David Kibbe's Metamorphosis example test, part II

Body Type (Flesh)

8) The overall shape of my body is best described as:
a. Long, lean, sinewy
b. Broad, tending toward muscular
c. Symmetrical, evenly proportioned
d. Very shapely, a delicate hourglass
e. Very soft, lushly curved, a ripe hourglass

Now, I think Kibbe in reality only gives four alternatives. 

The skinny, bony model body, also called a pillar, a ruler, a banana, pencil, rectangle, straight - there isn't much difference between one's shoulders, ribcage, waist and hips. Thyroid body type, leptosome body type. Some of these women have a pear shaped body, meaning their hips are the widest part of their body, but their hips are then always flat and bony. If your body is "boyish", this is where it belongs according to Kibbe.

The athletic body, inverted triangle, V, strawberry, valkyrie body, top heavy, cornets, lollipops and goblets. This body shape is also called the android body type. The top of the body, shoulders and ribcage are more prominent than the hips. The hips are straight and the bottom flat.

Normal, average body. Chest and hips are about equally wide and there's a waist inbetween. One can be an inverted triangle, pear, hourglass, straight, but the difference is practically unnoticeable.

The hourglass body. Yin bodies are very shapely, curvy, fleshy. 

If you have big breasts, it doesn't mean that you cannot be A or B. Breasts add yin, though, so Dramatic women don't have naturally big breasts. If you have big breasts, add "yin points" to your "flesh" part of the quiz.

The same with weight. Fat doesn't change your body type, but the more you have it, the softer and more yin your body becomes. A fat Dramatic glides to Soft Dramatic, a fat Classic to Soft Classic etc.
The same with being skinny. The less fat you have, the sharper and more yang your body becomes. Skinny women need to add some "yang points".

9) My bustline/torso is best described as:
a. Flat, taut (I never seem to add flesh here, even when I'm overweight.)

b. Wide, broad (I tend to add a little flesh here when overweight, but not much

c. Moderate, in even proportion to my waist and hips

d. Shapely, curved, more prominent than my waistline (My torso is slightly short and I add flesh here, when overweight.)

e. Very prominent, lushly curved (Whether I'm thin or heavy, I'm always "busty.")

10) My waistline is best described as:
a. Elongated, but boyishly tapered (This is true even when I'm overweight.)

 b. Elongated, but tends to be very straight (if thin) or thick (if overweight)
(Both of the following are of Cameron Diaz. That's a model example of type B waist.)

c. Moderate, slightly defined, but not overly cinched

d. Very small, in proportion to my bust and hips

e. Softly defined, but tends to be slightly wide

11) My hipline could best be described as:
a. Tapered, straight, and boyishly narrow

b. Straight, slightly tapered, and slightly wide

c. Moderate, in even proportion to my bust and waistline

d. Shapely and rounded, more pronounced than my waistline

e. Extremely soft and rounded, whatever my weight

12) The flesh on my upper arms and thighs could best be described as:
a. Long, lithe, and sinewy
b. Elongated and tending toward muscular
c. Moderate, neither extremely soft nor extremely muscular or sinewy
d. Soft, slightly short
e. Very soft, slightly wide and fleshy

And now you are done with the second part of the quiz.

To refine the results, you can take the following quiz:
Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph or an endomorph?
What is your body type quiz
Ectomorph = a
Mesomorph = b, c
Endomorph = d, e
 

David Kibbe's Metamorphosis example test, part I

When you take this test, count the parts (bone structure, body type (padding ;-)) and facial features) separate from each other. This is so that you can check your type from the table I posted yesterday.
and if you place yourself in between, or can't choose from two, take both answers into consideration.

Bone Structure

1) My vertical line is (not your height; we're looking for how tall you appear to be):
a. Long (People always think I'm taller than I really am.)
b. Moderately Long (People sometimes guess I'm slightly taller, but not by very much.)
c. Moderate (People usually guess my height correctly, or aren't at all surprised by it)
d. Smallish (People usually guess I'm slightly smaller, and my curvy figure is more noticeable than my height.)
e. Petite (It's very obvious to everyone that I am small in stature.)

vertical body shape
If you have short legs, long torso, give yourself an E, if you have long legs and short torso, give yourself an A.

