ROMANTIC essence - you really will be surprised {Kitchener essence} 

I’m Irish from Irish (possibly gypsy, and love that word!) roots,and I love Indian styles/colours so much I designed my own style line and had them made. Personally, I did this to celebrate and enjoy what I love so much about Indian style.

@@MariaJMcMahon That’s so cool! :D

​@@MariaJMcMahonmany Romani people, like myself, don't like the word being used.

@@JenIsHungry Well, I'm OK with it being used about me.

I'm Indian too and I feel the same. But I also think that Indian culture hasn't been appropriated for the benefit of others as much as some other cultures so we may feel this way now but that may change...and it also doesn't take away from other cultures feeling appropriated. LOVE seeing appreciation for Indian culture though ❤

As a south Asian I agree. I never understood this cultural appropriation and people getting offended by it. I love it when others try different cultures and traditions

I agree. One of my besties is also Indian born and raised. When I was learning to dress my body she was the first one to bring me all these beautiful traditional fabrics or clothes for me to try. She suggested I mix it with western style clothes as I have a look that requires a certain luminescent quality (I'm SD in Kibbe but Dramatic Romantic with small percentage of Ingenue in Kitchener. I can get away with a lot of Ethereal but because I'm short at 5'3 75" and super high contrast (True Winter), I can't say I might be a candidate in that despite my look requiring so many of those guidelines).

I disagree I'm Pakistani & if a white person, black person who isn't mixed with us i'd have a problem with it bc of how Americans & Europeans make fun of our culture & us as a ppl & then to wear our stuff on top I very much would have an issue unless they marry into our culture then it's okay

Thank you - I'm an old hippie type and wore (and still do) lots of Indian prints, jewelry and skirts in the seventies because they are so beautiful. To me, that is honoring your culture and appreciating its unique beauty.

Haha, I mean I wish I could just have wine on the beach but... I'm glad it's been helpful!

thank you! i have a lot of fun doing it🥰

Agreed!

It's extremely good

I agree and I think given more time or a video on this subject I could have clarified this sentiment. Unfortunately, I just went with a quick disclaimer so ppl wouldn’t disrespect significant cultural garments

Well said! If a style or textile is worn with respect and enthusiasm, then it's a beautiful thing. Also, reserving certain elements only for a certain culture creates another problem, that of racial profiling based on clothing. And, if people of a particular culture happily sell you an outfit, textile, or accessory, who are we to gatekeep? This is a very nuanced subject, and I don't think there's a one-size-fits all approach, especially for those of us from a multicultural background.

I'm Brazilian Too🇧🇷💖😍💕

@@sarafilgueira 😊❤️❤️

Another Brazilian here!

Hey 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

It is also definitely misunderstood! I think that one might next so far!

I second this!

@Samiya Masih hmm i mean i guess it depends who you’re hearing it from. I do agree there’s been an evolution of these systems and different creators use yin/yang in unique ways. But a lot of the baseline characteristics are the same and I do my best to give a large overview

@Samiya Masih No, people just don't like being what is considered 'common' and that stunts their ability to find their own way in these communities. The Natural essence is one of the most common yes but that's not a drawback, it actually makes things A LOT easier to dress yourself.

It won out on the poll in her community tab so I think you're in luck :)

Agree! I love tuning into my sensuality but I never want ppl to feel objectified. I’m glad you liked it 🌹

Ah, I'm glad my rant wasn't too much! And I'm glad that you have found them thorough☺️

That is so awesome 😎

Got someone caressing my faux fur and nuzzling into it once. Haha

Usually when people say not to appropriate (in my experience anyway) they're meaning more specifically in the example of the difference between wearing native American garbage and going to Party City and picking up a "Indian girl" outfit with shabby feathers and tassels then taking weird pics in it. Or only ever wearing other cultures clothing in the context of sexualizing them, we get sexualized as "exotic" enough as is, we really don't need people OVERTLY sexualizing us in the bedroom anymore.

This cultural appropriation thing is a thing for the US. most ppl from around the world would agree with you (me included) -a non american

​@@monito3575 Completely, my culture is a culture of appropriation. Our traditional foods, dresses, dances, speech, none of it is "ours", but we see it as just the natural consequence of being conquered and becoming the shiny new thing to look at 500 years ago.

