Subtypes, Part Two
Last time, we explored how it’s possible to create style essence subtypes for Classic, Gamine, Natural, and Dramatic.
Today we’ll investigate whether it’s possible to create subtypes for Romantic, Ethereal, and Ingenue.
But first, a key caveat:
You Don’t Need to Learn Your Subtypes
This is because:
The seven essence system is already impressively comprehensive, even if you don’t consider subtypes at all.
I’ll continue to use the seven essence system for Style Analysis, and the seven essences will continue to be the primary focus of this blog.
If you’d like to know your subtypes, I’m happy to analyze them as part of your Style Analysis—simply let me know that you’d like learn them. But learning your subtypes will be optional—subtypes won’t be an “official” part of the Analysis, because I don’t want to impose the concept of subtypes on people who prefer not to use it! :)
Some people might find learning their subtypes helpful, but some people might not.
For example, depending on your unique facial features as a Dramatic, you might find that you’re more flattered by cropped Dramatic fashion than elongated Dramatic fashion, or vice versa.
So, you might want to know whether you have the Elongated Dramatic subtype or the Cropped Dramatic subtype.
But it’s also possible to have both subtypes of a single essence (for example, to have some facial features that appear harmonious in Cropped Dramatic fashion, and some that appear harmonious in Elongated Dramatic fashion). And some people might also have facial features that are close enough to both subtypes where they can harmoniously wear both.
In such cases, it could be interesting to learn your subtypes, but it wouldn’t be necessary for understanding your best fashion.
You Might Want to Learn Your Subtypes
If you love style essences, then you might want to know your subtypes, even just out of curiosity.
In some cases, finding your subtypes might also help you better understand your most harmonious styling. Though again, this won’t be true for everyone.
Subtypes for Ethereal, Romantic, and Ingenue?
Subtypes for Ethereal, Romantic, and Ingenue aren’t as straightforward as for the other essences.
To identify subtypes for Dramatic, Natural, Classic, and Gamine, we observed that each of these essences occupy two distinct visual realms:
Dramatic, Natural, Classic, and Gamine each occupy two distinct spaces on the chart. Fittingly, these essences are flattered by distinct kinds of fashion.
And for most (arguably all) of these four essences, there are distinct kinds of facial features that correspond to each essence. (For instance, some Gamines have short, sharp, straight features, whereas other Gamines have short, blunt-edged features that can almost appear round.)
But Ethereal, Romantic, and Ingenue all only occupy one box each.
So does this mean that these three essences don’t have subtypes?
That’s one valid opinion!
But I also think there’s a sense where we can create optional subtypes for each of these essences:
Ethereal’s Optional Subtypes
One way to think about Ethereal subtypes is to differentiate between the following two kinds of Ethereals:
Vertical Ethereal—People who have Ethereal in their vertical features, such as having a long forehead or long nose.
This often contributes to having an overall elongated face shape.
Horizontal Ethereal—People who have Ethereal in horizontal space, such as having eyes, brows, or lips that appear elongated horizontally
These Ethereals often have moderate-length or even short face shapes. (This Ethereal subtype appears very common for the Ethereal Classic Gamine blend, though it can potentially occur in any Ethereal blend.)
We’ve already explored how this distinction can be helpful for finding your best hair.
Specifically, while Ethereals are stereotypically best in very long waves, if you have Ethereal in your face horizontally, and you have a short face shape, then you might find that you’re actually most flattered by short hair.
So, can this distinction also be helpful for finding your best fashion?
Potentially!
If you have the Vertical Ethereal subtype, you’ll be flattered by iconic elongated Ethereal styles, including long tunic tops, waterfall cardigans, and narrow, flowy maxi dresses:
If you have the Horizon Ethereal subtype (maybe I’ll call it that rather than “Horizontal Ethereal”, since it’s less of a mouthfull!), it’s possible that you’ll also be flattered by vertically long fashion, like extra-long tops and maxi skirts.
But, you might be even more flattered by moderate-length Ethereal pieces.
Does moderate-length Ethereal fashion exist?
