How to Do the Kibbe Personal Line Sketch for Romantics

The framework here comes from David Kibbe's book The Power of Style. It sets out the updated method for finding your Image Identity, with the Personal Line at its center.

The Image Identity Formula

Kibbe Type has been updated to Image Identity, which consists of two essential components: Yin/Yang Balance and Personal Line. Your Yin/Yang Balance describes your physical body on a scale that runs from sharp yang to soft yin. Your Personal Line, however, is the blueprint for how you plan a silhouette for that body, acting as the guide your clothes need to follow. When you add these two together, you arrive at your Image Identity, which will be one of ten possible results.

What Is Personal Line

Your Personal Line is a continuous outline that records how all of your body's proportions relate to one another. Because it doesn't appear directly on your body, you have to learn how to define and draw it by looking at your shape as a whole.

Every Personal Line is built from two pieces: 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. Together, these two parts form your Personal Line, and your clothing silhouette is then designed to follow that line.

The Five Archetypes on the Yin/Yang Scale

The yin/yang scale is marked by five archetypes that serve as reference points for every Image Identity.

• Dramatic represents extreme sharp yang, characterized as narrow and elongated.

• Romantic is extreme soft yin, defined by a lush and curvaceous frame.

• Classic sits at the balanced midpoint of the scale.

• Natural is also yang, but with a blunt rather than sharp quality.

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

Your specific Image Identity always sits in relation to these five reference points.

The Fabric-Draping Method

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

A straight fall from the shoulder all the way down indicates a Vertical Dominant. However, if the fabric is pushed out at the bust, drawn in at the middle, and pushed out again at the hips, your Dominant is Curve. This fabric is not a literal outline of your body, nor is it pulled tight against you; instead, it skims your frame as it falls from the shoulder to reveal your Dominant trait.

How to Do the Sketch

The Personal Line is defined in practice by sketching 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 pose with your arms at your sides. For accuracy, set the camera about ten feet away at chest height and avoid using a mirror.

On the photo, trace where the imaginary fabric falls, starting at the edge of the shoulder where it meets the upper arm. A straight downward line is a Vertical Dominant, while a line pushed outward at the bust and hips is a Curve Dominant.

It is important to trust the sketch as your primary source rather than returning to your body to confirm the results. Height also plays a role: if you are 5'6" or taller, your Dominant is automatically Vertical. Under that height, both Vertical and Curve are possible, though Curve only appears under 5'6". Once the Dominant is set, the Additional trait is sketched on top to complete the Personal Line. This combined sketch then serves as the foundation for your Complementary Silhouette.

The Romantic Image Identity

Romantic is the extreme soft Yin Image Identity, defined by a Personal Line of Curve plus Double Curve. Height for this type is typically under 5'6". The resulting silhouette is soft and fluid, designed to accommodate the body's curves. The outline should skim the body without being tight, allowing the eye to travel around both curves, and it should never feel stiff or rigid.

In the drape method, the imaginary fabric is pushed out by the bust, cuts in at the middle, and is pushed out again at the hips. The Double Curve Additional adds two clear ellipses—one at the bust and one at the hips—with a defined indentation between them. This creates a silhouette shaped by two stacked ovals and a sharply defined waist.

Reading Curve Dominance in the Sketch

Now this is just something I have noticed, but I think there are two parts of a Curve sketch that matter most: the shoulder line and the waist leading into the upper hip. Reading these together reveals which Curve Image Identity is in play:

• Romantic: The line curves around the body with a clear cut at the waist, and the bust curve pushes past the shoulder line.

• Theatrical Romantic: The shoulder line narrows inward, the waist cuts in, and the curves remain inside the shoulder line.

• Soft Natural: The shoulder line moves outward, and the bust and hip curve sits comfortably within that wider shoulder line.

• Soft Classic: The shoulder line remains neutral, the waist is subtle, and the proportions stay balanced with the shoulders.

• Soft Gamine: The shoulder line is shortened, and the curve sits compact inside a small frame.

The Romantic Sketch

A Romantic sketch is read through the relationship between the shoulder line, the curves at the bust and hip, and the waist. The line travels around the body, often leaving some "breathing room" between the shoulder and the bust.

From there, both the bust and the hip push the line past where the shoulder line sits. This combination of an outward push on both curves, paired with a defined waist cutting in between them, is what uniquely marks the Romantic sketch.

The Seamstress Lens

From the perspective of a seamstress, the Romantic line is shaped by creating space where the body pulls outward. She would pull the fabric above the bustline outward to make room, then add a small tuck just under the bust to lift and define the upper curve. At the waist and upper hip, she would fill the fabric outward, easing it around both curves so the line moves around the body completely.

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

Other Ways to Discover Your Kibbe Type

While the fabric drape and sketch method is David Kibbe's current approach, there are other ways to land on your type. The original was the quiz, which used questions about bone structure, flesh, and facial features. This was followed by asking online communities for help. I then built the photo analysis tool, which uses computer vision to read proportions and yin/yang balance 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 specific frame. Try it today!