Yes, and that’s where I draw a hard line. But I think she is suggesting more broadly that white people shouldn’t wear clothing that is suggestive of other cultures in general. Which I don’t necessarily agree with.

Remember is the people, is the same for me, so I stated to dress more clasic, exept my shoes jajaja, but this happen to me, thanks to other women that use her body for benefit in a sexual and like an object way rather than sensual feminine way with respect, and hollywood ... yes I get you

I doubt it was no natter what you wore. If you wore a loose sweater, shawl and loose maxi skirt, you're not going to 'look too sexy'.

Same!!! I wasn't religious but school principals would be pulling me out of class for wearing identical outfits as other girls, I asked them why the duck they're singling me out n they said they will "deal with" those girls but never did.

@@Ri57490 yeah and she is going to look bad in them. I'm also romantic and look like a hobbo in baggy clothes. I'm never going to use baggy clothes. Fuck religion and society.

@@genevievec8476 school is a prison. Your not allowed to be yourself especially if that means you're unique. I was targeted all the time by "teachers" for wearing any make up , short skirt , taking off my jumper in hot weather , wearing a natural looking self tanner, lateness , not being good at maths , finding it difficult to concentrate etc. Schools are awful ,damaging places

@Rose I looked into dramatic at the start of my typing journey but never saw it fit, same with typing groups when I’ve uploaded proper typing photos I’ve never received dramatic, for essence once or twice buts that’s only from the stylised and posed photos I post to my social feeds like the ones you found on my Instagram. I’ve attempted more dramatic styling but it just swallows me whole which lead to me looking into the softer, less vertical dominant types across various typing systems, looking into essences I tried dramatic recommend makeup/accessories and they both look far too heavy on me and weigh me down if that makes sense, almost like it’s sitting ontop my face there’s no harmony with it so I’d honestly put dramatic at probably the bottom of my list especially considering I’m about 5’4 so on the shorter end which shows in photos with others 😅 (which really stands out in photos)

Yes! Me too! I was thought of as older more mature when I was a teen but now I'm in my mid 30s people think I'm a lot younger than I am!

I do think Kibbe can work beautifully on it's own for some people. And that is take is more fluid/vibe influenced than everyone (myself included) has given him credit for. That being said, I think style should be personal and Kitchener can also help hone that recipe. Totally agree things don't need to be precise, they should be a unique reflection of your best features and expressions. I'm no longer part of Strictly Kibbe but apparently there is a whole big debate about Beyonce and whether she's still on the verified list. Glad you liked the video!

Thank you! I think everyone has stereotypes to essences and it can be hard sometimes to remove them ( like I know i"m no Marilyn Monroe lol). I like elements of that purple dress ( like the neckline and general upper body shape), but the skirt was a bit too confining and veryy hard to walk in ( it was kind of a weird shuffle), so I ended up returning it. I agree the color was helping, though!

Gabrielle is not romantic, I seen her totally flamboyant natural

@@gagaearthian that’s kibbe- yes I’m an FN in kibbe. Essences are blends so you can be more than one

@@Gabriellearrudadesign I get that, but sorry I can't see the romantic one 💖

@@gagaearthian The kitchener romantic differs a lot from the kibble romantic. I also don't see any kibbe romantic but I do see kitchener romantic.

Marilyn Monroe and Scarlett Johanson are both considered romantic/ingenue. Ultimately how they combine both essences would depend on which one is dominant and their personal style.

Classic isn't boring at all👍

Exotic defines Western culture as the standard and is othering to all the other cultures. It is very vague because you might be exotic to a Japanese person. It also fails to recognize the differences between all cultures and just packs them together under “exotic”. Personally, I feel like the word is really objectifying. Other cultures are looked down upon but “exotic” makes it sound like our only redeeming quality is being novel to Western folk and striking their curiosity.

I love the approach as well! It's also explained very clearly

I absolutely love this- what a sweet approach to your style!

Yessss! I saw the "mom outfit" section and immediately thought "you have to let Gabby know in the comments that that was highly appreciated!". When you are trying to dress for your essence blend and your body type while dressing in something functional ( i.e. nursing friendly or easy to throw on and move around in) it just gets too complicated! So thanks again for that! And in general, for all the work you put into this series 💕💕💕

Im with you. But I realized I love glamorous sexy outfits (luxurious fabrics, faux fur, heels, leopard print) like you said. but not the tight fitting dresses.

