You’re a Theatrical Romantic if your Skeleton (vertical line, shoulders, limbs), Body Flesh (bust, waist, hips) and Facial Features have an overall combination of extreme Yin (feminine) with slight Yang (masculine) undercurrent. Your answers to the Kibbe body test would be mostly D and E (Romantic) with some A (Dramatic) answers. If you suspect that Theatrical Romantic is one of your possibilities, this article will help. Here’s how to dress a Theatrical Romantic body type.
What makes a Theatrical Romantic?
To make sense of the following descriptions, it’s important that you first understand what’s Yin and what’s Yang. This article should give you visual examples: Yin vs Yang Examples of Kibbe Body Types.
Note: The following descriptions are merely general outlines and not meant to 100% describe a Theatrical Romantic down to her very last detail.
Meaning, two Theatrical Romantics are unlikely to have uniform Yin and Yang parts. One may have it in her lips while the other in her cheeks, or both. One may be curvy in the waist while the other is straight. Meaning, just because two ladies are both Theatrical Romantics doesn’t mean they should look exactly the same.
For example, if you search the bikini photos of Mila Kunis and compare it to Salma Hayek’s, you’ll immediately notice a huge difference: While Mila has a straight waist, Salma has an extremely curvy one.
Where they’re similar, however, is with their bone structures– and bone structure is what matters the most. It dictates how clothes will hang on the body. While Body Flesh (bust, waist, hips) are definitely included in the criteria, they are less important and less influential than bone structure (shoulders especially, limbs, and vertical line).
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 Theatrical Romantic (the combination of extreme Yin with slight Yang undercurrent).
Skeleton (bone structure):
- small and delicate
- height: moderate to petite, usually 5’5″ and under.
- slightly sharp edges (shoulders, jawline, cheekbones, or nose)
Body flesh (bust, waist, hips, thighs, upper arms):
- soft and voluptuous, although trim and smallish, as opposed to a Romantic which is usually wide and bulky
- usually hourglass figure; curvy hips and bustline (double curves)
- soft or fleshy arms and legs
- usually waspish waist
Facial features (facial flesh and bones):
- Facial bones are small, delicate, and slightly sharp
- large, luminous eyes or slightly upturned
- full, luscious lips
- soft and lush
- soft cheeks
When overweight, a Theatrical Romantic’s upper arms, thighs, and face become fleshy. If she’s hourglass-shaped, she’ll remain hourglass-shaped with her defined waist.
A Theatrical Romantic will NOT have:
- large or wide bones
- an extremely tall height (more than 6 inches)
- extremely prominent skeleton and facial bones
Kibbe-verified Theatrical Romantic celebrities
- Rihanna
- Mila Kunis
- Salma Hayek
- Joan Collins
- Jane Seymour
- Donna Mills
- Ann-Margret
- Hedy Lamarr
- Marilyn McCoo
- David Kibbe himself and his beautiful wife Susan Slavin
How to dress a Theatrical Romantic
To dress a Theatrical Romantic, your goal is to follow your own Yin-Yang balance which is soft Yin with a slight Yang undercurrent. If this sounds confusing, the tips below should give you a good foundation as to how.
Before reading further though, please know that the following tips are merely guidelines, not rules. They’ll provide you examples but ultimately, you can bend or break them as long as you’re honoring the Yin-Yang balance of a Theatrical Romantic (soft Yin with a slight Yang undercurrent).
Do NOT focus on each piece of the outfit but on the outfit’s overall look. Remember, the approach needs to be holistic. Your head is connected to your body and vice versa, as with your clothing to your makeup and accessories.
Without further ado, here are some tips on how to dress a Theatrical Romantic.
1. Honor your Romantic side first, then Dramatic second.
If there’s one thing you need to remember when dressing a Theatrical Romantic, it’s this: soft Yin first, Yang undercurrent second. As long as you follow this principle every time you shop and put together an outfit, you’ll never get lost.
Remember, you are a Romantic (extreme Yin) more than a Dramatic (extreme Yang). Meaning, for your silhouette to look harmonious, you first have to highlight your roundness and softness above all else then only add your Dramatic side as an afterthought.
You can do this by wearing ensembles that showcase your curvy body with soft and fluid clothing, (always with waist definition) while highlighting your Yang in small doses by wearing partly Dramatic accessories and clothing.
The following tips should help you accomplish this.
2. Shapes should be rounded and ornate.
Whether it’s your clothing or hairstyle, you can never go wrong with rounded and ornate shapes with dangles, clusters, swirls, and curves. Since these shapes efficiently match your Yin, you’ll look no less than stunning in them.
3. Details should be lavish and intricate.
As a Theatrical Romantic, your adjective is glamorous with a little bit of edge. Or to quote David Kibbe’s book, “You’re at your most sophisticated when you seem to be ‘dripping’ with diamonds.”
That said, you should never shy away from ornateness and intricate details– bows, jabots, ruffles, draped necklines, scalloped edges, gathers, tucks, and lacy trim. Jewelries could be large and glittery to add that extra drama.
Anything bejeweled will look appropriate and elegant on you– unlike other Kibbe types who sometimes run the risk of looking like overkill in extravagantly lavish outfits.