Yes! For instance, high-low dresses, handkerchief hem dresses, and asymmetrical hem dresses can end around knee-length or even above at their shortest point. But despite their moderate length, these styles frequently read as Ethereal, because of their curving diagonal lines (diagonal lines help create the illusion of greater length):
If you’re a Horizon Ethereal, you might also find that you’re especially flattered by boatnecks or other necklines that are curved and elongated in horizontal space.
So, in summary:
Vertical Ethereals will tend to most flattered by the longest Ethereal elements, like long mermaid waves; extra-long tops and maxi skirts; and other vertically long hair, fashion, and accessories.
Horizon Ethereals may be most flattered by moderate-length Ethereal styles, such as moderate-length high-low hem, handkerchief hem, and asymmetrical hem dresses, as well as boatnecks and other horizontally long, curving necklines.
It’s also possible that both kinds of Ethereal fashion will suit you
Importantly, it’s definitely possible to have both kinds of Ethereal features in your face—vertically and horizontally elongated.
In this case, you simply have both subtypes. So, fashion from both Ethereal subtypes will likely suit you.
Does Ethereal really have subtypes?
My personal view is that these subtypes are optional. I think some people might find them useful, but some may not.
I do think it’s likely true that Vertical Ethereals can still harmoniously wear the more moderate-length Ethereal pieces (especially since these pieces still tend to feel “figuratively” elongated, by featuring diagonal lines, layered fabric, or other elements that make a garment feel longer than it actually is).
As to whether Horizon Ethereals—Ethereals with vertically moderate or short faces—are their absolute best in the longest Ethereal silhouettes, like maxi skirts or ultra-long hair… that I’m less certain about.
I’ve consistently observed that face length tends to influence your best hair length, and that Horizon Ethereals, even if they have a lot of Ethereal, are often best in moderate or short hair.
So, it’s possible that if you’re a Horizon Ethereal, you might be your best in more moderate-length Ethereal fashion, especially fashion that has curving diagonal lines.
If you have Ethereal, then learning your subtype is completely up to you. Some people might find it helpful, some people might not.
Optional Subtypes for Romantic and Ingenue
Romantic and Ingenue subtypes are the hardest to define.
Unlike the other essences, there’s not an objective, straightforward sense in which we can create subtypes for Romantic or Ingenue based on different Shapes or Lengths:
Natural, Classic, Dramatic, and Gamine occupy different visual spaces, so that’s how their subtypes were created. But Romantic and Ingenue only occupy one space each.
Ethereal subtypes were created by recognizing that Ethereal features can read as long either horizontally or vertically. But Romantic and Ingenue aren’t elongated, so we can’t create subtypes based on this.
It is still possible to define optional subtypes for Ingenue and Romantic.
But their subtype categories will feel blurrier and less well-defined than for the other essences.
Ingenue’s Optional Subtypes
To define Ingenue subtypes, we can observe that in some ways, Ingenue fashion is a more modest, youthful version of Romantic— soft, girly, and sweet:
Those Ingenue styles are unlikely to be mistaken for Romantic styles, because they feel so sweet and youthful.
But other Ingenue fashion has greater overt similarity to Romantic:
This dress feels very Ingenue with its pale blue color, delicate fabric, puffed bell sleeves, and modest flared skirt.
But what about the sweetheart neckline with ruching? These are two elements that many of us likely associate more with Romantic than Ingenue
Based on my observations, Ingenues can wear sweetheart necklines—as long as the neckline feels relatively high and modest, like the one on the blue dress. And Ingenues can do subtle ruching, again like we see on the blue dress—it just has to feel, well, subtle.
So, I’d consider this blue dress to be purely Ingenue. But compared to many other Ingenue styles, this dress does feel more sensual, almost as if it’s close to bordering on Romantic in conceptual and visual space.
What does this mean for you? Maybe nothing. You might be an Ingenue who already feels fantastic in Ingenue fashion and doesn’t feel the need to subdivide things further. That’s a completely valid stance.
But, you might be an Ingenue who has struggled to make the stereotypically youthful, girly, modest Ingenue fashion work for you (like dainty ruffles, round collars, very flared and flowy skirts, etc).
In that case, you might want to explore the kind of Ingenue fashion that is still fully Ingenue but sits closer to the Romantic border, such as: (short) sweetheart necklines or (short) scoop-necks; subtle ruching; skirt silhouettes like soft A-lines that are closer to Romantic than the quintessential Ingenue flowy circle skirt; or colors like medium pinks or purples that can read as either Romantic or Ingenue, depending on the rest of the outfit.
