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youremyheaven · 2 months

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Theatrical Romantic (TR): Kibbe ID Exploration Through Media

Let me begin by saying that its best to think of Kibbe as a set of archetypes (its called Kibbe Image Identities, not Kibbe Body Types for a reason) and to use it as a fun, creative & useful tool for self-presentation and not something to scrutinize your own appearance with (I blame social media and media in general for how obsessive women get with this).

Now let us begin. This is my new series, I'll be making a detailed post for each Kibbe ID (of which there are 13). I thought I'll begin with TRs as they are the most misunderstood and purported to be the rarest.

I think its important to analyse Kibbe IDs in relation to the character tropes most associated with actors who belong to each respective ID because this is the way that reveals the essence of an ID most clearly and also because (and most people overlook this) Kibbe is literally based on the old Hollywood star system.

Little rant: I get really sick of seeing people on the Kibbe subreddit analyse the size of their hands or the breadth of their shoulders or whatever when so much of it is just based on vibes :/ and the kind of vibes your physicality gives off. Ok rant over.

Character Tropes/Typecasting:

I have noticed that TRs are often cast as aristocrats, literal royalty or just someone upper-class and tend to play very sophisticated women.

Morgan Fairchild & Joan Collins (both verified TRs)

Priscilla Presley (unverified TR) played Jenna Wade on Dallas in the 80s. She described her character as "Jenna is her own woman. She's extremely self-reliant, she has lived in Europe and has a child. Just like me. Except that she's a bit more sophisticated than me. She has a lot of integrity, she's totally honest. I like her. How could I help but identify with her?"

TRs often come across as very self-possessed, intimidating, strong, free thinking and hard to "tame".

Its funny to me that this character was later played by Morgan Fairchild (verified TR) after Priscilla left the show

They literally look SO similar. the 1930s-1940s period and the decade of 1980s was the heyday for TRs and they were everywhere & kind of overrepresented in the media.

I find this very interesting because TRs are often typecast as rich bratty girls or rich manipulative women. In the 1930s the US economy was experiencing the Great Depression and the wealth disparity between the rich & the poor was at its peak. In the 40s due to wartime production, the US finally climbed out of the great depression and it was a period of economic uplifting. During both these periods TRs were kinda everywhere in the media and film noir cinema was also very popular (I'll explore the link between TRs & this genre in another post). Movies depicted opulence & glamour & TRs were there to play those roles. Film noir can be understood as a reaction to the paranoia & general mistrust of the Great Depression and these movies were often very sexually charged as well. This is where the "femme fatale" shines.

Its so weird how they're practically extinct in the public eye now because of the homogenization of fashion/style/body aesthetics and every body looking like a copy of each other. To embrace your ID is to celebrate your unique presence and embrace individuality.

this same character was also played by Francine Tacker and look at how different her presence/vibes come across as. Both Morgan & Priscilla kind of radiate a similar aura of sensuality, affluence and they don't really seem like people who will take shit from anyone. Francine looks much sweeter and more girl next door not a posh bougie cut throat kinda woman. Again this is just based on VIBES which is how casting works. An actor needs to LOOK convincing as the character they are playing.

Joan Collins' character on Dynasty really exemplifies this. She plays Alexis who is a manipulative, scheming but sophisticated antagonist. She's described as "passionate, shrewd, and vengeful, Alexis loves her children fiercely and will do anything to protect them, but she often ignores their own needs and desires in place of what she thinks is best". Collins described her character as such:

"I went into the show, I was told that it was a failing show and that it was about to be cancelled, so they expected me to bring something to it to make it much more interesting to the viewer. That was a challenge, and it wasn't necessarily all in the writing. But I did find that the character was multifaceted, and wasn't just the plain old straightforward bitch type. I tried to give her a sense of humour, I tried to give her vulnerability, because she was betrayed by her ex-husband and her whole family, and I tried to bring other dimensions to the character."

It's vv imp to note this because TRs don't play supervillains or straight-up evil people, they're kind of bratty, and a little uppitty but it's mostly all in good humour and they have their reasons for doing so. They're not evil without reason. Their "bitchiness" is usually a mask for their vulnerability.

