build a closet you love. {wardrobe strategies + personal style} 

The example of creating a work outfit based on a fantasy woman’s color palette, brand board, and kibbe ID was SO mind blowing and helpful - thank you! Would love more examples. Your videos are the most helpful I’ve seen for building a wardrobe and finding your style!

OMG! I just realized, I have almost zero basic pieces! My wardrobe consists of almost only costume pieces! I love and wear each one of them but sometimes I get the all too familiar feeling of "I've got nothing to wear.", especially when it comes to having a variety of options for different events. I think it's because I only buy clothes I lovelovelove. And you don't fall in love with that basic piece. You fall in love with that lime green blazer and dress set. I'll try to give basic pieces a chance from now on! Maybe, I'll learn to appreciate them more when I can get some use out of them. Thank you!

This is like THE most helpful video ever😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 as a trained chef I absolutly loved the pantry references- I will use the tabasco thought and divide my clothes in: basics (like…..pasta!🍜) staples (Cheese🧀!) and costume (lets say….truffle oil). I got this🤓 I finally got this😍🤓🧀 thank youuuuuuu😍😍🙏🏼❤️

This video has helped me so much! I never thought my issue was that I have “clothes” but no real basics besides jeans. Now I understand that I need actual basics and not just the first cute thing I see on ig 😅

Awesome. The vocabulary here has helped me identify my problem with clothes. I adore haute couture as modern art, but it has made me procrastinate building a closet with the thought, "It's boring and a waste of time." I see my actual fear was that only costume pieces would let me love my wardrobe - an overwhelming thought. I refused to spend the money or the time hunting them down. Now I know better and can start paying attention to the common traits I love so much from couture designers and bring that to my Little Town.

I finally know what's tripping me up about my closet. I want my closet to be all costume pieces that can work with each other and have a subsection of comfy stuff for home. However, due to my budget, the lack of costume events in my life and my philosophy of acquiring clothes just to have clothes, the closet I have is full of super basic stuff that I find boring, basic, and not me, but it's functional and works with my lifestyle so it feels vain for me to rework it into my self-expression pallette when "I already have what works, why buck it up". The few precious costume pieces I have do not mesh with the majority of my clothes so I don't wear them nearly enough as I want. I think I should just finally dare to work from home in elaborate robes and go to office in daring dresses and suits.

This video is outstanding. It helped me confirm something that’s been nagging at me recently and that’s that I have too many basics! I’m bored with my clothes, even if they all suit my Kibbe dramatic lines. It would do me some good to add some interest pieces into my wardrobe.

I love your editing style! Super fun and keeps me engaged even if fashion isnt my favorite thing ever 😂

This is all soooo good! Thank you! You could honestly turn this one video into a course and charge hundreds. You’re amazing. The last question you answered could be a whole video, and I would love to hear more examples about how to merge different style identities. Like, what happens when your essence seems in conflict with your kibbe identity or when our color season isn’t an obvious fit for our aesthetic? How many essences can we have and how does that relate to those words we came up with to describe the function of our clothes?

This was so helpful. I have a closet filled of basics...sigh😢. I see i need those non basic interests items but always feel funny when shopping for them because i tend to buy what i need at moment but on flip side when its time to go out, i dont have. I would consider myself in the comfort category. I tend to wear jeans more even to work but want to look chic and polished but feels basic with my basic piece outfit. Just found the golden rule theroy and thats probably why i feel i look on the frumby side. Im binge watching and learning.thank you

This was such good advice and clearly put. I used to buy too many pieces I loved, but didn't wear enough. Now I consider basics equally important. I would add that I find it helpful to divide into seasons, but especially in spring and autumn, look for adaptable pieces. The most important winter pieces tend, as you said to be coats, jackets and footwear. Summer is the time when you can have a bit of fun and be more daring. Also agree that you are a flamboyant natural but you can get away with a lot of styles except I think ingenue or gamine. Can also see you in ethereal styles though, layers and draping. Your videos are well thought out, thanks.

