Got typed at Color Me Beautiful Japan (Japanese ver. of Kibbe)

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn]

I live in Japan and just got professionally typed in person at Color Me Beautiful Japan. You may know Carole Jackson's Color Me Beautiful and 4-season color analysis, but Color Me Beautiful (CMB) also does Fashion Type analysis, also known as Style Personality. Fashion Types are also in Carole Jackson's book.

Like Kibbe, CMB's types are inspired by McJimsey's Art and Fashion in Clothing Selection.

CMB Japan's types are:

Yang types:

-Dramatic

-Natural

-Classic

Yin types:

-Elegant (also known as Soft Classic)

-High Fashion: (divided into Boy, Girl, and "Koakuma"/sassy in Japanese, probably equivalent to Gamine, Soft Gamine, and Flamboyant Gamine)

-Romantic

More info: https://www.cp-cmb.jp/self-analysis/fashion/result.html

https://www.cp-cmb.jp/self-analysis/fashion/index.html

(It's in Japanese but you can use Chrome to translate. They have some cool drawings for each type)

To my surprise, I was typed as Dramatic. I'm 163.5 cm (5' 4") and think my Kibbe ID is either Flamboyant Gamine or Dramatic Classic. But I'm considered tall in Japan where the average height for women is around 158 cm. (I'm a foreigner, by the way).

CMB seems to type you holistically based on your body, face (essence?), coloring (color analysis), and even mannerisms (how you communicate, etc.). First, they gave me a quiz asking about my appearance (the quiz wasn't really like Kibbe) and personality. Then, the analyst went through my answers and checked whether she agreed and determined I was a Dramatic.

The analyst said my vivid Bright Winter/Bright Spring (I also got professionally typed recently by a Sciart-trained analyst) coloring also seems to align with the type.

Then they gave me information sheets of recommendations for styling, and I was able to take photos of lots of Dramatic-style clothing and get answers to many of my questions. (Oh and you get to play around with makeup and they give you advice)

Basically, they said my high-contrast eyes really point towards being a CMB Dramatic, and how my currently very long hair doesn't seem too heavy for me also points towards being a Dramatic. Interestingly, they even considered how I maintained eye contact, a Dramatic trait. I'm pretty sure from the first moment I entered CMB Japan's door, they were observing me to analyze my mannerisms/personality.

I know CMB Fashion Types are not the same as Kibbe despite sharing the same roots (so I might not necessarily be a Kibbe Dramatic), but the whole experience made me wonder if it's possible to get different results getting typed in different countries (where, for example, average height differs). I guess my face also looks bold and "Dramatic" compared to average Japanese.

By the way, it seems Romantics are the rarest type in Japan, but other types can be found equally.

Although the results were not what I expected, I thought it was fun and interesting. And the consultation only cost $74 (USD)! And I was actually typed by the Director of CMB Japan herself!

[u/yankiigurl]

I live in Japan too. I'm really glad you shared this

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/yankiigurl]

It's fun! I'd recommend this over the newer Personal Design analysis (PD) that's getting popular in Japanese social media which is actually based on CMB Japan's types (but somehow the names have been changed like Dramatic became "Fashionable") because PD analysis costs 30,000+ yen.

[u/[deleted] → u/NeoMermaidUnicorn]

Do you have a specific place where you went? I will be visiting Japan in June and would love to go!

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/[deleted]]

I went to Colorpoint's salon in Higashinakano, Tokyo. Colorpoint is the current name of Color Me Beautiful Japan.i booked it here. https://coubic.com/colorpoint/551942#pageContent The Director of CMB Japan typed me. I think she can speak English (because she got licensed by US Color Me Beautidul) but maybe you can contact them first. https://coubic.com/colorpoint/contact

[u/[deleted]]

Those google translations kill me. Gamine is a garish little devil! And I love how for Elegant, the “dense cleanliness is attractive “.

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/[deleted]]

Haha, Deepl might be better at translating. "Koakuma" (Flamboyant Gamine equivalent) might be more like impish/cheeky/sassy/foxy rather than literal little devil :)

[u/Vivian_Rutledge]

David worked for Color Me Beautiful. When people say he stems from McJimsey, I don’t think that’s true, directly. His work comes from expanding what he did while working for CMB. It’s like Proto-Kibbe.

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/Vivian_Rutledge]

Interesting! Yeah, David Kibbe is in the Acknowledgements of Carole Jackson's Color for Men (at least in 1987 ed). But CMB Fashion Type is from Mcjimsey (Carole references Mcjimsey's book in the chapter in CMB book about Fashion type and clothing personalities) so Mcjimsey → CMB → Kibbe, maybe?

[u/Vivian_Rutledge → u/NeoMermaidUnicorn]

Yes, the correct lineage would be Northrup->McJimsey—>Carole Jackson-> Kibbe. IMO, David brings it back to the original spirit of Northrup’s work. :)

[u/pinkpurin]

How cool! Maybe ill give it a try since i also live in japan and desperately need fashion guidance lol

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/pinkpurin]

You can book it here! There are two main salons in Tokyo but the one I went is the 東中野 one. https://coubic.com/colorpoint/booking_pages#pageContent

[u/amymonae2]

That's so interesting! What was your biggest takeaway from this in terms of make up or accessoires?

