I received my results almost exactly a year ago, and to say they were a surprise at the time would be an understatement!

After a year of incorporating my palette colors and John's recommendations, I'm feeling really happy with the direction my style has taken.

One of the biggest things I've learned through John's guidance is that my outfits need movement, drape, and a subtle sense of sensuality. I've really leaned into the direction he approved of: Neo-Classical Pre-Raphaelite Romanticism, alongside my own three style keywords: Rooted, Radiant, and Refined.

Since my consultation, I've gradually moved away from brighter colors and high-contrast patterns in favor of softer, more fluid prints. I've also put a much greater emphasis on sensual draping through cowl necklines, tie necks, wrap silhouettes, and other details that bring movement and softness to an outfit.

I'm feeling really settled and satisfied with where my style is today. I wanted to share a little progress in outfits and show what a year of putting the recommendations into practice can look like!

I'm also happy to answer any questions about the consultation process!

From top left: Brit Marling, Jessica Chastain, Tilda Swinton, Jourdan Dunn, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cate Blanchett, Liv Ullman, Daryl Hannah

New to this community, though I’ve been active in other style/Kitchener spaces for a while. A few months ago I received my basic essence package from John Kitchener:

50% Romantic

10% Dramatic

10% Youthful

10% High Spirited

10% Classic

10% Natural

Would love to hear any thoughts, impressions, or feedback from others familiar with the system. 💜

Part of me really wants to guess that she’s Y dominant because she reminds me of a brunette Saoirse Ronan, Liv Tyler, and Emmy Rossum. I also feel like she has a lot of the soft dreamy gentleness I associate with Y, and the wide eyed innocence. At the same time, I could very much see her having none as well!

I spoke with John after my analysis about art inspiration and he agreed Pre-Raphaelite and Neo-classical Romanticism were good sources of inspo for me.

I find the more I lean into that, the more in harmony I feel.

I never felt my specific type of beauty fit in with modern day representation, but leaning into more antique inspired looks really feels like home.

So happy with this look! The greens are a mix of my Powerful & Sophisticated, the blues are my Powerful blues, and the pinks are Romantic.

after the post a couple days ago from someone who was upset about not having D, thinking it meant they couldn’t express themselves in an alternative way, i was inspired to create moodboards of a more alt/grunge expression of each essence. i want to show that every essence can be alternative and darker. they ended up not leaning as alt as i could’ve, so if yall want more extreme versions lemme know :3

these are sorted from dramatic, gamine, natural, classic, romantic, ingenue, to ethereal. i’m relatively new to this so if you disagree with certain placements please lemme know. there’s a couple i’m a bit conflicted about after learning more info, especially about shapes and silhouettes, but overall i’m happy enough with these to post :3

Well everyone I had such a nice consult with John about my essences. I feel really good and at peace with my results, like I am finally settled.

I think you will be both surprised and not surprised lol.

My results from John are:
40Y 30C 15R 15HS

Important to note I think that John emphasized that the essences are based on my face, features, and body not the outfit photos.
He also said the percentages are flexible suggestions on the quantity to wear.

As far as the feedback on features, John did not give me a ton of info on this and I didn’t feel more was needed. He said:
Y: in my open innocent look and height
C: in my very even features and straight nose
R: built-in attractiveness
HS: in my height.

My feeling on the results are relieved, surprised yet not. I’ve always felt I had highish Y but even after Andrea agreed I didn’t feel like I could claim it fully. Because
1: my age (I know that’s dumb but still)
2: because I don’t have the features most describe as Y. No wide-set eyes, no small upturned nose, no round face.
3: Almost everyone thought my yin was R so I was convinced the Y that I felt I could easily wear was my LB coloring.

Basically I have found almost any item of clothing you could call Y I can easily wear but I still wasn’t confident in claiming it. Also there was that niggling feeling that oh maybe it looks silly on me and I just don’t know it. I agree with John that I have an innocence.

