMetamorphosiswas written in a different era, with limited fabric choices and access to styles.
Today, we have so much ability to try new clothes.
If you want a specific thing, its one click away.
That wasnt true in the 1980s, she explains.
For those who connect with the book, this emphasis on self-reflection is where it succeeds.
They will be the ones to continue shaping it in the years to come.
