This article will show you a pure Gamine shopping guide — from casual to formal outfits, accessories, makeup, and coloring.
Not sure how a pure Gamine looks like? This article will show you with pictures and examples. It will also show you the styling principles.
The following were taken from the book Metamorphosis by David Kibbe, the image professional who created the Kibbe system.
Pure Gamine Shopping Guide
1. Dresses
Pure Gamines’ dresses should be very tailored and slim with sharp edges and lots of small crisp detail. Dropped waists and chemise-style are good if they are kept very skinny. Short cropped jackets, vests, and boleros work well with dresses for you.
Asymmetrical hemlines are fun, especially for the evening, and anything reminiscent of the 1920’s is an absolute knockout on you! Narrow, clingy knit dresses are excellent.
Avoid:
- flouncy styles
- plain styles with no detail
- unconstructed or wide silhouettes
- ornate styles (with shirring or draping)
2. Separates
A use of well-coordinated separates with lots of animated and colorful detail can be very exciting to your look.
3. Jackets and blazers
Short, cropped, very fitted with sharp edges and extreme tailoring and construction. Short blouson jackets are excellent. Collar, cuff, lapel, and waistband detail (outlining, trim, piping, ribbing) are essential.
Avoid:
- long jackets
- flouncy jackets
- unconstructed jackets
4. Skirts
Straight, sharp, and short with a narrow and tapered hemline. A slightly flared skirt is fine if it is kept very straight through the hips and thighs. This could either be bias-cut or stitched-down pleats.
Gamines’ skirts must be very fitted at the waistband. Crisp gathers will work, but not deep ones. Straight skirts should have a short hemline (mid kneecap to minis). A slightly flared hemline may be slightly longer (top of the calf).
Anything extremely long is very tricky, and must have a slit and be pencil slim.
Avoid:
- full skirts
- flouncy skirts
- long hemlines (dowdy on you)
- A-lines and symmetrical skirts
- oversized or unconstructed skirts
5. Pants
Gamines’ pants should always be very sharply tailored with outlined or animated detail at the edges (waistbands, pleats, crisp cuffs). Short lengths, anywhere from cropped at the calf to the top of the ankle. Skin tight stretchy pants are excellent.
Avoid:
- unconstructed or baggy styles
- draped styles with tapered legs
- plain-front, symmetrical shapes
6. Blouses
Very tailored with sharp edges and crisp detail (collars, cuffs, pleats, etc.). Smooth, stiff fabrics (crisp cottons, oriental silks, etc.).
Avoid:
- frilly blouses
- flimsy blouses
- unconstructed blouses
7. Sweaters
Skinny knits, ribbed knits. “Poor-boy” styles. Thick knits that are extremely fitted at the waist. Collar, cuff, and waistband ribbing and cropping. Short, cropped cardigans. You may wish to add sharp shoulder pads to your sweaters.
Avoid:
- oversized sweaters
- heavy textures
- fluffy knits
8. Evening wear
Sleek, slinky shapes with geometric outlines and crisp trim. Smooth fabric. Tailored edges. Beading. Hard metallics. Angular necklines with lots of crisp and colorful trimmings (collars, cuffs, jackets, etc.). Asymmetrical hemlines.
The following evening wears are best for Pure Gamines:
- slinky sheaths (very bare)
- tailored evening separates
- tailored evening pants outfits
- close-fitting, dropped-waist dresses
- short-jacketed gowns with beading and crisp shoulders
- tailored dinner suits (with cropped jackets and crisp trim)
9. Shoes
Gamines’ shoes should be tailored and angular, in lightweight leather. Unusual shapes in toes and heels are excellent (asymmetrics, wedges, sharp points, etc.) as are bold colors and printed fabric. Flats of all kinds should always be funky and fun (patent leather, trimmed, etc.).
Avoid:
- plain pumps
- overly delicate or strappy shoes
10. Bags
Small, crisp geometrics (box, clutch, etc.). Slim briefcases.
Avoid:
- ornate bags
- thick, heavy briefcases
- oversized, unconstructed pouches
11. Belts
Stiff leather with geometric buckles. Elasticized fabric styles. May be narrow to moderately wide. Brightly colored belts are excellent aids in breaking your line.
Avoid:
- heavy belts
- overly ornate styles
- unconstructed styles
- monochromatic styles
- extremely oversized belts
12. Hats
Small, crisply tailored hats. Caps (Spanish, beret, Indian, cloche).
Avoid:
- oversized, unconstructed, and floppy styles
- ornate styles
13. Hosiery
Break your line by contrasting your stocking/ hemline/ shoe shades. You can use a two-color combination where the shoe and hemline match but the stocking is lighter; or a three-color contrast.
Brightly colored stockings, light, opaque stockings; and geometric textures (ribbed and herringbones are equally good. Flesh toned stockings are fine for daytime wear. Dark stockings should be extremely sheer.
Avoid: one long line of solid color, especially if dark.
14. Jewelry
Gamines’ jewelries should be small and sharp and in geometric, asymmetrical, or irregular shapes. Brightly colored enamel, stone, or glass are best. Very contemporary avant-garde pieces are excellent on you, as are trendy pieces that accentuate your wit.