Even when you’re just going to the grocery or on your most casual of days, you have to put something ornate and intricate (example: a crisply clustered or swirled earrings with a tiny sparkle or dangle), otherwise, you’d look drabby and dull.
4. Avoid chunky and geometric accessories.
While you want your accessories large, you do want them to be delicate, not chunky (thick-looking), angular, or geometric. These shapes are more suited for large boned Naturals but not for delicate Theatrical Romantics.
When it comes to shoes, opt for either very tapered, strappy, or ornate. No chunky clunkers. If you must, draw inspiration from Cinderella’s glass shoes–delicate, glamorous, sparkly.
Lastly, nothing looks more flattering on you than extremely tiny straps resting on your delicate shoulders.
5. Always emphasize your curves.
Having Romantic as your primary line, it is a must to always emphasize your waist and curves, (even if you’re straight-waisted like Mila Kunis). You can accomplish this by wearing lightweight and drapey fabrics. They’ll do a great job at highlighting your small bone structure. Unlike heavy and thick fabric, they won’t drown your bones and silhouette, thus effectively showcasing your shape.
6. Go for subtle tapering and sharpness at the edges.
While you certainly want your Romantic side to be the centerpiece, under no circumstances should you let your Dramatic side go unnoticed.
You can do this by wearing pieces and accessories that show subtle tapering, sharpness, and angle at the edges especially at the hemline and shoulders. They sufficiently highlight your Yang without the risk of overemphasizing. The following outfits are great examples:
- V-neckline
- tapering at the hemline (tulip-shaped dresses and skirts)
- delicate yet sharp details at the shoulders (puffed shoulders)
- slightly rounded, slightly angular earrings and accessories
- angular yet delicate pair of pump shoes
- a slightly angular hat
What Theatrical Romantics should avoid
Knowing what to avoid is as crucial as knowing what to wear. Hence the following guidelines:
- geometrics
- wide, shapeless, styles
- anything that hides the waist
- stiff fabrics
- sharp pleats
- rough textures
- heavyweight fabrics
- dull-finished fabrics
- plain, minimal detail
- severely tailored pieces
- chunky or bulky shapes
- unconstructed, boxy jackets
- sharp severe shapes and details
- extremely oversized and bulky detail
In short, avoid anything that hides or go against your delicate and dainty bones. Your ultimate goal as a Theatrical Romantic is to match your extreme Yin while honoring your Yang undercurrent in small doses.
When a Theatrical Romantic doesn’t wear her lines
While Salma Hayek here doesn’t look bad, it’s still safe to say that this ensemble is not her personal best. While we can see her Dramatic side, her waist is nowhere to be found, the silhouette is too stiff, and the detail is too dull. If we compare this to her Theatrical Romantic outfits, this looks dull, drabby, and unremarkable.
The same goes for Ann-Margret and Rihanna who both look buried with these ensembles.
These four outfits above have one thing in common: They’re all devoid of curves and waist emphasis which happens to be the most essential aspects when dressing both Theatrical Romantics and Romantics. Take them out of the equation and you’re taking the life out of your outfit.
Theatrical Romantic Shopping Guide
Need a shopping guide? In this article is a Theatrical Romantic’s shopping guide for every piece of clothing–tops, pants, skirts, outerwear, as well as accessories, hair, and makeup.
Note when styling a Theatrical Romantic
- 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.
- Just because an outfit looks great on a Theatrical Romantic 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. Any body type can actually wear 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 Theatrical Romantics 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 Theatrical Romantic, it’s being mainly being rounded, delicate, and ornate with small doses of Yang to complement your Dramatic aspect.
Having both qualities of Romantic and Dramatic, you definitely want to read:
This article helped me to see the overall picture. My bone structure is dramatic, but my body flesh and facial features are romantic, so theatrical romantic is my Kibble type (mostly D’s and E’s with some A’s). It also helped explain why I avoid certain fits of clothing and gravitate to what seems to be more flattering on me. And I’m feeling like I have permission to be more bold in my accessories. My daughter tells me to be the main character in my life. <3
It seem that I am lost like everyone else. I had 4A, 2C, 2D and 7E. Am I teatrical romantic? Because I have an alongated vertical line and long arms and legs, but I have curves. …
Eres dramática suave (soft dramatic)
I am confused with my results: 1B, 2E, 3.C/E, 4.D what am I? I am almost 6 feet tall, is it possible to be romantic?
My result is:
A4, B1, C4, D7
Am I Theatrical Romantic?
I’m only 5.1 or 155cm
A1 B3 C4 D5 E2
Can I be a theatrical romantic
I’m a bit confused as in some of the questions I was between a C or a D. But overall, my answers were: 1 A, 2 B, 5 C, 7 D, 1 E. What type am I?
I would say maybe Romantic but probably Soft Classic.
If I had answers 1 A, 2 C, 7 D, 5 E am I Theatrical Romantic or Romantic?
Theatrical Romantic
My score for kibbe test were
E6, C4, A and B, 2 and D1.
Is theatrical romantic right for me?
no, you’re a true romantic.
If I had answers 1 A, 2 C, 7 D, 5 E am I Theatrical Romantic or Romantic?