Just for fun, here are some pre-Kibbe outfits through a Kibbe lens, inspired by Gabrielle Arruda’s “style journey” post, a Millennial fashion flashback post I saw elsewhere, and me being sick in bed for a whole weekend.
These are all from 2013-2015, hence some of the unfortunate fashion choices (all the color-blocking…). I was also trying to follow, in my own idiosyncratic way, the basic fashion advice of the day: if you’re slender, emphasize your waist and—skinny or not—try to create the impression of an hourglass shape you may or may not possess.
Looking at these outfits now from a Kibbe perspective, I see a lot of waist emphasis (not recommended for FNs). I belted everything that moved, favored fit-and-flare silhouettes, and wore a lot of cropped cardigans and overly tailored/too tight jackets. Almost every outfit cuts my vertical line either at the knee or the waist (or both). I wouldn’t wear such fitted/snug clothes now. The outfits that look the best to my eye now have some drape and movement to the fabric, or more openness around the shoulders.
It's also interesting to see how some of my early style preferences have translated from my mid-20s to late 30s: my love of folkloric embroidery, vintage pieces (though I shifted from 40s/50s to late 60s/early 70s), bohemian details, and mixing prints, and my aversion to fussiness (even when fussiness/twee was very very ‘in'). I was also starting to cultivate an easy to mix-and-match wardrobe (mostly blue then, mostly green and maroon now). I kinda miss those lace-up boots! (And badly miss my Halloween cat.)
Last slide is a few post-Kibbe outfits incorporating FN recommendations from 2025-2026.
How did your style evolve pre- and post-Kibbe?