But as the person's height IS a deciding factor in this, answer this part also on how tall you are.
a. 5'5 and over 
b. 5'5-5'8
c. between 5'4 and 5'6
d. 5'6 and under
e. 5'5 and under

2) The shape of my shoulders is best described as:
a. Narrow, sharp

b. Broad, blunt

c. Symmetrical, even

d. Sloped, but tapered

e. Sloped and rounded

One thing missing here is neck. Simply put, long, slender neck = yin, sturdy, short neck = yang

3) The length of my arms and legs are best described as:
a. Elongated, narrow
b. Elongated, broad
c. Moderate, in even proportion to my height and upper torso
d. Small, slightly shortish
e. Small, very short in proportion to my height and upper torso

4) The size and shape of my hands and fee are best described as:
a. Long and narrow

b. Large and broad

c. Moderate, neither long, broad, delicate nor small

d. Small, narrow, delicate

e. Small and slightly wide

Facial Bones

5) The shape of my jawline is best described as:
a. Sharp, either very pointed, very prominent, or very square

b. Broad or blunt, slightly wide

c. Moderate, symmetrical, neither wide, sharp, nor rounded

d. Delicate, tapered, or slightly narrow

e. Rounded or softly wide

6) The shape of my nose is best described as:
a. Sharp or prominent

b. Broad or blunt, but on the large side, possibly wide

c. Moderate, symmetrical, netiher overly large nor overly rounded

d. Delicate, tapered, narrow

e. Rounded or softly wide

7) The shape of my cheekbones is best described as:
(This is about cheekbones, not the flesh on your cheeks)
a. High, prominent

b. Wide

c. Symmetrical, moderate

d. Delicate, narrow, slightly rounded

e. Rounded

End of part I of the test. Now you should know if you bone structure is yin, yang or in between.
If you still aren't sure, there are a couple more tests you can use to figure out your bone structure.

1) Measure your wrist. 
Large frame = a, b
Medium frame = c
Small frame = d, e

2) facial bones
finding your face shape

If your face is shaped like:
diamond, rectangle = a
a-triangle, rectangle, square = b
oval, oblong = c
v-triangle, heart = d
round, pear = e

Why is it so horrible to be wrong?

Apparently I cannot be gamine. I'm too tall and too busty and too athletic for that.
But it seems that I am nothing else, either...

With Kibbe it's all about IMPRESSIONS.
It's more a question of whether you APPEAR to be tall or short, than how tall or short you really are. Proportions, you know.
It's more a question of whether you APPEAR to be symmetrical than what a tape measure says.
So when it comes to yin and yang, it's the OVERALL APPEARANCE that matters, not the specifics.

Here's a table about the yin-yang divition in Kibbe categories:

So, what does this mean?

Yang bone structure:
Angular, with sharp or blunt edges, squarish
Square shoulders, narrow or broad, wide shoulders
Hands and feet long and narrow or squarish, large
arms and legs long, muscular or sinewy
Facial bones (nose, jawline, cheekbones) are sharp, prominent or blunt, broad
Long, straight, large, tall

Yang body type:
Straight and angular, may tend to long or sleek musculature (sinewy or lithe).
Muscular, sinewy, lean, lithe
Athletic
Wide, broad, square
Long.
Long legs and arms.
Narrow or broad, wide
flat hips, flat chest, long waist, square, boyish hips, flat bottom

Yang face:
Straight, sleek lines.
Broad, blunt, or irregular. Sharp, angular, square
Sloe or almond eyes, small eyes, narrow eyes
narrow, thin or straight lips
taut skin, especially around the cheek and jaw areas.
Slightly wide features.
Extreme, dramatic (not in the exotic, lush kind), prominent
High cheekbones, blunt jawline,
Facial bones (nose, jawline, cheekbones) are sharp, prominent or blunt, broad

- face shape square, rectangular, triangular (pear), diamond

Other Yang features:
Distinct, high contrast coloring
Extreme texture to hair (silky smooth, extra fine, or wildly coarse).

Balanced bone structure:
symmetrical, medium, average, straight, moderate

Balanced body type:
Evenly proportioned bust, waist, and hips.
Slightly lithe and sinewy musculature.
Moderate to slightly long limbs.
On occasion slightly short-waisted.
Legs and arms tend to be average or slightly long.

Balanced face:
Symmetrical and evenly spaced, moderate size eyes and lips, straight nose of average length, nothing extraordinary, striking, exotic or prominent in this face.

- face shape an oval or oblong

Other balanced features:
low contrast in coloring

Yin bone structure:
Delicate and smallish.
Can be round.
Rounded or sloped shoulders.
Small hand and feet
Facial bones(nose, cheekbones, jawline) are small, delicate and may be slightly wide or lush.
Sloped or tapered shoulders.

Yin body type
Fleshy, busty, curvy
Soft and voluptuous.
Hourglass figure; curvy (bustline and hips, with a small waist (in proportion to the curves).
Usually have moderate-sized waist, which can become thick.
Soft, fleshy arms and legs.
Slightly rounded
Possibility of being slightly short-waisted.

Soft Dramatics have the flesh and lushness over the extremely sharp bone structure.

Yin face:
Full, lush, sensual, and exotic.
Large eyes, luminous, “bedroom eyes”, cat eyes
Full, luscious lips.
Soft, fleshy cheeks.
Soft, round, full
Nose tends to be small and wide, or slightly irregular (blunt or wide).
delicately pointed chin.
Facial bones(nose, cheekbones, jawline) are small, delicate and may be slightly wide or lush.