Avoid:
- oversized pieces
- heavy, chunky pieces
- symmetrical classic pieces
- antique, ornate, intricate pieces (rococo and baroque)
15. Hair
Gamines’ hairstyle should be short and tousled, cropped upward, with layering on top or around the face (temples, side, and bangs) to soften a severely geometric cut. Your hairstyle is best described as “boyish chic.”
Avoid:
- Long hair (Long hair will never work on you because it hides your Gamine face — the cruelest of all sins).
- heavy hair hanging in or around the face
- smooth, well-groomed, blunt-edged cuts
- severe cuts without surface feathering
- teased, stiff, or coiffed hair
- overly blown-dry hair
- heavy bangs
- ornate hair
16. Haircolor
Gamines’ haircolor should be rich, vivid, and distinct. Extreme color changes are possible as long as you work in conjunction with your natural coloring and don’t upset the vivid contrast between hair/ skin/ eye.
You can go dramatic with haircolor intensities (blue-black, deep brunette, platinum blond, fiery red, etc.), and highlights should be obvious streaks if you use them.
Avoid lightening your hair (except for a dramatic change) or using subtle highlights to “soften” features. This will be very tiring and matronly on you!
17. Makeup
A Gamine’s makeup should be fresh-faced and glowing with emphasis on “doe eyes” and slightly contoured angles. Smoky eye colors paired with deep shades on the lips and cheeks achieve this to perfection!
“Fantasy glitz” can be added for evening with a no-holds-barred use of sheer sparkle wherever you dare.
Avoid:
- “no makeup” looks
- overly soft makeup
- overly frosted colors
- soft watercolor makeup
- classic, neutral makeup without the smoky eyes and deep lips you need
Pure Gamine Shopping Guide & Styling Techniques
Shape
Small, sharp, geometrics. Precision fitted and crisply tailored. (The small size and precision fit come from the Yin; the sharp edges and crisp tailoring come from the Yang.)
Avoid:
- unconstructed shapes
- ornate, intricate, or delicate shapes
- oversized, large, or long geometrics
- soft-edged, flowing, or rounded shapes
Line and silhouette
Your outline should be sharp, straight, and staccato. The use of severe lines with sharp edges come from the Yang; the broken, staccato, animated outline comes from the Yin.
Utilizing many short vertical lines and many short horizontal lines is also effective. An overabundance of detail adds to the precisely fitted silhouette that is crucial to your look.
Avoid:
- wide lines
- curved lines
- flowing lines
- smooth lines
- elongated lines
- ornate silhouettes
- symmetrical silhouettes
- oversized or unconstructed silhouettes
Fabric
Gamines’ fabrics must always be crisp, able to hold a defined shape and be tailored easily. A flat surface or light texture is best. Finely woven knits, especially when ribbed and skinny, are good choices.
A matte finish is best, although hard-finished sheens can be very exciting (especially metallics). Usually your fabric will be of moderate weight, though lighter weights that hug the body are excellent.
Avoid:
- delicate fabrics
- drapable fabrics
- sheer, flowing fabrics
- oversized, rough textures
Detail
As a pure Gamine, you can never wear too much detail! An abundance of it used everywhere in your look is one of the most effective tools you have for capturing your animated effervescence!
Detail should always be small, sharp, and call attention t itself (not blend into the lines of your garments). It should be very crisp, staccato, broken up, and multicolored.
Lots of crisp trim. Lots of outlining (collars, cuffs, waistbands, lapels) with piping of contrasting colors or fabric, braiding, beads, etc. Small, crisp pleats. Sharp, angular necklines — also small (Mandarin, Nehru, band, small man-tailored styles, small V’s, wing-tipped).
Small, crisp ties (ribbon, leather, etc.). Small, tailored lapels or crisp lapelless with piping. Sharp shoulder pads. Small, crisp cuffs. Sharp and narrow waist definition.
Avoid:
- simplicity
- elongated detail
- ornate or frill detail
- minimal, clean detail
- oversized or unconstructed detail
Accessories
All Gamines’ accessories should be small, crisp, geometric, and colorful. They should serve to further break the silhouette into a staccato outline and call attention to themselves as detail.
Contrast is being strived for with your use of accessories, as well as bringing out your wit and a sens of fun.
Color
A pure Gamine’s use of color should be bold and sassy; break all the rules here! Multicolored splashes are perfect. Bright and shockingly colored accessories played against a dark or light background. High, sharp contrast and wild color combinations are all very chic on you. Break your line with color!
Avoid:
- Monochromatic color schemes (death to your personality — nothing is worse for you).
- Neutrals, unless they are merely accessories or they are extremely dark or light
Prints
Gamines’ prints should be sharp, colorful and animated. Small geometrics and angular asymmetrics are excellent. Most of your prints should be very contemporary in feeling (“Picasso-ish”) although humorous styles that are outlined and caricatured can be quite stunning on you as well.
Avoid:
- ornate prints
- realistic prints
- intricate prints
- oversized prints
- watercolor prints
- symmetrical prints