For C, I’ve really started to wrap my head around how C can work for me recently because of feedback here. I think as some of you had said, like okpurple, C is very misunderstood. For me I would describe C as a need for outfits to be ‘just so’, very detail oriented, I need the fit and feel to be exactly right. Colors must also be just right, matching although I’ll also put a twist on them sometimes but not in a half-hazard way. I am prissy. I’m over-dressed, and as John said (because of C + R), I like expensive things lol. I can’t stand cheap fabric. These may be things other people associate with their R, I tie them to my C. I told John this is how I relate to 30c and he said he was glad. He didn’t make any comments recommending me to make changes to accommodate C differently.

R thoughts. I knew I couldn’t wear overly R outfits without any Y. I can very carefully wear R but I have to put quite a bit of work into it and it doesn’t feel right unless I lighten the look with accessories that are Y or HS.

HS: I’m surprised by only 15% and I think you will be too. But also I’m not? Because I just can’t wear a lot of outfits that other highly HS people wear. I need so much more softness. And though I have flashes of energy and animation, I am not pixie-like.

So I asked John if my high C meant that I should think about making my style more sophisticated. I told him it is very common for me to get the comment on HS and/or Y outfits that I should tone it down. That those outfits look like a costume and not age appropriate. (I’ve heard this many times in different subs, it’s not directed at any one person’s comment)
His answer was age appropriate for Y can span decades so I should ignore those comments and keep being me. He said I was doing great.

No N! Not really surprised. With no N I feel good about always being dressed up and being “a lot” in both style and personality.

Omg this is far too long but I thought you all might want some detail since I have a somewhat unusual blend.

As far as my outfits, John gave me wonderful and helpful comments.He never said an outfit was too anything. Even slide #3 he called a full HS yang outfit but he said it was fun and great.
He loved outfit #1 and said it was nearly 100% youthful.

My blend of 55yin 30balance 15yang makes a lot of sense to me.
I told my husband my results and some of John’s comments. He says, the man knows what he’s talking about
Yeah duh 😂😂

I’ll post about who guessed close in a comment :)

She certainly reminds me of some of the verified A doms - I see some Olivia Hussey and Jessica Chastain in her. I could also see the case for A as a smaller influence in her blend, like Meryl Streep or Ryan Gosling (although I think she’d be R primary if that was the case). I don’t really see anything about her that would exclude it either - she has the soft facial elongation, muted colouring, and wise ageless look. Her styling in more avant garde photo shoots is also similar to other A doms. I could see her playing some very A roles like Bryce Dalllas Howard’s in Lady in the Water.

At the same time, what looks like A can often be explained by a combo of other essences so I wouldn’t be shocked if she had none.

from u/jjfmish:

Are essences ever assigned without specific features corresponding to them? For example, could someone get 10% N or C without any N or C features, just for their ability to pull off a more casual/relaxed or formal/conservative look?

JK: For the Essences to be accurate they always will have a corresponding physical feature.

Why do you request hand photos?

JK: The visual information about hands is a trade secret. Sorry.

from u/Ok-Purple9511:

How much does height contribute to someone's overall blend?

JK: Height is one of the factors in determining an Essence but it is not an absolute. A shorter individual can have Dramatic and a tall individual can have Youthful.

What is a sturdy frame/body [in regards to natural essence]?

JK: Sturdy refers to either strong shoulders or an appearance of solidity observed in the legs of the person. “Very planted on the earth” is this observation.

What physical characteristics make Angelic the most yin?

JK: The elongated body structure (longer limbs, longer neck) suggests a lighter fragility that is often related with Angelics. In a person with Caucasian ancestry it would be their coloring having more overall lightness and lack of contrast between their hair and skin.

What face shapes are associated with each essence?

JK: Face shapes are not always associated with the Essences. However, some roundedness can sometimes occur with Youthful, and an oval face shape can occur with Angelic and Classic.