I think I’m like you but backwards version!

Yes 👏🏻

If you're not profiting from stealing someone else's culture, I really don't see how it harms anyone. For example, I'm American, but love Asian style, so I wear a lot of shirts with a classic Chinese stand collar. I order them from Asian sellers so if anything, I'm giving them my business and I'm sure they're not bothered by that.

I think it's more complex than that. Cultural appropriation has a sense in the discussion around the effects of colonialism to describe the process by which the colonizer cultures "adopted" cultural elements of the colonized cultures by means of direct stealing, profiting off or exploiting those elements from an exotifying perspective that takes its original meaning from it. It's just that, as many other concepts it has been used and applied very incorrectly. One thing people in the 19th century collecting and exhibiting "african masks" as luxury decorative pieces in the midst of slavery or companies selling elements of Buddhism and other east asian religious practices as aesthetic home decor, which is direct culture appropriation and harmful and another is that you as an individual might wear a particular hairstyle or piece of jewelry or clothing that it's original from or inspired by a culture that's different from yours. The world is globalized and cultures are meant to come in contact. And even before globalization was a thing, commerce between different nations and civilizations made objects, patterns or materials from one part of the world accesible to the other. Ever since Europeans started to buy pottery from China, it influenced our own way to produce ceramics in an organic way, and the same applies to textiles and clothing garments (and to food even). I think it's very useful and necessary to revindicate the origin of certain styles or garments, to put into value the influence and impact certain minoritary cultures have on global fashion trends and give credit when it's due, same as with music genres, for example, and getting to know the real origin of the pieces or styles you like and use, but cultural appropriation as applied strictly as a prohibition to use learn or even make music of a certain genres is impossible, because it leads to draw unrealistic linea between cultures that don't exist and scrutinize people in terms of ethnicity (something that, I agree, the American public tends to like to do a lot). But it's not like Americans invented the concept and in Europe it is not necessary because our cultures coexist in peace and harmony, that's bullshit. Europeans have a long history of cultural appropriation too and we still have an inherited colonialist view towards other cultures that we still need to deconstruct so it's not a bad thing to ponder why are we drawn too so much into foreign "aesthetics" and wether we might be unconsciously exotifying other people. For example, here Gabrielle makes a very interesting point into how this exotification and fetishizing of southeast asian women influenced in the description and perception that they give of the romantic essence and why are these cultures automatically associated to sensuality in their worldview as Western, white males.

Yes the rest of the world doesn't care... If you're a tourist here in the Philippines we would be happy to see you wearing our clothes ... Happy vibes

I really think it depends on tthe way it is done. Mocking cliche Halloween costumes? Hell no. Proper garments worn out of admiration? Hell yes.

haha, I'm glad you liked it! And yes, I think natural might be next!

Yes you absolutely can. Thank you for this feedback. I'm doing classic next (which I think is pretty easy to make more modest), but I"ll definitely include this section going forward!

And gypsy has been reclaimed by the demographic belongs to. Its not a slur. Her corrections are not helpful and distracting.

@@zulaikalondon I know exactly what you mean. In Spain, gypsies (“gitanos” in Spanish) proudly call themselves “gypsies”. That’s what they are and they are not ashamed of it, nor consider their ethnicity a slur. I think is offensive that some people consider the word “gypsy” a slur.

Thank you so much!

yes, I think that's true to a certain degree. Because kitchener has two "more" yin Ids- the ingenue and angelic- romantic is not his most yin ID, so it becomes less small scale

ha, thank you very much! Sharon Stone I think has a dramatic dominant essence but probably some romantic in there as well

@@Gabriellearrudadesign thank you for replying . Gabrielle could tell why Salma Hayek is not a natural essence person as well ? She has such a blunt jawline . It’s highly Yang jaw. Width in her shoulders too. That wolf like beauty.

Totally fair opinion. I’m curious do you not think I have any yin to my face then?

Of course you have but I think Ingenue and natural and bit of ethereal are more dominant

I’m so glad you found it helpful!

Seconded!

Thirded 🙏🏻

Fourth!

