You’re a Soft Gamine if your position on the Yin and Yang scale is a combination of Yin and Yang opposites but with extra Yin. Meaning, your answers to the Kibbe body type test are nearly an equal mixture of A & E with several D answers. If you think you’re a Soft Gamine, this article will help. Here’s how to dress a Soft Gamine Kibbe body type.
What makes a Soft Gamine?
In a nutshell, a Soft Gamine is a Gamine with a little bit of extra Yin. Being a subcategory of Gamine, she’s nearly a mixture of extreme opposites: Romantic (answers E) and Dramatic (answers A), only the Romantic side is a little more dominant than her Dramatic.
Note: Confused about which aspects are Yin and which are Yang? This article will explain with visual examples: Yin vs Yang Examples of Kibbe Types.
Here’s a table showing a Soft Gamine’s Yin-Yang balance:
| YIN | YANG | |
| Height | petite | |
| Size | Delicate and small… | |
| Skeleton/ Bone Structure | …yet slightly broad and angular. | |
| Shape | rounded, curvy, soft | |
| Body Flesh | Yin dominant: curvy and fleshy | |
| Facial Flesh | rounded, saucerlike eyes, fleshy cheeks, full lips | |
| Facial Bones | slightly sharp or strong jawline |
Soft Gamine visual examples
Note: Just because two ladies are both Soft Gamines doesn’t mean they should look exactly the same.
Note: The following descriptions are merely general outlines and not meant to 100% describe a Soft Gamine down to her very last detail. A slight deviation from these descriptions is always possible and should not be worried over as long as the overall outline meets the Yin and Yang balance of a Soft Gamine (a nearly equal mixture of Yin and Yang but with a little extra Yin in Body Flesh and Facial Features).
Skeleton (Bone Structure):
- under 5’5″ height
- delicate and small, yet slightly broad and angular
- angular edges, particularly through the shoulders (square or tapered)
- small hands and feet (may be slightly wide or fleshy)
- arms and legs tend to be shortish (in proportion to height)
Body Flesh (bust, waist, hips, thighs, upper arms):
- soft, curvy body (tends toward fleshiness)
- curved bustline and hips with some natural waist definition
- arms and legs tend to be soft and fleshy, particularly through the hip and thigh areas
Facial Features (facial flesh and bones):
- delicately broad facial contours (nose, cheekbones, and jawline– which may have extra bits of angularity)
- doll-like facial features (saucer-eyes, round and fleshy cheeks, full lips)
- facial shape may be very rounded and it can have a slightly sharp or slightly strong jawline
When overweight, a Soft Gamine’s body tends to get very rounded, since the weight collects mainly in the bust and hip areas. Also, the arms and thighs may get very soft while the face tends to become quite fleshy. (It is common for Soft Gamines to “feel” overweight, even when they aren’t, due to the extreme round shape of the body paired with the short limbs.)
A Soft Gamine will NOT:
- be tall
- have a sharp bone structure (Dramatic)
- have a large or broad bone structure (Natural)
- have a rail-thin or extremely straight body type (Dramatic)
- be symmetrical in body type, bone structure, or facial features (Classic)
Kibbe-verified Soft Gamine celebrities
- Halle Berry
- Winona Ryder
- Reese Witherspoon
- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
- Octavia Spencer
- Linda Ronstadt
- Judy Garland
- Cyndi Lauper
- Leslie Caron
- Eartha Kitt
- Sally Field
- Clara Bow
- Debbie Reynolds
Soft Gamine Style Guide: How to Dress
To dress a Soft Gamine, your goal is to gracefully follow your own Yin-Yang balance which is Gamine with extra Yin. If this sounds confusing, the tips below should give you a good foundation as to how.
Before reading further though, please know that you should NOT focus on each piece of the outfit but on the outfit’s overall look. Remember, the approach needs to be holistic. Your torso is connected to your lower body and vice versa, as with your clothing to your makeup and accessories.
1. Honor your Gamine first, then Romantic second.
Always remember that you are a Gamine first and foremost. While you definitely should honor your extra Yin, you wanna do it in small doses to crisply soften the overall effect of your Gamine foundation (combination of opposing energies).
Maintain the balance that comes from your Gamine’s opposing forces then add the extra Yin touches through your hair, accessories, and makeup. The following tips will help you accomplish this.
2. Keep your edges sharp while your shape rounded.
To honor the primary part of you that’s Gamine, opt for fitted pieces that keep close to the body (as opposed to softly flowing) since they highlight your Yin.
To honor your Yang, keep the edges of your outfit sharp. You can do this by wearing:
- nips and tucks at the hemlines
- pieces that are sharply tailored at the shoulders
- tapering at the cuff, collar, and knee or in detail such as pleats, plackets, and lapels.
To honor your extra Yin undercurrent, always keep a well-defined waist to gracefully follow your curvy Body Flesh.
3. Short and broken vertical lines are better than long ones.
If you think that looking tall is always the ultimate outfit when dressing up, think again. It’s definitely not the case for a Soft Gamine. All types of Gamines look their best with short, broken, and staccato vertical lines. While Dramatics should always maintain a long vertical line to honor their strong Yang, a Soft Gamine looks her best with short, broke, and staccato lines.
Therefore, don’t hesitate to break your lines. Feel free to wear different colors with your top and bottom. Color blocking is always a great option for you while wearing unbroken, long vertical line is something you should be wary of as it goes against your petite stature and height.
This doesn’t mean you should avoid long outfits though. For instance, you can easily break the long vertical line of a long outfit with a belt, color blocking, or an artful use of print and details to cut out the monotony.