Ok since you ask😁, I would really love to see more of your examples, like the one you did with the ”romantic ball gown girl that is working from home”! (My storyboard would be ”trained chef that is now all the sudden homebound due to chronic illness and living 24/7 in her PJs, while being a kibbe romantic in some soft autumn coloring”😅) I think many of us have some kind of a ”fantasy self” like the outfits we are drawn to but NEVER ever wear (or like once in a decade🙄). It might be the superfeminine, beautiful almost royal gown, or the rock chic look or the moulin rouge look..or Maria in sound of music😄 Then I started thinking about if it was a joyful kind of drawn-to I felt towards these looks, or more like fulfilling something we never had🧐..and do I still even want that🤔? My results: I’d like to remove those from my board, and this video empowered me to do so🤓💪🏼🗑🚮 I don’t need the princess dress anymore, who cares if I didn’t have it on graduation- life goes on🥳💪🏼😍

This is the first time wardrobe building and finding my style made any sense! I have taken quizzes, talked to my kids (my younger daughter is fantastic at putting things together), but I haven't been able to make heads or tails of what my style is and how to put it together. I am very easy-going with getting ready, minimal makeup, etc, but I love making small changes and dressing up or making an outfit dramatic (sometimes). I now realize that I have a NUMBER of costume pieces or one-offs (that I don't wear at all because they hardly work). These next couple of weeks, I'll be going through my clothes and removing pieces that either don't fit or aren't in my color palette (another reason why I don't get to shop my wardrobe...not much matches). Then, I will work to figure out what my basics and non-basics are (based on my answers to the questions in this video). I wish I found this video sooner. You may have just added years back onto my life.

Love this video! Can you explain how to express your style in all the different seasons ? I love me closet in summer but in colder weather I never like what I’m wearing

A bit late but would be interested to hear about how to transition gradually in situations like you’ve had a colour analysis and it’s completely different to your current wardrobe (just found out I’m a soft autumn and have been dressing as a true winter), the colour scheme is completely different in style..love to hear you’re thoughts!

Seeing it after a day. I was soo excited ✨✨wait a min..... This is a gem 😼

Love your videos. Informative and funny. Keep up the good work!

I feel like I know how I want to style myself now from your videos, my biggest problem now is not knowing where to shop or where to find these clothes I want :(

Your videos are just so fun! I don’t know you but it feels like you! 🦋

I need to see a soft dramatic in Florida hiking and fishing looking friendly and dramatic and glam in semi fitted outfits but modest colors are winter. Already have the basics and non basics. You helped so far with my Kibbe headache.

Old video but: loooove your creative video editing

Gabrielle, you are a breath of fresh air ❤️❤️Thank you for all the passion, effort and light-heartedness you put into your videos. I watch you on repeat and recommend you to all my friends. You stand out with your integrity, humility, confidence and approachability among other attributes. Am I getting all that from these videos? Yes, yes I am, along with a boatload of style insight. Keep shining!! ✨

You’re so creative and smart! Thank you so much!

I just discovered your channel yesterday and I am a big fan ! Thank you so much for all your advices and your researches. I feel like you have the most useful wardbrode advices !

I love your videos! I’m currently six weeks postpartum with my second child and have very few clothes that fit me and many pieces are at the end of their life. So it seems like the perfect time making an effort finding my personal style. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and knowledge!

I thought this video was terrific. It really made sense when you developed the example, showing how key words, colour palette, Kibbe body shape, and lifestyle needs came together. Well, done! So looking forward to your next video....

Another gem. Thank you.

Love your channel! I'd like my wardrobe to be very comfortable/adaptable (which for my lifestyle includes outdoorsy/all-weather and practical things like sometimes say 2 hours a day of walking) and to come across approachable, kind, genuine, competent/capable. I'd like it to hint at my health-conscious, artistic, hippie, adventurous, wise/deep, sensitive, detailed sides too.

You are absolutely magnificent. So much dept and clarity. No one has made more sense. Thank you so much for bringing clarity to the cloud of confusion kibbe youtube has brought me over the past years. And thank you for all the tools you provide.

You are so so so so helpful 💖

just absolutely a-tier content!!

I love your videos! Thank you.