Scarlett O'Hara is also a REALLY good example. There is a reason why Kibbe said Vivien Leigh is THE prime TR example. If you've watched the movie you know that Scarlett is a bratty rich girl who uses other people and learns her lesson far too late. She is also a victim of her circumstances.

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I feel like everyone associates an RBF with Vivien Leigh and does not see how kooky, playful and kind of silly (although mean and bratty as well) her character was. This is what TRs are like, they look bitchy but they're actually only mean in a playful silly kind of way.

This Jada Pinkett Smith in the 90s. A lot of people only know her in her current pixie cut form so they're confused by her being typed as a TR but if you watch her old stuff or look at pictures of her from when she had long hair, its vv apparent that she's a TR.

Her daughter Willow looks so much like her (this is a pic of young Jada)

Its crazy how styling can hide or enhance so many things. Jada comes across vv differently now than she did in the 90s.

TRs are often typecast as spoilt brats who are a little dim-witted. They have a dry sense of humour and can come across as cold/mean/blunt. Even when the character isn't actually rich, they still come across as bratty.

Alex Russo is a good example of this (played by verified TR Selena Gomez). Alex is good-natured and means no harm but she's often rude, sarcastic, conniving and manipulative.

Jackie Burkhart (played by verified TR Mila Kunis) is yet another good example of this trope.

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TRs are often cast as drama queens and they KILL it in these roles.

Morgan Brittany played Vivien Leigh (both verified TR) in 3 different movies. Their resemblance is uncanny as are the vibes they both give off.

She's best known for playing Katherine on Dallas. Her character was very scheming & conniving.

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This is a very interesting video of Morgan speaking about how she tried to emulate Vivien's "essence". This was in the 70s pre-Kibbe but I feel like she was intuitively employing the same techniques.

Donna Mills (verified TR) is best known for playing Abby Cunningham on Knots Landing.

Abby's storylines focused on business dealings, affairs and family troubles. Introduced as the sister of Sid Fairgate, she was initially portrayed as a friendly, warm-hearted woman with great love for her children. In due time, she evolved into the series' main antagonist, constantly causing mayhem in others' lives. According to series creator David Jacobs, the producers always intended Abby to be a J.R. Ewing-esque character. Jacobs said, "When we were casting the role of Abby, we were looking for a homey type, someone whom the other women characters would trust. It was our intention to have this nice person gain the trust of the other women and then cause trouble for them. We didn't want the other characters and the audience to know that there was a scheming person under this nice facade. We wanted her to come on as a good person and then evolve into a vixen." The character became known for her manipulative behaviour and was often labelled a "soap vixen".

This pretty much sums up the TR cinematic typecasting lol. They're innocent seeming vixens. Their "femme fatale" essence comes through with their scheming & manipulating, they're not action heroines who kick ass, most people now associate "femme fatale" with someone like Angelina Jolie but back in the day it was a charming innocent alluring woman who manipulated you and ruined your life.

Salma Hayek's first & only telenovela Teresa had her playing a young woman who uses her beauty & manipulation tactics to climb out of poverty.

"Teresa is a beautiful and intelligent young woman desperately seeking to get out of the grinding poverty of the neighborhood where she lives. Resentful of the miserable life that took her sister, she plans to use her beauty and intelligence to enter the world of luxury to which she wants to belong.

To this end, she enters her classmate and friend Aurora's group of friends. There she meets Aurora's cousin Raul, a young but neurotic millionaire with suicidal tendencies. Telling Raul that she is rich, coupled with her beauty, Raul becomes smitten with her. Even though he and Aurora discover that Teresa lied about her wealth, Raul is obsessed with her and forgives her.

Fearing that their opposition to the relationship will end with Raul's suicide, Aurora's parents accept the romance of Teresa and Raul. However, Teresa discovers that her deceit and ambition leads to unhappiness and loneliness." (Wikipedia Plot Synopsis)

I feel like most verified TRs have played a character that uses their beauty/schemes etc to get ahead in life only to realize that it makes them deeply unhappy. Its kind of the OG TR trope.