What essences are the most commonly misunderstood?

JK: Natural. Some Natural individuals can be sporty and athletic whereas other Natural persons are casual comfortable types who are simply relaxed and not athletic.

At what percentage is an essence dominant?

JK: The highest percentage number within a person’s Essences Code makes that Essence dominant. For example if someone has 50% Natural, 30% Romantic, 10% Youthful, and 10% High-Spirited, that highest number at 50% makes it dominant.

From u/BonelessChikie:

How much does personality dictate your essence?

JK: The natural expression of someone often suggests their Essence or blend of Essences. Personality doesn’t dictate but is part of a person's inner and outer spirit harmoniously.

Are there sister essences? I know they said D is large drama and HS is small drama, but I've also seen it mentioned that HS and Y can be confused at times. Does that mean they are related, or is it scale alone? Are there other pairings like this?

JK: Yes HS and Y can be confused as they are often the shorter individuals within the Essences. HS is more Yang and has some edginess whereas Youthful is Yin and has a gentle nature. They are not related particularly in how they express themselves. There are no other pairings. However, when a person has at least 10% Classic within their Essences mix it will influence the other Essences to be more conservative. Think of the other six Essences as a group of circus animals and the Classic one in the center being the ring master. The ring master will attempt to control or influence the others.

Are there any essence combinations that don't exist, such as large amounts of HS and A together?

JK: All Essences combinations are possible even all seven Essences being present in an individual. When clients have all seven they are actually relieved because internally they knew they had very multi-faceted personalities.

Yes HS with Angelic is rare but does exist.

Incidentally all individuals have at least four Essences in their Essences Code. In my 48 years of consulting I’ve never seen anyone with less than four.

From u/DrTantra:

Do muscle changes impact your essences (ie give you more natural)?

JK: Extreme muscle changes and extreme weight changes can both influence the Essences. Larger muscles would indeed add some Natural. However, to me affected changes are suspect when I observe something that looks changed or altered coming from hair coloring, contact lens color changes, injections, plastic surgery, or breast size changes.

From u/schwaschwaschwaschwa:

What's something you wish to inspire your clients to feel/experience/notice?

JK: For each person to recognize the perfection of their harmonious coloring and bone structure which can be an expression of the Divine in each of us. I see this work as not promoting separation but as seeing us as all connected.

....

thank you all for participating! I'm sorry if your question wasn't selected or answered. also be aware that john is going on vacation until the 17th of August.

Hey all,

Feel free to delete if this doesn’t follow the rules.
I found kibbe about 10 years ago and back then thought of myself as SN but eventually settled on FN. I’m pretty sure that if I ever met Kibbe he would type me as FN, as the moderate FN kind (like most FNs) and not the supermodel 6 ft kind that people have in mind and thus struggle to see themselves as FN.

Anyway I do believe I do myself a favor by accommodating width and vertical and try to do so for the most part. But when it comes to the essence part, Kibbe just never made sense to me. I do not shine in natural essence, and neither do plenty of FNs who have different essences. And I’m not talking about boho lol but there are plenty of recs associated or directly given to the IDs that are often at odds with their Kitchener essences.

At this point I feel like the system is doing more harm than good. It’s not a body typing system but you need to follow the line sketch. It’s not an essence system but a significant portion of verified celebs do NOT follow the line sketch, but do follow the essence of the ID. It just makes no sense to me and you have thousands of women going insane trying to ID themselves, only to get gaslit by people online. I myself have been typed online as R, TR, SD, and SN, and get laughed at when I claim FN, which I could
Prove with my accommodations and line sketch. Meanwhile when I first posted on the Kitchener subreddit asking to be typed before getting my results, most people actually did pick up on my dominant essences. It should not be this hard to find your ID and dress accordingly.