Part 3 ❤ i struggle withall my catoriges eg. In one im SN(which im not fussed on). Another clear birgh.t another essense romantic. Another spring. Another moon, flower, son or fire. Baffled here

omg your editing style is sending me I love it 😂😂 great video!

i love you so much 🙏 im begging you please never delete this its so incredibly helpful. i'm gonna recommend this to every person

Thank you for this video! So so helpful. I really loved the *analogies*. I found out I have a lot of non-basic interest pieces, but not enough basics (in my head it was the same thing) So now I know I have to build new roads in my wardrobe!! 😍

💡 This was incredibly helpful! Took **so** many notes.

Your videos are - amazing. I feel most drawn to a romantic/ingenue essence, I got “diagnosed” to be a deep winter and Kibbe-wise I have no clue but soft natural seems to make the most sense (5’7, lots of curvature, pretty much no angles…). My job is also where I live, I help to run a holiday centre and a bunch of my work is cleaning! So I very sadly end up living in leggings.. But I absolutely love fashion 😬 I love the romantic/natural vibes with a bit of rock n roll in there, and in a bit stuck on ideas…!! I recently got cropped culottes, and at least now I don’t feel like a slob.

you are a great communicator!

Oh my goddd at 8:09 when you said “now, for the power of” it flipped to an ad “small boobie queens” lmao pleaseee 😂

Great tips dear.

Mind blowing!

Love your content thank you ❤

Thank you for this! You have managed to make my brain connect all my little “roads&bridges” that were under construction, in regards to how to seamlessly travel my type/season/essences and most importantly lifestyle.. that latter was the major work in-progress zone 🙈😂 Had to comment, as I truly enjoyed your video style, and all those perfect analogies. 11/10 exceedingly happy to hit the subscribe button! :)

Genius video thank you! 🤩

The example of melding personal style with lifestyle was great. More of that would be helpful. I'm a SAHM, Kibbe natural, cool summer, inspired by Sammi Jefcoate living in conservative suburbia. 🤣 Need outfits for going to the park, hiking, errands & neighborhood walks.

Genius!!

Putting everything together is very hard for me 😪 . I know my kibbe, I found my season (after very much struggle). I have an idea about my essence blend. And roles and needs... but it somehow does not mend together. Just blank. I would love to see more examples how to mend the systems into looks and wardrobes. I would also love to learn about comfort zones. For example, with dramatic and romantic. Like I feel uncomfortable trying on that boldness sexiness (literally start hearing words from that 1930s book in my head). For example, with red I started with wine color, then after I got used to that, I tried biking red. I got used to that and got a red suit. I totally love how it looks on my in the picture... but I feel I would still be shy to wear it. Definitely less shy after I'm almost used to biking red, but still. And again, is it romantic (sensuality of red) or dramatic (boldness of red) 🤔?

Your videos are really good :)

Ily❤

You are awesome! 👏👏👏👏👏⚘❤ thanks a lot!

My biggest style hurdle (besides a much-needed closet edit!) is putting together effortlessly cute/quirky casual outfits for spring and summer. I'm a 5'3" 50/50 Gamine/Ingenue kitchener with dark autumn color and mostly compact Yin curves (unsure if a true kibbe TR or I'm trippin and really soft classic or soft gamine). Every day, I want to look fun, creative, and chic/sharp/cool/put together. My goal with casual style is looking like I meant to dress cool without trying on half my closet.😅 Versatility would help, but my inner gamine shrieks every time I put on a basic outfit. I also want to embrace academia, whimsigoth, and art noveau revival aesthetics that compliment my existing "forever" pieces.

I’m so happy I have found your channel, you are SO helpful. I’m so excited to find my style now!

Great video, I’m a Soft Dramatic and a Soft Summer, I’m usually at my house and at work or at my church and I live in a tropical place . So the adjective I want to be described as are feminine, modest, elegant and sweet but I like how semi fitted clothing looks on me . How do I mix all of that ?

I’ve been struggling recently because I am a biologist, see, and my wardrobe has been slowly dividing itself in “things I can wear in polite society” and “I am a Wild Thornberry”, which is kind of a shame because while I prioritize not being eaten by mosquitoes, being able to twist my way through overgrown paths, and protecting myself from the cold and rain. But sometimes I feel like maybe I don’t need to embody Bass Pro Shop every time I work. The most I do accessorizing is like, cute, cheap jewelry. (You don’t want to be mugged in the field, trust me). I wish it were easier than that for me, but sadly, it is not. I wonder if it a fashion expert like yourself could do like, interviews with people from all over the working spectrum and see if it were possible to incorporate style into their life. Not everyone has an office job, but I feel like that doesn’t have mean we have to give up on expressing ourselves completely through our clothes.

