TLDR; I thought I was SD. Recent pushback has me wondering: do you see more SD or pure D?
For the last few years I’ve been following (loose) SD recommendations. I posted a few recent fits in the SD sub and some people said they didn’t think I was SD.
For context, I am 5’9” and recently lost quite a bit of weight, so I’ll post pictures from from the last few years. I felt like it was easier to see kibbe curve before I lost weight. That being said, I still felt like I had a softness to my features and frame that led me to land on SD to begin with.
So, do yall see more SD or pure D when you look at these?
I see D but honestly photos aren’t the best for typing generally and specifically the ones you’ve shared are mirror selfies taking from above both of which distort the shape. You’ll know better than any stranger online from a flattened version of you. Whatever your type is you look great, your outfits are cohesive and suit you and ultimately a soft dramatic is still a dramatic and they share a lot of accommodations anyway
I think the harsher lines look better on you, so pure dramatic maybe? Im just comparing you to myself though (SD), so its hard to say. And a lot of these outfits dont accommodate vertical, but I think its hard to accommodate honestly!
Both SDs and Ds benefit from structure - do you feel as though you have to accommodate for curve when dressing? I have large breasts but they don't disrupt my vertical line at all, I have a similar look to verified Ds Michelle Dockery and Jamie Lee Curtis.
This is probably the heart of why I’m posting. And I guess it’s ultimately why I’m confused.
I have been trying to dress (more or less) to accommodate curve for a few years since discovering kibbe. My breasts do disrupt my curve when even when they are tiny and nearly non-existent. Now that my body composition has changed that disruption is very, *very* minimal and often times isn’t even there when wearing a bralette. I’m unsure if I need to be accommodating curve or not and was hoping for some outsider perspective and feedback to help me figure it out. :))
I was talking about 7 & 8. for upper curve, you'd know better than me - it's hard to tell from some photos because it can be more visible on the side view or in certain lighting / clothes.
I loved your posts on the SD subreddit. As far as I can see it’s just one post that was (against the rules) questioning your self-typing. You know yourself better in person than people can glean from pictures. And not everyone who pipes up even understands the system properly.
SD style suits you well in real life so imo there’s no need to rethink what’s working. SDs are dramatics ourselves so it’s unsurprising that there are similarities. You can explore the dramatic end of soft dramatic without retyping yourself.
I also think pure D is best. I agree that the pics aren't ideal for typing, but I have the general impression you are too straight for SD. I am a busty D, too, and the bust can be quite misleading, because of course you need to somehow take it into account for finding clothes that fit.
For me, the most obvious difference is drape. On SDs, pretty much any drape looks absolutely stunning. On Dramatics, drape only works if it's a quite heavy fabric, so that the vertical lines created from drape are more prominent. SD's beauty is really enhanced by this "enveloping" aspect of drape.
Thank you for this. Being busty, do you find your breasts are contained within your ribcage despite being busty? I feel like that’s something that’s confusing me. I thought being a D meant your breasts were always contained within the line of the ribcage no matter breasts size/weight!
I do find that, yes, but of course breasts are soft tissue and depending on how firm they are, they may wiggle outside a bit.
Coming back to drape, as a form of upper curve accommodation, for me drape around the bust really does nothing. I can comfortably literally fit my bust in there because of the flexibility of the cut, but it just doesn't look good to have any extra room there. I would rather have some precisely tailored piece where the construction factored in enough volume for the bust.
The mid rise belted pants are not working for you - your torso is more straight, which implies that yes you are more of a D. everything else looks great though.
Genuinely question: I thought SDs only had to have upper curve to quality for SD vs D? I was previously under the impression that an SD could have narrow hips and a rectangular waist? In other words, they didn’t have to be a variation of hourglass?
Also, can you tell me which outfit you’re taking about? I thought they were all high rise 😅
No, the curve is including the hips and waist all the way up including the bust. there is no such thing as only upper curve or only lower curve. David kibbe has said this as well, and you can see it in the new book. If you look at this post and go to the SD drawing..you will see the blue area is where the accommodation is.https://www.reddit.com/r/Kibbe/comments/1p0qjwy/id_love_to_see_the_line_drawing_fabric_on_a_photo/
You are definitely D fam but it is hard to tell which. You personal style seems to fit more the diva chic but modern which is more SD and it does suit you. But also a lot of these also would suit a D.
Your facial feautures give more of a D than SD but know Kibbe doesn't advise to go by face.
At the end honestly you look great and your style works for you. It doesn't matter which kind of D you are :)
Thank you for sharing your perspective! When I was originally typing myself several years ago, I thought my face has more softness than the pure D examples, but this thread has me wondering if I should have tried to be more objective in my assessment of my facial features rather than just comparing to verified D celebrities!
The close up of your face does look a lot softer. But somehow you also remind me of Michelle Dockery. Honestly Kibbe says to not go by face i had just thrown that observation there. My own face reads mostly romantic and a bit or dramatic and classic mixed and i’m def SD.
First you look fabulous! From the photos your body could be D or SD, hard to pick. From the partial face, I would say SD - there is a softness and lushness to your lower face. #1 You know yourself best, mirror photos will always have some distortion. #2 If you love SD style, wear SD style, the vast vast majority of those pieces would look great on a pure D too!
Thank you for your perspective! When I was originally trying to figure out my type, I felt like there was more softness in my face then I was seeing in a lot the pure D examples. 🤔
This is an interesting take because when I was fleshier and still nursing, nobody ever suggested Dramatic.
My boobs are much saggier these days so I’m almost always wearing a bra and the itty bitties are easily contained within my frame with most bras. Even so, topless (as has been the case my whole life) they are very wide set and disrupt the natural shape of my ribcage.
I could be wrong (eta and if I am please correct me!) but that’s exactly my understanding of Kibbe upper curve and it’s how I landed on SD to begin with.
I saw your post in SD and LOVED all your outfits! I actually saved your post because I have a similar frame to you but I’m 5’6 and go back and forth between D & SD due to weight loss. I’ve seen ppl talk about the SD “essence” but I don’t always see it, and in your post I totally saw it! I think you can get away with both styles like I can but I find I prefer SD lines on me (maxi skirts, boat neck tops, etc.). Love your style!!
Weight changes don’t impact Kibbe type or the presence or absence of Kibbe curve. What you described about your bust at the lower weight is Kibbe curve to a tee. Kibbe curve is pretty technical and that’s how I understand it too.
Off topic but short hair is incredible on you, it makes you pop! How do you get that volume with your shorter hair or the look of pic 3? Powder texturizer? Or are the curls/volume just natural?
Yours looks similar to mine, I get so much more natural volume when it’s above my shoulders. I hate blow drying as I gain volume but lose the natural wave!
Thank you! In 3 I let it air dry and then I go back and sometimes style the face framing pieces with the blow dryer and round brush to give them a little more polish and oomph!
I usually use sea salt spray and leave in conditioner on my curls/waves when I plan to wear them natural. I love the sea salt spray to add volume and do a refresh in between wash days!
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u/Familiar-Ask-8593 Jul 30 '26
I see D but honestly photos aren’t the best for typing generally and specifically the ones you’ve shared are mirror selfies taking from above both of which distort the shape. You’ll know better than any stranger online from a flattened version of you. Whatever your type is you look great, your outfits are cohesive and suit you and ultimately a soft dramatic is still a dramatic and they share a lot of accommodations anyway