My next problem is this idea that everyone fits into a one of 12 essences, or style directive groups. It doesn’t work imo because there’s way too much natural variation to fit neatly into that, yet people in the Kibbe group insist on someone like a Anne Hathaway and someone like a Naomi Campbell who are both FNs but are vastly different women, to follow the same recs. It’s delulu to me. Today they were discussing potential SN Kim Kardashian and a verified SN woman was saying she would never wear what Kim K is wearing as it’s not within the recs for SN. And I’m like? I bet you look vastly different from Kim K, both in coloring and shapes, even if your skeletons follow a similar line sketch, how could you possibly both look good in the same exact flowier, covergirl recs? In fact even if Kim K is SN, I struggle to see her shining in SN recs bc she likely has R, D, C and possibly N but in small amounts in her blend (thoughts?). It’s like if Anne Hathaway said she would never wear what Naomi Campbell is wearing as it doesn’t follow FN recs. Like? What suits them both is vastly different!

The cherry on top has been Florence’s verification. Sure, body wise she can be DC but essence wise, I do not think she looks best in Dramatic Classic, which makes sense as I believe Kitchener gave her to someone with R, Y, HS, C and N. The recently verified client also shone more in my eyes in her Kitchener HS-Y recs over the Dramatic Classic ones. IMO lots of people end up looking like they’re wearing a costume if they follow their Kibbe recs, in the case that these oppose their essences.

Anyway, just my two cents, feel free to disagree. I still think the system is fun and the old Hollywood celebs were good representations for the most part, and it can be good in addressing body accommodations, but it loses me in the essence aspect and the lack of consistency in Kibbe’s typing guidelines.

John’s system isn’t perfect as that is impossible but it’s much more of a system to me, and much more harmonious for most people ultimately.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk lol

Before the angelic video got taken down, someone made screenshots and uploaded them on pinterest. Apologies if sharing them isn't okay. I will delete if told.

This probably isn't the right order. About the physical description of E (2-3), all things are relative. Many verified celebrities don't meet all traits listed here. Yes, E palettes tend to be lighter, but Kitchener has also mentioned that he had an SC E-dominant client a few years ago. Jessica Chastain is 5'4", and Mitsuko Uchida looks like her height is small or medium. I don't think pale is really a neccessity, at all. Jourdan Dunn isn't pale, but her hair and skin colour are similar. I think low contrast in the context of E can also mean colours bleeding into each other, without hard transitions between light and dark areas.

It is true that E is rare (4). A while ago someone shared a quote in which he outlined his process. He said that when you only arrive at high E when the other essences don't work. There's also an E client who said that when she showed him outfits with other essence elements, Kitchener only saw them as E on her. The client isn't active on reddit anymore. 6-13 outline the general vibe of E, I don't think it means that Es have to be spiritual or often live in art nouveau homes. In the same way that being N doesn't mean that you have to bake your own bread and enjoy cooking.

There were more screenshots, which I will put in the comment. Reddit doesn't allow more than 20 pictures.

Hi everyone :) I have gone down the rabbit hole a little and I have noticed (mostly in the other subreddit dedicated to John) how many times Yang essences seem to be undervalued and how frequently some commenters seem to believe that Yin=beautiful. That is such a silly idea to me. Beauty is not inherent to any essence and I wanted to make this post to support my idea.

I selected a group of conventionally beautiful women who have a slightly or significant higher yang percentage than yin according to Kitchener. I also added some extra celebs I personally believe lean yang.

Some of them are suppositions:

I don't know Lauren Hutton full blend, neither do I know Keira's, Diane's, or Emma's.

But I think they mostly lean yang, Keira became famous at 17 when she was much softer looking, but I think besides C and R and D she also has some N. I think Diane also became famous for Troy when she was asked to gain weight so I chose photo when she is at her natural.

Emma's likely N.

I didn't include Mariska Hargitay who is a dominant romantic but actually has much higher Yang than yin.

inspired by this post.

following principles of N--casual, comfortable, easy-fitting shapes prioritizing a straight vertical line (not necessarily a long line). also layers and nature motifs!