My biggest hurdle is that I live in a country where it is summer all year long but I have to dress modestly due to the religious beliefs in my society. modest as in i absolutely cant leave the house wearing something that is sleeveless, plunging, with cutouts, or something too short (cant show torso or thighs). Having to wear conservative clothes in HOT weather is so tough. Plus, i walk everywhere from home to work, gym, lunches...etc so need to wear something that wont show the SWEAT but also lightweight.

You are awesome!! I’ve seen almost all your videos and each one changes my life a little more. 😂 Question - when we purchase basics for our closet, how do we decide the percentage of daytime basics vs night time basics? Or maybe I am just confused on what fabrics and colors to buy that are the most versatile from day to night.

This might actually be helpfull

i think it could be cool to do a video on building a capsule wardrobe for each essence or each kibbe id for the 4 seasons. like during summer be like "here's what a capsule for ___ would look like" or something idk lol

Danke!

1. Comfort is key 2. Work: Gracious, trustworthy, knowledgeable 3. Casual: Friendly, feminine, creative 4. Needs: Comfortable, flattering, color 5. Flowy fit 6. Wardrobe = Basics, interest, costume 7. Work on Separates 8. Trend: Lifestyle body color longevity balance of wardrobe 9. Color and fit and essence 10. Color palette essence energy to hone multiple styles to one

Do you offer consultations or workshops? I genuinely hope so. It feels like a bit much to just sit down and do but would be fun and playful done with someone.

this has made me realize I have only subversive basics. and will wear impractical "costume" pieces as an everyday outfit.

My biggest style hurdle has to be that I'm too afraid to buy costume pieces because I doubt their longevity. My wardrobe is well suited to my needs but really needs some spicing up:(

I am a dominantly Ethereal, soft summer. My three main challenges are personal aesthetic availability, colour options, and fabrics. My personal aesthetic is period style. Namely, 1660s-1795 and then 1870-1900, French. Corseted bodice, full and long skirt, matching head-to-toe ensemble. Late Victorian includes bustles. Without getting pieces commissioned, there’s nothing even close. We don’t do bodices these days, and fitted blouses have a distinctly different vibe. Dropped V-front waist works for Ethereals, natural waistline doesn’t. Meaning a blouse tucked into a skirt has the skirt waistband emphasizing the natural waist. No good. Empire works, but I’m not into Regency dresses. Separates are not ideal for Ethereals, unless they are matching ensembles and keep the same colours for the uninterrupted vertical line. I have a wardrobe consisting of long dresses, as a compromise on style, as budget has not permitted getting period clothing commissioned. Colour has been a huge hurdle. As a soft summer, white and black don’t work. A dark alternative like navy or charcoal is easy usually, yet in the Kitchener colours my range doesn’t go past mid-tones. Mids are my darks. Which makes sense since I have no intensity or contrast in my natural colouring. Where I get stuck is that Ethereals do best in barely-there colours and very light, low contrast colours. Shops, and op shops, rarely have anything super pale other than white (too stark), or ivory (which is too yellow/warm). Which leaves me again needing to commission pieces, or learn to make my own and hope I can find fabric in a suitable colour. Oyster was given to me as my best neutral (a slightly greenish tinge on white, neither grey nor brown, nor yellow-toned). Sadly, rinding anything like this off-the-rack is impossible. And fabrics are a challenge for ethereals on numerous fronts… then there’s being vegan just to complicate the matter! 😂 First, the fabrics need a little sheen or shimmer so as not to be lifeless on an ethereal (too matte). This can easily lean a bit formal. Second, anything with sheen or shimmer is either a polyester (plastic!) or silk (not humane, and not vegan). Finding something that drapes like silk with the weightlessness and sheen of silk, that’s not made from some dreadfully ecologically-unfriendly material is a head-scramble. Third, weightless fabrics that drape beautifully and flow in the breeze are super gorgeous, but don’t cater for freezing winters. Since ethereals need super fine textures, anything knitted appears too heavy for them, and coats are bulky and stiff and heavy by nature, even when designed with flowing and curving lines. So to find something shimmery that’s not polyester, lightweight that’s not silk, and keeps one warm through all manner of seasons without being bulky or heavy-looking… HELP?!?!? 😂🙈 Matte fabrics like cotton and linen are too drab for ethereals, so choosing natural fabrics leaves me - so far - with just rayon and viscose, which are made from tree pulp and called semi-synthetic because they are processed a bit to make the fibre. Combining those three elements (style, colour and fabric) - it makes buying anything off-the-rack or pre-loved nearly impossible. Other than going all out and spending a fortune getting a complete wardrobe made in period styles, or learning to sew such complex garments myself, I’m at a loss. And then there’s the notion of capsule wardrobes and how outfits that are head-to-toe ensembles could ever be mixed and matched! Especially when spanning different eras/silhouettes. 🙄😓 Probably a unique scenario but there you have it!!! 😜💝🙏