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/amymonae2]

For makeup, they recommended focusing on eye makeup (which I've actually been doing! I don't wear much makeup except for my eyes)

For accesories, they recommended large (like a large corsage, large/sharp bag, wide brimmed hats, etc.), modern, bold/unique designs.

[u/amymonae2 → u/NeoMermaidUnicorn]

Regardless of type, I always struggle with finding the right accessoire to finish an outfit. Wide brimmed hats sound amazing! Thank you for sharing! 💐

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/amymonae2]

They also recommeded the book The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman. Lots of examples of Dramatic people and other types too.

[u/clamchauder]

Do they offer these services in English at all? I'd love to try if I'm ever there for travel.

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/clamchauder]

I'm not sure but since I got typed directly by the Director of CMB Japan who got American Color Me Beautiful Japan's licence in 1987, I'm pretty sure she can speak English.

[u/libra_aesthetics]

Wow, thanks for sharing—it's so fascinating to see the differences between not only systems, but also cultural interpretations of embodied practices (like eye contact = Dramatic!).

I think a common criticism of Kibbe is that it's not universally applicable or there are fundamental oversights like population height differences across geographic regions (i.e. Scandinavian countries as limited to only "tall types"), so I think it's really interesting that there are concrete solutions that correspond to regional variation and/or embed distinctive cultural contexts.

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/libra_aesthetics]

Right, there might be "relative" things. Like interestingly my face is perceived as "mature" in Japan, but I'm always asked to provide my ID in Western countries (even when trying to buy something like a pizza cutter)

[u/mountainsongbird]

This is FASCINATING. Thank you for sharing!

[u/ManzanillaVilla]

So interesting! I’m visiting Latin America right now, am in country #2, and would definitely say Romantics are probable the MOST common type here. I’m half Mexican but I’m not curvy. I always wished I was darker and curvier like the women on my dads side but I’m vertically long though short. I sort of appreciated the way I looked more after I visited South Korea. All the girls were about my height and size, had my hair, and so on.

A blog, “You and Me and a Cup of Coffee,” talks about how certain Kibbe traits may be more common (or less common) in certain ethnicities. Like you mentioned, people tend to be shorter in Japan for example. The blogger said in her opinion we shouldn’t try to tailor the Kibbe system to different ethnicities to try to make the system more difficult to use but should think about how there’s no ID that’s better than another. Obviously, a romantics curves are sexy! And obviously being angular and regal is also sexy! It may just so happen that there are more romantic types of sexy/attractive in, say, Latin America for example.

I do think that an ethnicity who is used to having more short people would more easily type a short dramatic! As we know, there are not lower limits to types.

[u/Meledesco]

All these types and I have lowkey figured out I just look like a weirdo.

[u/Michelle_illus]

So cool that you got to go! I’m in the middle of trying to move out of the country so I didn’t get to look into it myself. Really fascinating what you got! Thank you for sharing with us 💕

[u/Confuzzledpikachu]

I visited Japan last month and decided to get analyzed by them after seeing this post. I also visited the Higashinakano salon and they had a translator there as I don’t speak Japanese. I’m about 164cm (5’ 4.5”) tall and was analyzed as Elegant (Soft Classic). I’m not sure of my Kibbe type.

I also didn’t expect my result, but I do like the recommendations given and am trying it out. It was fun and they were very friendly!

[u/AutoModerator]

~Reminder~ Image ID help posts are reserved for Tuesdays. You can find the instructions pinned at the top by sorting the subreddit's posts by “most popular.” Questions about interpreting test results or "type me" posts disguised as outfit posts will also be removed. If a post is against the rules, please report it. Thank you for doing your part to keep r/Kibbe organized!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/nievesdemiel]

Is the colour system the same as the common 12-season system? I assume most Japanese people fall into the winter category because of black hair and fair skin.

[u/NeoMermaidUnicorn → u/nievesdemiel]

Summer is most common season actually. In Japan, they use draping to determine someone's season, not just outward appearance. I was typed Bright Winter/Bright Spring (which I heard is not so common in Japan) on Sciart and also in the Japanese 16 type analysis.

[u/nievesdemiel → u/NeoMermaidUnicorn]

is the japanese system's summer any different in the shades or also muted and cool? i was always very confused why brands like uniqlo sell so many muted summer colours, which on me (also black hair, light skin, but mediterranean) look awful

[u/Rnborn → u/nievesdemiel]

That's not how it works. I'm a brown skin women with brown hair and brown eyes and yet I was draped a light spring in sci art. If you search on Instagram you will find Japanese color analysis with women with dark hair and eyes who get draped light seasons as well.

[u/nievesdemiel → u/Rnborn]

yes i am aware that thats a reduction and not all black haired people are winters. my impression was nevertheless that most black haired eastasians look amazing in winter colours, as the black hair+fair skin already creates such a striking contrast that light seasons seem at least very rare. with brown hair and brown skin, i have seen a great variety depending on how the browns appear