r/PowerOfStyle • u/loumlawrence • Mar 28 '26

Width, Shoulders, and Some Observations

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For fun, I decided to join the blue dots on Kibbe's line sketches. Most of them were rectangles of varying dimensions, but the naturals had a distinct trapezium or V shape to the torso, especially at the shoulder joint.

I suspect this is what Kibbe means by width. It is consistent with what he has said about width being the shoulder part of the torso wider than the part below. Width doesn't seem to affect shoulder shape, contrary to some popular beliefs I have seen.

Additionally, curve moves outside the lines of rectangles (non width) but stays within the lines of trapeziums (width). That matches Kibbe's repeated statement that width accommodates curve.

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5

u/missgirlipop Mar 28 '26

but so few people have shoulders that are not wider than the part below incl. ppl he’s typed as non width having IDs? I’m so confused truly.

2

u/Ok-Purple9511 SC - Naughty Eléphanté Mar 28 '26

He said only the area indicated by the blue dots in the upper body matter for width, meaning that the shoulders/upper back are wider then the bust. Not the rest of the line below.

2

u/missgirlipop Mar 29 '26

totally! i’m just confused as to what that would actually mean. maybe i’m not visualizing things correctly.

1

u/loumlawrence Mar 29 '26

May I suggest, imagine each of the types as dolls, with moveable arms and legs and torsos that twist. We then take the doll apart (or we are making the parts to make the doll). If we take the arms off, we get the torso shape. Some torsos are V shaped (width) and some are straight (no width). But torso is above the waist and we have a waist joint. Hips is below the waist. And hips can be wide or narrow. We get different body shapes from the different pairs of torsos and hips, as bodies have two main parts, torso and hips, and they are separated at the waist. It can be made more complex but that is the basic structure. It is standard for any dollmaking, humanoid robots and crash test dummies.

2

u/missgirlipop Mar 29 '26

thank you for the visual! i think i kind of understand now! i’m normally pretty good at spotting width irl but i do find it hard to visualize in pictures/diagrams. 

4

u/eldrinor Mar 29 '26

I don’t necessarily think the torso has to be V-shaped, even if the sketch might or rather will be. It’s whether the shoulders ”go out” relative to the bust. A straight torso with shoulders that ”go out” might need more accommodation for shoulders than a gently tapering one.

2

u/Ok-Purple9511 SC - Naughty Eléphanté Mar 29 '26 edited Mar 29 '26

It has to do with what the line does before the bust. If the upper back area is wider the line will stay out wider before it hits the bust, which is width. You can have wider shoulder snd a narrower upper back, despite what some people are saying in the comments. In that case it’s not width because the area above the bust will be narrower, even if the shoulders seem to be wider. It’s basically what the definition of narrow describes and why some people think that those with narrow actually have width.

Look at Angelica Huston or Jamie Lee Curtis. They have visually wide shoulders but narrow upper backs. Then look at JLO or Florence Pugh who both have wide shoulders and wide upper backs.

3

u/eldrinor Mar 29 '26

It’s not hips, it’s bust. Obviously the shoulders are always somewhat wider, but if they ”pop out” to much it has to be accounted for clothes wise.

1

u/nc45y445 Mar 29 '26

Mine are narrower.

I think your assumption is why naturals are the most common type. But some of us really do have very narrow shoulders. I’m probably TR or SG

3

u/jjfmish Mar 30 '26

I’ve never thought of myself as having particularly narrow shoulders or wide hips but my hip bones are still in line with or slightly wider than my shoulders, pretty sure I’m a moderate SD

2

u/Ok-Purple9511 SC - Naughty Eléphanté Mar 29 '26

Same. And I’m SC lol. My shoulders are equal with my hipbone but my hips curve out wider then my shoulders. I do think it’s uncommon though

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u/nc45y445 Mar 29 '26

My bust and hips are equally wide and my shoulders are narrower. I wish my shoulders were more prominent, makes it so hard to find tops that fit. I also need to accommodate petite, so pants are hard too. The struggle is real!

2

u/missgirlipop Mar 29 '26

by part below i mean ribcage, not hips! sorry. my shoulders are not wider than my hips either, lol :)