Gabriellléaaa..... Going through inner healing, I feel dressing up and down as a woman is so interrupted. 🙇

Hi, Gabrielle, your channel is very helpful, you've got a new subscriber 🥰 I did the exercises you proposed, and now I have a lot more clarity of my style goals and characteristics. My essences are Ethereal, Dramatic and Natural, and my best colors are dark and muted. My lifestyle leans casual, so everything kinda works together, until I put my Kibbe ID in the mix... I am a DC, and I find really hard to incorporate structure considering the other attributes and my climate (Brazil Northeast ☀️🔥) - definitely not realistic to consider blazers or other kinds of layer, as seen in the recs 😕 I'd appreciate a lot if you could address this kind of situation in another video. TIA! 😘

When I mentioned “the Met” to different people when visiting NYC, some thought of the opera company, the ballet company, Met Life, etc.

So Im a soft summer and a soft classic kibbe based on one of your quizzes on your website, so my answers were highly consistent of C's and close second being D's but I got zero E answers. so im confused if im soft classic or just classic but Im not sure what my essence is and also since im a soft summer, reds and warm colours dont go well with me, but those are my favourite colours. And I also have a cooler skin tone, maybe a bit more natural and I think I look better in gold. my veins are blue, but I tan easily. idk thought you could offer guidance, sometimes I bite off more than I can chew watching all these videos

Hi. Could you do a video on seasonal palette please? 😊. I am a romantic kibbe, 5 foot 0 with red hair. My season is warm/true autumn. I have not only to dress according to romantic body type (which I am...hourglass/pear....more hourglass as my shoulders are just under an inch narrower than my hips and my bust is 32gg with a smaller waist), I also have a high rise and long torso...shorter legs. I have to dress for my shape and height and also colouring. I know which colours and shapes suit me but the trick is incorporating them into the romantic kibbe type!

the explanations are amazing, but please please please lower the volume of the pinging sound if not even change it with another, less jarring sound. it's a very triggering sound, especially when listening via headphones. merci!

I'm a Spring and a Theatrical Romantic!! I'm a Casual Elegant dresser!! My three word are Classic, Elegant with Glamour in accessories!! What would that look like?!!

I'm sorry, I know this is an old video, but I have a question. For basics versus non-basic interest pieces, do you consider that seasonal? I have basic skirts that I wear year-round, but which tops i'm wearing depends entirely on the weather, so I feel like even my most basic of tees is a non-basic interest piece. Also a second question! I definitely see the point of using abstract images that aren't of clothes to suggest vibe over a literal shopping list in the brand moodboards, but i have a hard time thinking of images that aren't basically my favorite outfits of all time. How did you choose the images on your own brand board (or the made up one)?

Hi Gabrielle, thanks an awesome video again. One of my struggles is that I love bold colors, but I'm a soft summer with ethereal essence. Do you have any idea how to solve this?

Well my biggest personal style hurdle is that I want to look fashionable/stylish but I go to trades school to become an electrician 😅 I’m thankful that the whole workwear/utilitarian/gorpcore trend exists or else idk what I’d do lol!

