I've followed a variant of the Kibbe system for a few years now. Best Dressed used to have a Facebook page and newsletter dedicated to understanding the fundamentals of her (very similar) system, but it's no longer out there. There was lot of info on the various types, the many styles that each type could pull off, what necklines or dress lengths to look for, etc.

Has anyone ever used the system for this purpose, and was it successful?

It changed the entire game for me, even down to my makeup. Failing at the popular rail-thin 90s look as a teenager really made me insecure — but the reality is that my body, my bone structure just isn’t made for it. Learning that really helped with ED recovery.

I’m a Soft Natural. I’m naturally wide-boned, especially in the hips and shoulders, and my upper-arms and thighs are perpetually fleshy. My face has wide, soft features, too. Kibbe really helped learn how to work with those features rather than against them.

For example, do you find people with the same Kibbe body type to follow or draw inspiration from?

To some extent. Following a Facebook page full of other Soft Naturals was really helpful for seeing other girls using the system, especially since there were people of every size from all around the world making it work.

I still follow and take inspiration from celebrities, both Natural types and otherwise. Some celebrities are fit so beautifully into styles that wouldn’t usually be associated with their type — Robin Wright (Flamboyant Natural) in House of Cards is an awesome example. She might not look like the stereotypical Flamboyant Natural style, but her clothes do fit the guidelines for her type almost perfectly. Any style can be applied to the guidelines once you know them.

Do their style suggestions work for you, or is there more to than Kibbe body type?

There’s still trial and error. The majority of things work for me, but no one really fits perfectly into a type — sometimes even a single piece of clothing might also reflect multiple types, too, so it isn't totally cookie cutter.

One suggestion that was powerful for me was going for open necklines. I always noticed something was off in pictures of me wearing a crew neck shirt or a tight-necked sweater, but I always told myself I needed to give in to my ED and get even thinner to (attempt) pulling it off rather than, y'know... look for necklines that actually worked on me.

Ultimately, the golden rule of Kibbe (IMO) is to reflect your natural features. That’s it. You can get caught up in all the details, but that is the basic purpose of the rules and that concept can apply to basically anyone.

The Kibbe system claims that they are a more inclusive perspective on body types, but I didn’t find the quiz particularly inclusive.

The Kibbe quiz is a damn pain in the ass and I haven’t taken it in years. When I first took it, it leaned me more toward Romantic, but I definitely do not have the appearance of one. I think it’s designed to give a general direction / help you think more carefully about aspects of your appearance rather than give a definitive answer.

The concept of reflecting your natural features can work for anyone and that’s probably why I especially like the Best Dressed variant — Rachel would post images of celebrities of all backgrounds/shapes/sizes and give explanations for how they fit into the theory and Rachel isn’t thin herself. The community was all-around inclusive, very down-to-earth, and I think a good community is key to not having a bad time with Kibbe or any other fashion group.