I love that color too, even though it's a tad dark for me, I just can't not wear it lol. And that's a cool analogy, I like it!

@@Gabriellearrudadesign She may be referring to Ellie-Jean Royden's Body and Style vids with sun,moon,etc.

thank you so much!!

Absolutely! I’ve clarified that in the comments but I think I didn’t communicate it properly in the video

@@Gabriellearrudadesign You addressed it perfectly. You addressed a lot of the potentially problematic parts super well. :) Just wanted to add a bit of info to hopefully help others navigate.

Thank you! I'm glad it's helping to see the broader principles!

​@@SocialExperiment232 it's essence, not body type. i believe she said she was fn.

I've since taken a look at Kitchener's essences chart and calculated my blend (more or less). It comes out to 50% Dramatic, 30% Romantic, 20% Ethereal--plus shoelace levels of Natural and Gamine. I will say I was a bit shocked that Romantic came out as strong as it did. (Going back to McJimsey's recommendations for Dramatic, I find references to diagonal draping and power shoulders, so I think I know now what I'll be shopping for.)

Agree. For example,Scarlette johanson,is cleary a romantic,the imthat they see is just because she is blonde if she was a brunette she would be clearly a romantic.

I'm glad it's been insightful. It can take some playing around to see your exact blend and ultimately it's up to you to find your own style recipe. I have a deep dive on the angelic/ethereal that might be helpful as well!

Thanks! 🥰 I’m always surprised ppl see me as more youthful looking 😂

It’s because of the color correction/light but I agree it looks too red in the video.

Yay! I'm so glad it's helped, and thank you- means a lot!

One other thought - The language shift and framing around that you take is constructive towards reducing fetishization. Take curves alone - I was taught having romantic elements, being curvy, is something to be fetishized (more directly so by other women than men) and you should hide your curves by deemphasizing the waist and turning an hourglass into a rectangle. Your videos have been helping me to unpack that. So thank you again.

You got it!

Ah and classic.

Agree . I cant see vertical line,width or bluntness specially in her face,1- she have round face shape and full cheeks(ingenue)2 small nose/round medium lips,so romantic I don't see it at all.

You can have dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes and still have contrast. It's very hard to explain, but you could only tell it on someone through a photo. I only know because my younger sister is dark skinned and has brown hair black eyes etc. And she's super high contrast (which sucks bc she only likes neutral colors where I wish I could wear the colors she can, but I don't look as great)

I will!

Those features are uncommon to you, but in other parts of the world they are common. And it’s often from a western world pov/euro centric based. Using the same word to describe an animal and a person just isn’t a great term imo

@@Gabriellearrudadesign in the US it might be seen that way. In Europe its not west versus rest of the world. And Sophia Loren is western and her features are western. Also no one here would say an Asian person looks exotic for being Asian. An Asian person with blue eyes would be considered having an exotic eye colour because it’s uncommon. It’s nothing to do with where anyone is from when it comes to human looks. People often say I look exotic because I have uncommon features, a very prominent bone structure. Doesn’t mean I look like I am from a different region. When I look up the definition, it has two meanings 1 : very different, strange, or unusual. 2 : introduced from another country (animals, plants) What’s offensive about it? Maybe in North America you just use the word in the wrong way

@@linibellini probably! I’ve had multiple ppl voice concerns about kibbe articles I have that used the term. And I’d just prefer to air on the side of caution when it comes to terminology

@@Gabriellearrudadesign I understand that and would probably do the same in your position. In some way you’re making yourself quite vulnerable to judgement on a platform like this. I don’t know enough about US culture to really understand all of the issues with certain words and while for some words that have been used to downgrade certain groups of people, with other terms I am just baffled what could be offensive. At least in the way I learnt to use them. Like with this example!

@@linibellini Totally, it's not an inherently bad word... just trying to modernize the system a bit and make sure everyone feels comfortable since it can be a term with a polarizing effect. And to be honest, because even at it's more "pure" meaning, it is location specefic, which doesn't help the viewers understanding. I'm not trying to police language, just find a middle ground that we can all meet at. 👍

me tooo

ahh yay, i'm so glad!☺️

You’re so welcome!

Love that!

Very interesting! I think I have all three in equalish degree, but it's always interesting to hear everyones opinions 🥰