This is also what sets them apart from other villainous or evil characters. They have goodness in them to make them realize they're wrong. Also their schemes are often used to comedic effect and they're not straight up cold or ruthless, they're slightly slow and dimwitted (charmingly so).

Voice & Mannerisms

I have found one of the most distinct TR trait is their voice (usually low pitched, kinda husky) and also HOW they speak. They almost always come across as either

a. bubbly, playful, dry humour, little snarky and sarcastic

b. very well spoken, sophisticated, elegant, ladylike

or usually a combination of the two.

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Jane Seymour (verified TR) look at the way she speaks, behaves

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She's very playful but elegant and poised

Here's a bit where Selena speaks about her low pitched voice.

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Salma Hayek (verified TR) honestly watch any interview of hers to get an idea of the traits & qualities of a TR. she's very feminine, very poised, very graceful yet silly, playful and can be very sarcastic and also does not take shit from anyone. That's the femme fatale essence for you.

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I hope this post helped shed some light on the nature of TRs.

#Youtube #theatrical romantics #kibbe #kibbe id exploration #TRs #body types #style essences #style analysis #kibbe analysis

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youremyheaven · 10 months

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Kibbe Observations

Theatrical Romantics often have distinct husky voices. Morgan Fairchild, Jane Seymour, Salma Hayek, Mila Kunis (if you watch Black Swan you can listen to her speak at a lower pitch, people who have husky voices sound shrill when they speak at a higher pitch which is how Mila usually speaks)

I feel like every Kibbe type has a few celebs who intuitively always dress for their type and a bunch of others who absolutely never do lol.

Sofia Vergara, Kelly Brook, Ava Gardner, Christina Hendricks etc are Soft Dramatics who almost always wear their lines.

Salma Hayek, Joan Collins are TRs who pretty much embody TR glam most of the time.

3. Kibbe is based on vibes someone gives off, more than you would think. There are certain criteria that has to be met for each type but there are exceptions, always!!

Audrey Hepburn was 5'7 but she's a true Gamine. It's rare to see a tall Gamine but it's not impossible

Beyonce is also 5'7 but she's a Romantic even though most Romantics are short.

4. Kibbe is about image identity. That means the image you project. You can analyse the length & breadth of someone's shoulders & calves all you like but your image identity is MORE than that. I'll use an example. Mila Kunis & Sarah Hyland, pretty much look like sisters yet the vibes they give off are different.

Mila Kunis has a very sultry, sensuous "femme fatale" essence (she's verified TR) but Sarah Hyland has a more innocent but kind of mischievous, more youthful vibe. You can easily see that Mila has a more "dark feminine" energy whereas although Sarah has similar coloring and features, she still feels more light feminine.

Here she is in a very TR-esque outfit but something feels off

This outfit would look really weird on a lot of people (a tutu skirt for God's sake 😭) but she looks good in it

in this dress however, she looks like a kid who wore a grown up dress. her youthful vibe contrasts the heavy romantic vibes of this dress

However, here she looks like a complete doll. again, this look seems to suit her in a way it wouldn't suit most people.

This dress is a little too intense for her.

However she looks great here!!

I would say she's Soft Gamine

She has Gamine essence and it's the kind of styling that looks best on her

Let's compare her to Mila Kunis now

Mila, kinda looks like she's wearing a costume here. It looks very off.

Here she's in a very Romantic outfit with a dash of glamour and she looks greattt

Tea length dresses only look good on Gamines imo and here Mila looks very out of place

despite being very short, tea length dresses, even in a more Dramatic style, does not seem to suit Mila

Here she is, in a very TR look and it really harmonizes all her features and attributes.

this dress would be more flattering on a Natural type but Mila does not look like herself here

aside from the fact that this dress needed some ironing, this is probably the most TR look Mila has ever worn and it really makes her shine

5. In order to be SD, you need to have a T shaped silhouette. Broad shoulders, small waist and proportionately small hips. SDs are not "tall TRs".