- face shape: round, heart

Other Yin features:
Delicate skin.
Fair complexion.
Softly textured, lustrous hair.

Here I go again...

Ok. When I was about 20 I color analysed myself with my mother's HUGE collection of scarves, and couldn't pinpoint my season, except that I'm definitely warm.
Over the years I have tried Autumn and Summer - because I think there's a certain muddiness in my colors. Rat colored hair, mud-colored hazel eyes, my skin gets olive green when tanned... So I must be either Summer/Autumn or Autumn/Summer, mustn't I?
I would have so loved to be Spring, but - how could I? With all the mud...

But - they all said that the color analysis was first developed when an art teacher noticed that his students intuitively used the colors that suited them. And I have always been very... "disney-esque" as my husband calls it. Bright, happy pastels and airy tones... And I love jewel tones.
But... all the mud! How could I be Spring?

Then I met my husband. One of the first things he told me was that natural flax doesn't suit me. At all. It drains all the color off me and leaves the mud. Oatmeal, dishwater, ecru bland.
Huh.

And I remembered wearing a bright, clear, strong, royal purple sweater once and shining. My skin got an amazing golden lustre, my hair got bright, my eyes shone...

And then there's the Zyla colors... The colors found on me, my eyes, my hair, my skin.

I have to accept that I am a Clear Spring or Bright Spring, Spring going to Winter. My eyes are not of bright color, they are dark hazel, but they are bright. My eye-whites are very white.
This is me as a 7-years-old. Bright eyes. That's one of the first things I notice. Eyes like a little bird. And the glowing warmth of her skin and golden hair...

This is me, now. I have only henna in my hair, so you can see how much darker it has gotten during these ~40 years between these photos.

I call it "slightly exploded". This is from my nephew's wedding, and I had put my hair nicely up, but it was a very windy day, and the wind blew up my coiffure :-D I think I look pretty awful in this, I can hardly see anything but my double chin, and my hair that looks like something died on my head... But - I am my worst critic, relentless and cruel. :-(
No matter. I'm not writing this blog to show all how beautiful and well-dressed I am, or to tell people the right way to do things. I'm writing this blog to share with my fellow women (and men, too, if any is interested of this blog) MY thoughts and fights and troubles and wondering about these issues. So - this is how I look. I'd like the truth to be different, but it's not. And that's that.

Anyway, I have read today, that:
Clear Springs have light hair as kids, and darken when they get older. Check.
Clear Springs have very white eye-whites. Check
Clear Springs have big contrasts on their face. Check.
Clear Springs have bright eyes. Check.
Warm undertone. Yes. I look blah in ecru and other muted, soft tones. I look great in jewel tones.
Ok. So - I suppose I just have to accept that I am a Clear Spring.

My husband told me something else, too... that I am not at all an Ingenue. I'm Dramatic Classic. I look ridiculous in my Ingenue clothes. :-( But I look stunning, fabulous, smoking hot and amazing in men's clothes... :-> When I underline my femininity and dress in girly stuffs, pink, frills and lace, I look like a bad drag queen, when I understate it, dressing in uniforms and close to minimalist, my femininity blows through like a thunderbolt.
Well... I suppose he knows best :-D He fell in love with me when my "uniform" was a long A-line skirt, men's shirt and a vest. :-)

To next matter.
I experimented with the Dressing Your Truth types, again. I think I look pretty awful in all of them. Especially T3. I look like someone's fat wrestler aunt. "This is my aunt, Luchadora Tigresa. She breaks things". Or mrs. Doubtfire when she was young. "Lydia, oh Lydia, the tattooed lady..." Luchadora Tigresa used to be a sailor in her youth." And she broke things already then...

Actually I like T1 and T2 best. All rosy and cute in T1, soft and sort of outdoorsy, "natural" gal. But that scarf must go. :-D

Absolute beginner

I'm doing Couch to 5K. 

I have started it once earlier, that time with no watch, so I counted about 60 seconds and 90 seconds...

I run it again, today, with a podcast from that URL above.
I could do two 60 seconds' runs, the third I stopped in the middle, and didn't run anymore.
I had taste of blood in my mouth, my breathing was wheezing (I'm astmathic) and I was finished. I hardly could walk back home. 
So... I think we REALLY LOUSY couch potatoes would need an easier level than the start level.

And I need to start minding my asthma. :-(
I hate it. I like to pretend there's nothing wrong, and "forget" to take my medication

And I have somehow damaged a muscle on my right thigh. Feels like I've somehow strained it... But I can't remember when and how or even if. That's about the worst thing with FM. I can't tell the difference of FM muscle ache and a strained muscle. It is possible that I have stretched it too much or something.

All this makes me so uncertain of training.

Anyway, my "konditionstal" is 26, based on how long time it takes for me to walk 5K, and that is... bad, but not really bad. For a woman of my age... >:->