4. Keep your accessories lightweight and delicate.
Another way to honor your Yin is through your use of accessories. Keep them lightweight and delicate, with crisply rounded shapes and ornate touches for animation. Lots of detail in your look captures your electric energy while clean lines and monochromatic color are simply boring on you. When shopping for accessories, keep the following in mind:
- pop-art pins and earrings
- jewelry with big, bright beads
- multicolored splashes particularly evident in trim (belts, collars, cuffs, piping, buttons, waistbands, etc.)
5. Don’t shy away from prints but…
Like any Gamine, a Soft Gamine can flawlessly pull off an ensemble with abundant, crisp prints. However, unlike Flamboyant Gamine, a Soft Gamine should keep the shape of the prints rounded and circular to keep up with her extra Yin.
Usually, color-contrast or outlined prints are most evocative on you. You’re also one of the few who can effectively mix different prints together. While this is slightly off on someone else, a mix of prints looks chic and elegant on you.
6. Keep your hairstyle soft, short, and rounded.
A Soft Gamine’s hairstyle is best when the cut is asymmetrical in shape with added layering or soft waves or curls. It should be short, sassy, and soft at the same time. Again, to honor your extra Yin, the shapes should be curved, rounded or softened in outline by lots of feathering. Unlike a pure Dramatic, sleek or geometric styles are not for you unless you want to look tired and matronly.
7. Keep the details lively and animated.
An excess of detail particularly in the area of trim is one of the most important ways to express the vivacity in your appearance.
- Shoulders should be crisp and slightly padded. The pads should always add streamlined curves. Shoulder gathers, tucks, and shirring are excellent as well as any intricate trim or appliqué in this area.
- Necklines are best when they’re either high or closed, although lower scoops and plunges are acceptable. They should also be clean, crisp, and preferably curved.
- Crisp collars are excellent and should be used profusely. They should be small and very tailored or shaped, with contrasting fabric, trim, and color. Curve or rounded shapes are best for your Yin undercurrent.
- Crisp cuffs with contrasting buttons, bands, trim always look chic on you.
- Waist should always be sharply defined with waistband and contrasting trim. A tapered cinched should always be present. Gathers at the waist are excellent if they’re small and crisp (as opposed to deep and soft).
- The hemline should be tapered at the knee area. If it’s long, it will then flare out gently. If it’s short, it will be tulip-shaped. Contrasting trim at the hemline is excellent.
8. Soft Gamine’s best makeup.
Your makeup is taken primarily from the Yin side in terms of shape because you want to emphasize your saucer eyes, apple cheeks, and bow lips. Always avoid angular contouring in an attempt to “slim down” your face. This will only give you a “dirty face” look and look very stark on you.
Choose bold and bright colors (as opposed to pastels) to keep the overall effect crisp and fresh. Neutrals and minimal makeup simply are not lively enough on you and they totally negate the vibrant effect your Soft Gamine face should have.
What Soft Gamines should avoid
Like all Kibbe types, knowing what to avoid is as crucial as knowing what to wear. Hence the following guidelines:
- bulky knits
- all smooth lines
- “no waist” styles
- sharp geometrics
- all elongated lines
- severe straight lines
- rough, thick textures
- monochromatic colors
- bulky or oversized pieces
- all strong horizontal lines
- small, symmetrical shapes
- long jackets that hide the waist
- wide, unconstructed silhouettes
- overly intricate and delicate shapes
- severely straight and tailored pieces
- overly flimsy, sheer, and clingy fabrics
- oversized, bulky or chunky geometrics
In short, avoid anything that is not fitted, sharp, and rounded or that is all Yin or all Yang. Your ultimate goal as a Soft Gamine is to give primary emphasis to your Gamine side with a little emphasis on your extra Yin undercurrent through hairstyle and accessories.
When a Soft Gamine doesn’t wear her lines
Here, we have Halle Berry wearing a long, soft, flowing dress. While her collar perfectly suits a Soft Gamine, the unconstructed fit of the dress doesn’t. Remember that with a Soft Gamine, it’s important to define the waist to honor her extra Yin. While this ensemble would probably look great on a Dramatic, it just wouldn’t do for a Soft Gamine.
The same goes for this outfit which is devoid of curves.
This would look great on Naturals and Dramatics though but just wouldn’t suffice on a Soft Gamine.
Note when styling a Soft Gamine
- Know that clothes alone do NOT have a Kibbe type. Therefore, avoid Kibbe-typing a piece of clothing based on its appearance when unworn or worn by other women other than yourself. This practice limits the great outfits you could have worn!
- Just because an outfit looks great on a Soft Gamine doesn’t mean it wouldn’t look great on other Kibbe types and vice versa. For instance, contrary to popular belief, bodycon dresses aren’t only exclusive to Romantics, nor is Bohemian only exclusive to Naturals. Any body type can actually wear a Bohemian and a bodycon dress and look great. They would just look different from one another but with the right fabric and customization, any body type can pull off most designs.
- Meaning, don’t be scared to explore and experiment. The system was made not to box you in but to liberate you so you can present your unique expression to the world.
- The goal is to know the principles first then marry those principles to your own taste instead of following a one-size-fits-all rule. For even two Soft Gamines could look different from each other, not to mention have completely different tastes.
- As with dressing any body type, do not focus on each piece of the outfit. Instead, focus mainly on the overall feel and look of the outfit. For a Soft Gamine, it’s being mainly about honoring your Yin frame (fittedness) and your Yang shape (sharp edges with a possible slight broadness) but with extra emphasis on Yin undercurrent.
Soft Gamine Shopping Guide
Looking for an exclusive shopping guide for Flamboyant Natural? This article will show you how to shop for pieces from head to toe: from clothing, accessories, makeup, coloring, and prints.
Having the qualities of Gamine and Romantic, you definitely want to read:
