Soft Dramatics: one look does not fit all
You probably know soft dramatics as the tall and curvy girlies.
You might even picture Adele,
or Sofia Vergara.
When talking about soft dramatics, most of us probably picture “Diva Chic” or extremely curvy, voluptuous, and visually elongated celebrities in our minds.
Ava Gardner: a verified soft dramatic (5’6”)
But what if I told you this is also a soft dramatic?
Barbra Streisland: a verified soft dramatic (5’ 5”)
So is this,
Jacqueline de Ribes: a verified soft dramatic (5’ 7”)
And so is this?
Now at this point, you might be thinking: “What??? How?? These women aren’t the typical curvy, voluptuous, extremely tall types we think about?”
Which brings me to the title of this post.
One look does not fit all!
Height and body varies within any Kibbe Image ID. What all of these soft dramatics have in common are proportions, body features, bone structure, and how the flesh lays on their body.
Soft dramatics are typically known as the “curvy & tall type”. But, I want to get a bit more specific and break down individual features so we don’t stereotype them.
Soft dramatics are almost entirely yang, with just a few features that pull them over to the yin side.
That means their bone structure is going to be primarily yang – think long, sleek, narrow. On top of a long sleek, and narrow bone structure, they have a fleshiness to their body – primarily in their hip and bust – that we call a “yin undercurrent”.
Photo creds: https://www.herstylecode.com/fashion/kibbe-body-types-introduction/
I find that it is easiest to see this visually by comparing soft dramatics (vertical + curve) and flamboyant naturals (vertical + no curve).
Julia Roberts (left, 5’ 8”) & Ava Gardner (right, 5’ 6”)
Julia Roberts (pictured on the left) is a verified Flamboyant Natural. Her bones have clear elongation to them (shown by the black arrows), which indicates a strong vertical line.
To look for a long vertical line, I generally follow the line from the waist to knee. After her waist curves inward, that curved line at her hip extends and forms a long line as you head towards her knees.
In a woman without vertical, that curve at the hip curves into the knees without added length.
Her bone structure is also significantly more blunt which you can see in the shoulders, ribs, wrists, and ankles. But unlike a soft dramatic, she doesn’t have curve.
If you were to hang a fabric from her armpit to her knees, it would basically fall uninterrupted in a straight line (which I drew in pink).
Her hips are flat and quite straight.
Her waist doesn’t curve in between the torso and hips beyond a “baseline”.
Therefore, no curve.
Ava Gardner, pictured on the right, is a verified Soft Dramatic. She doesn’t have the stereotypical “curvalicious” or “voluptuous” body type that can sometimes be associated with soft dramatics, which can make her curves harder to see.
Ava Gardner is actually 2 inches shorter than Julia Roberts, but she looks just as tall – if not taller. Furthermore, she has a very narrow, elongated, and delicate bone structure – all yang characteristics we associate with dramatics.
Her shoulders, ribs, ankles, and wrists are quite narrow – a stark contrast from Julia Roberts.
But, the flesh that lays on top of her narrow, angular, and delicate bone structure softens all of it to look significantly more “circular”.
If you hang a fabric from her armpit down to her knees, it doesn’t fall uninterrupted – her bust and hips interrupt the fabric.
Unlike Julia Roberts whose frame is more angular, Ava Gardner’s frame is softened by her curve – which comes from her romantic, or yin undercurrent.
I hope that helps!
As always, if you’d like to know your Kibbe Image ID, check out my styling services! I’m not David Kibbe (so it’s my personal opinion), but I am deeeep in the rabbit hole and a perfectionist, so I go through the list of all 10 IDs based on your pictures and explain why I think you are or are not that type before reaching a conclusion.
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