It’s possible that this side of Ingenue fashion might be the better fit for your specific facial features, and their specific sizes, shapes, and vibes.
Romantic Subtypes?
And since this is true for Ingenue, it’s theoretically true for Romantic, too.
Some Romantics might find that they’re most flattered by the most overtly sensual Romantic fashion:
And other Romantics might find that they’re most flattered by Romantic fashion that leans a little closer to Ingenue conceptually, while not actually having Ingenue. For example, we could make the above sweetheart necklines a bit higher and more modest, while still being fully Romantic, or change the dark floral lace to lighter lace, or change the deep red dress to a light or medium purple or pink.
These garments would still be fully Romantic, but they’d be a little closer to Ingenue in conceptual space.
So, those are two types of Romantics: 1. a Romantic who is flattered by the most sensual Romantic fashion, and 2. a Romantic who prefers fashion a bit closer to Ingenue (while not actually having Ingenue).
Where Romantic gets slightly more complicated is that whereas the Ingenue essence seems to clearly have the most conceptual similarity to Romantic, out of all the essences (especially when it comes to literal fashion elements), Romantic is in the middle of two curving essences—Ingenue and Ethereal.
So, we could potentially say that Romantic has three subtypes:
A subtype that is fully Romantic but is a little more modest and girly than the most stereotypical Romantic fashion (the subtype of Romantic near the border of Ingenue)
A subtype that is fully Romantic but feels a little dreamier and slightly more elongated than the most stereotypical Romantic fashion (the subtype of Romantic near the border of Ethereal)
A purely Romantic, purely elaborate, extravagant, decadent, extremely sensual subtype (conceptually distinct from either Ingenue or Ethereal)
Do Romantic and Ingenue really have subtypes?
Should we recognize these as genuine subtypes?
I think it depends on who you are!
For many people, I suspect that this all seems unnecessarily complicated, because style analysis already helps them look their best, so they don’t really see the need to make things more complex by thinking about subtypes.
And again—I think that’s valid.
But I also think that if you’re someone who knows your essences, but struggles to make them work, then it’s possible that it could be helpful to recognize that there is a range of styles that suit the different essences, and that you might look your best within a specific range.
Obviously even within the Romantic essence category, not all Romantics have the exact sizes and shapes of facial features, and may not have exactly identical “vibes.”
So, it does make sense that there can be nuances in the specific kind of fashion that is flattering to every individual Romantic.
Does Ethereal Have More Subtypes?
Since we recognized these Romantic and Ingenue subtypes, should we also recognize that some Ethereals can be an Ethereal that is close to the border of Romantic?
I think optionally you could. It is true that some Ethereal and Romantic styles can look extremely similar (for example, drape-neck tops can work for either essence, and the differences that determine whether such a top is better for Ethereal or Romantic can be quite subtle).
Yet other kinds of Ethereal fashion, like the kinds we discussed toward the beginning of this post, feel so overtly dreamy and mystical and otherworldly, they are pretty clearly conceptually distinct from Romantic.
So, we could add another Ethereal subtype—an Ethereal who is facially close to having Romantic, and who is most flattered by the Ethereal styles that are visually closest to Romantic.
If You Want More about Subtypes
Please let me know if you’d be interested in future posts about subtypes!
My plan for right now is to focus heavily on the core seven essences going forward, and to only mention subtypes in contexts when it seems it might be especially helpful.
I’m happy to analyze your subtypes as part of a Style Analysis or Style and Makeup Analysis, and to give you personalized style recommendations based both on your overall essence blend and your subtypes.
But if you get a Style Analysis and don’t want to know your subtypes, then I’m also happy to not mention the concept of subtypes at all.
My view really is that the subtypes are optional to learn about, and that it’s hard to say that they’ll be useful for everyone—they may be for some and not for others.
Oneiric?
I’ve been asked about my thoughts on the Oneiric beauty type and wanted to share them in this post, but this post is already lengthy. So expect a future post on it!
Makeup!
Upcoming posts are also going to discuss some of the best makeup for the seven core essences! : )
