Prints and Print-Mixing

Next week, we’ll begin a series on prints and print-mixing for every essence!

Here’s a general intro:

Why Wear Prints?

1) …they’re fun!

Print-mixing in particular can be extremely fun.

The daring practice of pairing different prints tends to be most associated with Gamine, but we’ll discuss whether it can work for any essence!

2) Express Yourself

Prints are also a great way to express your style type.

If we think about fashion as a form of language, then prints are strong, clear communicators.

Like colors, prints easily express different emotions that can embody each of the seven essences, such as passion for Romantic and jubilance for Gamine.

And we might argue that prints can be even clearer communicators than colors, because prints can be more literal.

For instance, Romantic beauty has a lot to do with love and romance, and you can wear colors like red to symbolize that.

But red doesn’t just symbolize romance—it can also express things like power and aggression.

So to really communicate your Romantic, you might not just want to wear red—you might want to wear a print with red roses, which will give the viewer a giant clue that your fashion is supposed to feel romantic rather than aggressive.

Prints are wonderful because they can be specific and literal, helping to clearly express any of the seven essences.

In some cases, prints also allow us to wear colors that could otherwise clash with our essences.

For instance, bold red isn’t Ingenue’s most stereotypical hue. But if you choose a print with tiny red hearts or cherries, then a color that could otherwise feel overpowering will feel soft and sweet—perfect for Ingenue.

3) Versatility and Harmony

Prints can also be helpful if you struggle to make your style type match your silhouette preference.

For instance, some people might feel that fitted, waist-emphasizing clothing most flatters their figure. But maybe they have a lot of Natural, an essence whose fashion is iconically loose.

You might find that you can appear harmonious by wearing a fitted silhouette (maybe to flatter one of your other essences) and then wearing highly Natural colors and prints.

Similarly, if you have a lot of Romantic but prefer a more modest silhouette, you might be able to wear loose clothing (maybe to flatter another of your essences) and still look harmonious if you wear highly Romantic colors and prints.

Can All the Essences Wear Prints?

Yes!

Gamine is probably the essence most strongly associated with them. But all seven essences can rock patterned fashion.

And Gamine is definitely the essence most associated with print-mixing. But I think many of the other essences can look amazing doing this, too. Upcoming posts will explore how.

We’ll also try to explore how prints and print-mixing can work for some of the blended style types.

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Part 2. Makeup Recap

That’s it for prints this week!

Since it’s a shorter post, I thought it would be fun to share a few reflections on our recent makeup series:

Patterns in Yin and Yang

One of the most interesting things to me is to look at patterns across the essences’ best makeup and how they do (or occasionally don’t) relate to the essences’ best fashion.

For instance, in general the “yang” essences prefer matte makeup textures, while the “yin” prefer shine.

And this is true in fashion for the fabrics that these essences prefer, too—matte for yang, shiny for yin.

How Does Classic Fit?

Classic also prefers matte makeup, consistent with how in fashion, Classic silhouettes tends to be a bit more similar to the “yang” essences, often featuring straight shapes and tailored matte fabrics.

Though one way that Classic has similarity to yin beauty is in the essence’s preference for light eyeshadow on the lid paired with a medium shade in the crease.

Light shadow on the lid and a darker crease color (even if only subtly darker) works well for all the yin essences.

This is partly because pairing light with shadows is a good way to emphasize dimension and curves.

Emphasizing Yin and Yang Differences

The yin essences are especially flattered by shimmery eyeshadow on the lids and shine on the lips, to draw attention to and enhance the curves of the features.

In contrast, Dramatic, Natural, and Gamine all tend to prefer eyeshadow and lip applications that feel “flatter.”

So for the yang essences, eyeshadow can be applied in a solid, matte color all over the eye area. And lip products can also be applied in matte finishes.

This helps to create a linear and straight feel, as opposed to a curvy or voluptuous one.

Yin and Yang Commonality

But we also see notable differences between the yin essences.

For instance, Romantic makeup can feel much more intense than Ingenue’s or Ethereal’s.

Similarly, Natural makeup can feel much more understated than Dramatic or Gamine makeup.

And while Dramatic and Gamine makeup have evident similarity, Gamine favors shorter lines, lighter or brighter colors, and more playful techniques that overall create a more youthful, fun-loving feel.

And we also see that sometimes, “yin” essences can seem to have more in common with “yang” essences.

For instance, Romantic likes dark tightlining, but Ethereal and Ingenue really tend to not—and dark tightlining is probably most stereotypically associated with Dramatic, and also works well for Gamine.

So this is an instance where Romantic actually has more in common with the “yang” essences.

And this makes sense, because dark tightlining adds intensity to the face. And the Romantic essence is all about passionate emotion.

Similarly, Dramatic beauty feels emotionally intense and, well, dramatic. And Gamine beauty feels intense in its high-energy and liveliness.

In comparison, Ingenue and Ethereal feel much calmer. Both of these essences have a strong association with “gentle” vibes.

It’s true that with Ethereal’s supernatural aura, the essence can feel quite powerful. But there still tends to be a tranquility to Ethereal’s regal feel.

And there’s also a sense where Natural fits in well with Ingenue and Ethereal here, because Natural tends to have a calm, relaxed, laidback aura, too.

Fittingly, Natural dislikes dark tightlining and other makeup elements that feel very intense.

This is also helpful for understanding these essences’ best colors and fashion.

In general, Romantic, Dramatic, and Gamine will have a higher-energy vibe, and can handle deeper and brighter colors and greater color contrast, whereas the other essences want a more tranquil feel.

Of course, there is a lot of nuance here—as discussed in our color series, I actually think Natural can be flattered by high constrast in fashion, because this can replicate the contrast we see in the natural world, where shadows interact with light.

And Ethereal is amazing in dark purples and dark blues, because these stereotypically cool colors can still feel relatively calm even in dark shades. And purple and blue easily express the essence’s dreamy and regal feel.

So if you naturally have high contrast coloring, then even if you have a lot of Ethereal or Natural, you may find that you can handle higher contrast in makeup than convention would suggest.

Beyond Yin and Yang

We can think of other ways to group the essences, too—for instance, we might say that Dramatics, Gamines, and Ethereals overall wear the most unique-feeling makeup, whereas Natural, Classic, and Ingenue makeup feels the most conventional.

And this is generally true for the fashion that flatters these essences, too—Dramatics are great in avant-garde styles; Gamines in daring, quirky fashion; and Ethereal in unique, non-mainstream outfits.

In contrast, Natural and Classic wear the most “basic” fashion of all the essences (and make basics look amazing! They’re the ultimate wearers of plain tees and jeans.) They also tend to wear the simplest, lowest detail fashion.

Where does Romantic fit here? We might say Romantic makeup and fashion is somewhat conventional (at least in certain settings, like a Red Carpet), but ultimately so glamorous, it doesn’t really feel “mainstream” or “everyday.”

Other ways we could group the essences include by how formal vs. casual that essence tends to feel; by how youthful vs. mature that essence tends to feel; or by how detailed vs. minimalist that essence tends to feel. And we could likely think of more categories!

Ultimately, the essences are much more complex than a simple yin/yang distinction.

Beauty in Variety

The point of making these comparisons of course isn’t to say that any essence is superior.

To the contrary, all the essences have amazing qualities and unique beauty. And if you can learn the patterns of the different essences—how each essence feels emotionally, and the colors, textures, and shapes each essence tends to prefer—then this can be a great asset for creating harmonious outfits, makeup, and hairstyles.

See you next time for prints!