How to Do the Kibbe Personal Line Sketch for Soft Classics

The system described here comes from David Kibbe's book The Power of Style, which presents the updated method for finding your Image Identity, including the Personal Line.

The Image Identity Formula

Kibbe Type has evolved into Image Identity, a system built from two essential pieces: Yin/Yang Balance and Personal Line. Your Yin/Yang Balance describes your physical body, placing you on a scale that runs from sharp yang to soft yin. Your Personal Line, however, acts as the blueprint for your clothes, telling you exactly what shape your silhouette needs to be to look its best. When you combine these two parts, you arrive at one of ten possible Image Identities.

What Is Personal Line

Your Personal Line is a continuous outline that records how all of your body's proportions relate to one another. Because it doesn't appear directly on your body, you must learn how to define it by looking at your shape as one whole unit.

Every Personal Line is made up of two parts: a Dominant and an Additional trait. There are two possible Dominants—Vertical and Curve—and six possible Additionals: Curve, Width, Narrow, Balance, Double Curve, and Petite. Note that Vertical only ever appears as a Dominant. Once these two are paired, you have a Personal Line that your clothing silhouette is then designed to follow.

The Five Archetypes on the Yin/Yang Scale

The yin/yang scale is defined by five archetypes that serve as reference points for every identity.

• Dramatic represents the extreme yang end of the scale, characterized as narrow and elongated.

• Romantic is at the extreme yin end, defined by a lush and curvaceous frame.

• Classic is the balanced archetype, sitting perfectly between the two extremes.

• Natural is also yang, but with a blunt rather than sharp character.

• Gamine is a unique combination of opposites, featuring a small yin size with a sharp yang frame.

Your specific Image Identity lands on the scale in relation to these five archetypes.

The Fabric-Draping Method

To define your Personal Line, you use a method involving an imaginary drape. Picture a length of silk chiffon, weighted at the bottom, hanging from your shoulders. As the fabric falls, you are watching its path to see if it moves in a straight line from shoulder to floor or if it is pushed outward by your bust and hips.

A straight fall from the shoulder indicates a Vertical Dominant. If the fabric pushes out at the bust, cuts in at the waist, and pushes out again at the hips, your Dominant is Curve. This fabric is not an outline of your body, nor is it pulled tight against you; instead, it skims your frame as it falls from the shoulder to reveal your Dominant trait.

How to Do the Sketch

The Personal Line is defined in practice by sketching that imaginary drape directly onto a photo of yourself. You’ll need a full-length, front-facing photo taken in close-fitting clothes while standing in a relaxed pose. For accuracy, set the camera about ten feet away at chest height and avoid using a mirror.

On the photo, sketch the path the imaginary fabric takes as it falls, starting at the edge of the shoulder. A line that drops straight down is a Vertical Dominant, while a line pushed outward at the bust and hips is a Curve Dominant.

It is important to trust the sketch as your primary source rather than returning to your body to confirm the results. Height rules also apply: at 5'6" or above, the Dominant is automatically Vertical. Under that height, both Dominants are possible, though Curve only appears under 5'6". Once the Dominant is set, the Additional trait is sketched on top to complete the Personal Line. This combined sketch then serves as the foundation for your Complementary Silhouette.

The Soft Classic Image Identity

Soft Classic is an identity defined by Balance with a soft yin influence. Its Personal Line consists of Curve plus Balance (also known as Moderate), and height is typically under 5'6". The resulting silhouette is smooth, clean, and shapely without being tight, designed to softly skim the body. The overall feel is one of timeless simplicity, where the eye travels fluidly around the curves.

In the drape method, the imaginary fabric is pushed subtly out by the bust and hips, but the outer edge of the upper torso and the hipbone remain evenly spaced. This parity is exactly what the Balance Additional provides, creating a curved outline that is perfectly proportioned from top to bottom.

Reading Curve Dominance in the Sketch

Now this is personal theory so bare with me but, I think there are two areas of the sketch provide the most information: the shoulder line and the waist leading into the upper hip. Each of the five Curve Image Identities reads these areas differently:

• Romantic: The line moves around the curves with a clear cut at the waist, and the bust curve pushes the line past the shoulder.

• Theatrical Romantic: The shoulder line narrows inward, the waist cuts in, and the curves remain inside the shoulder line.

• Soft Natural: The shoulder line moves outward, and the bust and hip curve fits within that wider shoulder line.

• Soft Classic: The shoulder line remains neutral, the waist is subtle, and the proportions stay balanced with the shoulders.

• Soft Gamine: The shoulder line is shortened, and the curve sits compact inside a small frame.

The Soft Classic Sketch

A Soft Classic sketch is read through its subtle curves and slightly defined waist. Because the curves at the bust and hip are gentle rather than sharp, everything about the outline reads as soft and balanced.

This subtlety can sometimes create a sense of elongation through the middle of the body. Instead of the waist cutting in clearly, the space between the under-bust and the hip remains relatively open, allowing the line to track smoothly without any extreme movements.

The Seamstress Lens

From the perspective of a seamstress, fitting a garment to a Soft Classic body requires very little adjustment. She would simply check that the shoulder dots and hip dots line up correctly, then add a gentle inward smoothing or a light tuck at the waist. Once she confirms the overall parity of the frame, the job is complete.

For more on this perspective, see A Seamstress Walks Into a Bar.

Other Ways to Discover Your Kibbe Type

While the fabric drape and sketch method is David Kibbe's current approach, there are other ways to discover your type. The original was the quiz, which used questions about bone structure, flesh, and facial features. This was followed by asking online communities for help. I then built the orignal photo analysis, which uses computer vision to read body proportions and ying/yang from a photo. I then updated the system approach and accuracy by adding 3D body mapping, sketch output, and virtual try-ons to show how different clothes look on your frame. Give it a go!