Love this video... but I'd like to push back on the idea of not having too many dresses. My waist/hip ratio is SO hard to shop for, and since I prioritize quality clothes, it seems impossible to find jeans that look good, hold their shape, and will last. So I've ended up saying "screw pants. Dresses and skirts only", as I just feel better in them.

I like your Videos because they are helpful AND fun. My Problem: i am most likely a dramatic classic. I like the lines but i rly dont know what to wear when i hike or go for long tours in my bike. On Pinterest i cant rly find boards for sports/outdoor clothes for dramatic classics. Do you have some tips or ideas for me? Also i wore black for soooo long. I dont have many pieces in other color. Recently i found out that i am a summer/Medium contrast so black and white is not right for me. Its rly hard for me to build a new wardrobe with bold neutrals like kibbe would recomment for DC because beige looks horrible on my skin. Arghhh enough ranting. Sry ♡

Great video ! I just wonder how we can find new clothing brands 🤔 because I’m bored with my closet so I would like to add some interesting pieces that i have a hard time finding because I only know brands that only sell the style that i’m bored with 😐

I'm like the lady of your example, with a fantasy board working from home. The problem that is I live in a veeeery hot city, no way I can stand spend a day in a pair of jeans and long sleeve blouse when it's over 35°C almost every day 😳 So I would change the pants for linen shorts and the long sleeves blouse for another one with straps or short sleeves, but everything is the same color. I feel I can survive the day, but ready for vacations instead of work meetings 🤣 Any ideas on how to handle this? PS: I have a fan with me while working all the time, but it's still not comfortable to wear those clothes.

I feel i "change over my wardrobe completely every single season" not because i do not have basics, but because i grow over the items i bought last year. I have about 15 items for each of the 4 seasons and soon start to feel a way each one of them could be better. So.. new season, a bunch of renewed items. They just die in a moral sense for me. I wear them for some months, proceed to buy a better version and almost never come back to an older one again. There's an obvious improvement each year which fades away fast.. could this be happening?

Hey Gabrielle! I know this series is long over, but I'm really stuck on how to be a Bright Winter Soft Classic in the very male-dominated, very casual field of earth science research. I want to look tough, competent, and unfussy. I do have some Natural in my essence blend, but it's so little to work with overall for what I need. Like, people wear dirty hiking boots to conferences as a badge of honor, but when I do that I just look messy and therefore incompetent. What do I doooooo??

Me and my dresses have entered the chat 😂

My big question is how to incorporate print into the non-basic categories. I love print. When is print costume and when is it a non-basic?

My name is Julie but I like to dress feminine but classy too but I have a strong personality but I stay home … how can I dress for my needs please help me

Guuuuurl what is your slouchy trenchcoat? I need something like that.

I want to sew my own clothes love

I have gathered all my images. Im theatrical romantic with ingenue essence and clear spring as a color palette. My images are mostly in your face flamboyant pieces almost like killing eve wardrobe. Its easy for me to make a statement but I cant figure out my basic pieces … help?

I'm a plus size, goth, bright winter, romantic with dramatic essence. I work from home as a psychotherapist so my style leans edgy and dramatic, but at work I need comfortable and not overly sexual nor frightening/ deathly. Help!

Sometimes I want to look classic and romantic and chic! Do these contradict each other? I usually dress classic and simple, but I would look more feminine! Help!

Wait... what are separates?

thanks for your life kkkkk

I wanna look Femme Fatale in full body covering clothes..but all the options available have massive holes designed in them😭

Help - need style help. I may be a flamboyant gamine but in general because I am 5'3' but hate the esthetic of a gamine plus I am a soft or light summer and high contrast edgy looks scare me. Does anyone else feel the same?

I don’t like seeing myself in the mirror because I am overweight but am working on losing weight

I wanted look cute and attractive and glamorous and romantic and dramatic and unique and knowledgeable and sophisticated and creative and sexy and elegant and pretty and classy and I just look like a * curry* BUAAHAHAHAHHA....

The editing was nice but the sound effects were a bit too plentiful and too loud.

Ok, this got me frustrated because I suddenly realized I have no idea who I am, who I want to be, and what the hell is going on with my life 🫣