6. Sofia Vergara & Joe Manganiello are my SD power couple

its sooo easy to tell that they both have similar essences and project a similar image

however, here she is with her former fiancee Nick Loeb. Sofia's overpowering Dramatic essence makes her stand out and she almost looks out of place next to Nick, who is FN. Their essences clash with each other and make them kind of awkward looking together.

There is a meme about how Brad Pitt imitates the women he's with. Let's see how he channels his different essences with different women.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt are both Naturals (FN & SN) with Dramatic/Romantic essence

Together they project a very larger than life, powerful, strong and intense vibe

Here he is, with Jennifer Aniston. as a couple, they project a more grounded, couple-next door, warm vibe. they're like the cool couple on a college campus, two hot people who look good together but in a very earthy, grounded way. Jennifer Aniston is also a Natural (SN)

Brad has Dramatic essence however Jen is pure Natural. so while Brad can pull off a more intense styling, Jen would look kinda out of place in it.

The dress and leather in general is too overpowering on her

However, she really shines in outfits like these that let her true essence be reflected. everybody, especially in the last couple of years, has been imitating Rachel Green (and 90s style in general) but imo, its most flattering on Naturals because of the way clothes were designed in that decade.

Here he is with Gwyneth Paltrow. Gwyneth is yet another Natural (FN) but she has Classic essence. The thing about possessing Classic essence is that you have a perfect yin-yang balance, so nothing stands out individually since everything blends together perfectly. Brad & Gwyneth together sort of bleed into each other, their essences don't contrast each other in anyway, they almost look like siblings😭😭😭 , there is no visible polarity at play.

Brad was with 3 different Natural women yet they all projected a very distinct vibe because of their very different essences.

7. kibbe is about image and how other perceive you. its futile to obsess over width and breadth and circumference and what not. dont miss the forest for the trees. also, there is a lot of variety within each type, not all Soft Classics look the same and not every Gamine is going to look great in tea length dresses. every individual is unique.

Amy Adams is FN but she's only 5'2. imo, she has a blend of Natural+Classic essence.

IMO, she was horribly miscast in Enchantment. She does not possess the wide-eyed, gullible "ingenue" essence necessary to play a lost princess. i just wasn't convinced that she's this naive, innocent princess because Amy exhibits a more world-wise, mature and "no-nonsense" vibe.

be it in American Hustle, Arrival or Sharp Objects, she plays characters that seem to fit her like a glove. She's just very convincing in these type of roles because she seems like a grown up who knows what to do and how to get things done. She does not have the air of a ditzy, confused damsel in distress

here's Isla Fisher. i specifically chose Isla because her & Amy kind of look alike but their essences are vastly different from each other.

Isla is a verified Romantic and has Romantic + Ingenue essence and she's perfect in films like Confessions of a Shopaholic because she's convincing as a ditzy airhead who is slightly naive and very confused. (this being one manifestation of the ingenue essence) if you look at her career, she's by and large done a lot of romcoms. It's hard to imagine her in a show like Sharp Objects or a movie like Arrival because the image she projects is far more youthful and sweet.

8. there is a reason why kibbe has its roots in old hollywood. old hollywood studio system manufactured stars the way kpop companies manufacture idols today. the were assigned an image to project and each star managed by the company had their own unique appeal that set them apart from the rest. lauren bacall projects an aura thats entirely different from audrey hepburn or marilyn monroe. liz taylor is completely different from gene tierney. most big stars in those days possessed Dramatic essence, simply because Dramatic essence makes people stand out easily. its a very large, strong, intense essence and gives the individual an edge. but the market created space for all kind of stars, there were actors who had a more boy/girl next door aura, femme/homme fatale aura, a quirky,funny aura and more. these days, cinema in general lacks big stars. imo there hasn't been a truly big star in maybe the last 20 years or so of cinema because no one's projecting an image that appropriately fits them.

however, pop music has had many icons and a huge part of their success is their image. be it taylor swift or nicki minaj or even BTS. people connect to them because they have a stable image identity for others to connect to. they have lore, they switch things up and keep things interesting but there's a bedrock that is unchanging and thats what makes them "stars".

#kibbe #kibbe observations #kitchener #david kibbe #essence theory #style essences #fashion analysis #style analysis #fashion #discussion

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