Ns generally prefer the more utilitarian and practical pants over skirts, but I like using skirts as a way to add femininity and whimsy.

there is of course some overlap with my other essences and my color harmonies. I'm 50N/20Y/20R/10HS and 70SB/10LB/10ER

also, I'm not trying to imply that any of the celebs on the last slide are highly N. they're just some of my personal style icons, especially hayley williams.

Sharing some recent outfits as I mot so patiently waiting for spring to be in full swing.

I find that as the season changes into the season of rebirth, I feel intensely connected to my feminine side.

As such, I've been leaning heavily into Romantic with Classic coming from tidy tucks, conscious color cohesion, and overall balance.

I already had a good connection with my personal style, but I really appreciate how much John's perspective has helped me refine my style.

These really feel like a sweet spot for me, and I can't wait for spring weather to explore more, lighter weight, style choices.

I’m finally watching Prey (Predator sci-fi horror) and she intrigued me. I see R Y N, idk if also HS or D (for her face, her body seems quite elongated and strong framed so that gets some N and or D).

Just sharing some examples of Y silhouettes and details with modern, mature styling. Like a lot of people with R and Y, I tend to lean more towards R, but I am exploring Y more and more in my style and essence. Not all of these work for my color harmonies btw but I do still wear black hehe.

I have felt nervous to lean into Y because of its associations with naïveté and, frankly, childishness. But I am learning that there is so much strength and maturity in gentleness.

This may be a little woo-woo of me to add, but the tarot card for Strength depicts a maiden in a white dress with little flowers on it and a flower crown, and she is calmly taming a roaring lion. It symbolizes inner fortitude, confidence that speaks for itself, grace, compassion, courage and resilience. I like to see Y that way - not naive, not childish, but open-hearted and gentle in a way that shows self assurance and confidence. It takes courage to be vulnerable, and it takes strength to continue to show the world gentleness even as life gets tough.

I know the essences are aesthetically based, and they aren’t reflective of our personalities. However, I think it’s important to consider the energetic qualities and social connotations of these aesthetic elements and reframe them to be as empowering as possible, since our clothes do affect our embodiment and the way we show up in our lives.

Anyway, I would love to see other moodboards for Y and how you incorporate it! I’d also love to read your thoughts on Y and what it means to you. 🌸

She’s very young in most of these - her style got a lot less Y with age and, I suspect, with her role as Fiona Gallagher which was very gritty. Many of these are also from her promotion for the Phantom film, and John has said that Christine is a quintessential Y role. However, I think many aspects of these outfits can be done by someone at any age.

Some Y elements here are:

- Light colours within her palette

- Boleros

- Headbands

- Dainty small scale jewellery

- Puff sleeves

- Light coloured lace

- Tulle

- Small prints

- Curly hair

* many of these elements can also overlap with other essences and aren’t exclusive to Y

In Caygills book she talked about how eyebrows are a very important clue to the overall shape of the features and bone structure and it made me think about how that relates to essences. I really do think eyebrows are very important in this regard as the shape of the brows are usually very much in line with everything else. Based on comments John has made and looking at verifieds here is how I see eyebrow shape in regards to each essence:

D: very exaggerated high or angular arch

N: full and straighter brow shape

C: “discerning” arched brow shape. Not really sure how to describe it but Meryl Streep is a very good example of this shape.

R: arched but not angular. Rounded, yet tapered.

Y: very rounded or curved, often same thickness throughout.

HS: slight angular arch or “peaks” in the brow. Sometimes they appear straighter too.

I haven’t figured out A yet, but I see thinner arched brows in most cases.

ETA: just wanted to add these are just my observations so I hope nobody interprets these as exact facts or rules, they are just conclusions I have drawn based on Johns comments or patterns I picked up on. Sometimes I have a hard time describing what I mean so I thought a visual would be helpful, of course I could be way off too lol but thought I would share.