How to Do the Kibbe Personal Line Sketch for Dramatic Classics

The information here comes from David Kibbe's book The Power of Style, which presents the updated framework for finding your Image Identity. The Personal Line is a key part of this method.

The Image Identity Formula

Kibbe has updated the concept of "Type" to Image Identity, a system built from two parts: Yin/Yang Balance and Personal Line. Your Yin/Yang Balance describes your physical body, placing you on a scale that runs from sharp yang at one end to soft yin at the other. Your Personal Line, however, acts as the blueprint for dressing that body, telling you exactly what your clothes need to do to fit your specific build. When you put these two parts together, you arrive at one of ten possible Image Identities.

What Is Personal Line

Your Personal Line is a continuous outline that captures how your body's proportions sit together as one whole unit. Because you can't see this line directly, you must define it through a specific sketching method.

Every Personal Line consists of a Dominant and an Additional trait. There are two possible Dominants—Vertical and Curve—and six possible Additionals: Curve, Width, Narrow, Balance, Double Curve, and Petite. Note that Vertical only ever appears as a Dominant. Once your Dominant is paired with an Additional, you have your Personal Line, which your clothing silhouette is then built to match.

The Five Archetypes on the Yin/Yang Scale

The yin/yang scale is defined by five archetypes that serve as essential reference points.

• Dramatic sits at the sharp yang extreme, characterized as narrow and elongated.

• Romantic is at the soft yin extreme, defined as lush and curvaceous.

• Classic sits at the balanced midpoint of the scale.

• Natural is also yang, but with a blunt-edged quality.

• Gamine is a combination of opposites, featuring a small yin size with a yang frame.

Your specific Image Identity is always read against this set of five reference points.

The Fabric-Draping Method

To define your Personal Line, you use a method involving an imaginary drape. Picture a piece of silk chiffon, weighted at the bottom, hanging from your shoulders. As the fabric falls, you watch its path to see if it drops in a straight line or if it is pushed outward by your bust and hips.

A straight drop from the shoulder indicates a Vertical Dominant. If the fabric pushes out at the bust, draws in at the waist, and pushes out again at the hips, your Dominant is Curve. This fabric is not an outline of your body, nor does it wrap tightly around you; instead, it skims your frame as it falls from the shoulder to reveal your Dominant trait.

How to Do the Sketch

The sketch turns that imaginary drape into a practical reference by drawing it directly onto a photo of yourself. You’ll need a full-length, front-facing photo taken in close-fitting clothes while standing in a relaxed, neutral pose. For the best results, set the camera about ten feet away at chest height and avoid using a mirror.

On the photo, sketch where the imaginary fabric would fall, starting at the edge of the shoulder. A line that travels straight down from the shoulder is a Vertical Dominant, while a line pushed out by the bust and hips is a Curve Dominant.

It is important to trust only what the sketch shows rather than referring back to individual body parts. Height also plays a role: anyone 5'6" or taller is automatically Vertical. Those who are shorter could have either Dominant, though Curve only appears under 5'6". Once the Dominant is set, the Additional is sketched on top to complete the Personal Line. This combined sketch then serves as the foundation for your Complementary Silhouette.

The Dramatic Classic Image Identity

Dramatic Classic is an identity defined by Balance with a sharp yang influence. Its Personal Line consists of Vertical plus Balance (also known as Moderate). You must be under 5'6" for this type. In Dramatic Classics the overall silhouette remains clean, smooth, and tailored with sharp edges. The goal is a look of timeless simplicity with a fashion-forward edge, where the eye travels relatively straight down.

In the drape method, the imaginary fabric falls in a straight line from the shoulder, with the outer edge of the upper torso and the hipbone remaining evenly spaced. This parity is exactly what the Balance Additional provides, creating an outline that is smooth, even, and free of extremes.

Reading Vertical Dominance in the Sketch

This is where my personal opinion comes in. Something I have noticed. The most telling part of a Vertical sketch is what happens to the line as it leaves the shoulder dot. I have highlighted this area in the diagram. Each of the five Vertical Image Identities shows a distinct behavior in this area:

• Dramatic: The line narrows inward after the shoulder dot and then continues straight to the floor.

• Soft Dramatic: The line falls off the shoulder and travels around the bustline.

• Flamboyant Natural: The line moves outward from the shoulder, wide enough that any bust curve sits inside that line before it drops down.

• Dramatic Classic: The line remains flat past the shoulder, showing no narrowing, widening, or curve.

• Flamboyant Gamine: The line is brief as it leaves the shoulder before dropping down, reflecting a compressed frame.

The Dramatic Classic Sketch

A Dramatic Classic sketch is characterized by a lack of extreme movement. Past the shoulder dot, the line does nothing—it doesn't narrow, widen, or curve. Instead, it runs straight down without any break or interruption.

What you see instead is parity, where the outer line at the shoulder and the outer line at the hip sit at the same width. The Dramatic Classic reading is essentially defined by this absence of movement and the even spacing between the shoulder and the hip.

The Seamstress Lens

From the perspective of a seamstress, the Dramatic Classic line requires very little adjustment. She would simply confirm that the outer shoulder dots and the outer hip dots sit at the same width, and then smooth the fabric inward at the waist with a light, tidying motion. That small adjustment is the entire job.

For more on this perspective, see A Seamstress Walks Into a Bar.

Other Ways to Discover Your Kibbe Type

While the sketch and fabric drape method is David Kibbe's current approach, several other methods can lead you to your type. The earliest was the quiz, which used questions about bone structure, flesh, and facial features. This was followed by asking for photo feedback in online communities. I then built my first approach the photo analysis tool, which uses computer vision to read proportions and yin/yang from a photo. I later updated the approach and accuracy, by adding 3D body mapping, sketch output, and virtual try-ons to show how different clothes look on your frame. Give it a try today!