Kibbe v French Chic | What Every Woman Needs To Know

Kibbe v French Chic? I hear this question all the time or "Marie-Anne - it is easy for you because you are a Classic" so in this video I answer the question which is the very best body shape system for you to get the style results you deserve and be able to age with style and grace the French Chic Style way. My Answer may surprise you.

🇫🇷 Contents of this video:
00:00 Intro
00:26 Kibbe or French Chic
01:13 Kibbe
02:49 French Chic
03:29 Comparison
07:14 My Verdict
08:07 Free Resource Gift

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🇫🇷 Read my article in the latest Edition of VOUZ! Magazine

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🇫🇷Bonjour, I am Marie-Anne Lecoeur - born, raised and living in Normandie, France. I am a fully trained personal stylist and member of The Federation of Image Professionals and written two best selling Amazon books on style. I want to help you become the woman you want to be by helping you find your style and boost your confidence.

* DISCLAIMER
This video is NOT SPONSORED. Some of the above links are affiliate links, whereby I earn a small commission from any sale to help me feed two chihuahuas.
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#frenchchic #bodyshape #kibbe

[Dan_Chiron]

I prefer Kibbe's system (and other more personalyzed systems, like Daria Andronescu's Wonder Wardrobe) for the simple reason that, in these, creating proportions for a silhouette doesn't consist in "hiding", "concealing" or modifyng your body to look like an hourglass. On the contrary, they're about celebrating the shape of your body and enhancing those features that the beauty industry has taught us to see as "flaws". For example, women with strong facial features are told to wear soft and delicate haircuts to make them look "less masculine", which results in making her features look even bigger (why would it be "wrong" to have strong features in the first place?); if she wears a bold haircut instead (counterintuitively, according to the traditional system), it would make her look effortlessly beautiful, like having that _je ne sais quoi_ ...
In the past, I've tried the traditional system to "balance" my body; sometimes I got it right, but some other times, garments just felt a bit off, like they didn't belong to me somehow. So, I'd argue 5 shapes system has a larger margin of error. I'd say before my clothes were nice, but I didn't feel stunning, now it's a totally different story.
The only downside of systems like Kibbe's is they take a big learning curve to understand and practice if you're not a stylist, especially because we tend to see our bodies through the lenses of our insecurities, but once you get the "trained eye", now you can take the best of every system and trend out there and adapt it to yourself.

[isobelsmith]

Complicated makes me want to give up before I start! Keep it super simple 😉
This is the best explanation I've heard. Thank you, Marie-Anne 👏💖

[bohemiansusan]

I'm an advocate for the French Chic system. Simplicity is often the best course of action. Also it is far easier for clueless clients who either want my help in styling them or to sew clothes for them.

I do have some clients that basically never stopped the jeans and t-shirts but now look better as the clothes are suited for the body shape, thus tricking the eye to see something better. In clients that have extreme poor self esteem issues, body shape is something that they can grasp and hold onto.

For myself, understanding and having learned what is best for my rectangle body has been liberating. First, I stopped wearing ill fitting clothes. Secondly, I quit torturing myself with starvation trying to obtain an hour glass shape. Nor do I bother with shape wear anymore. By wearing clothes suited to a rectangle, I give the illusion of being more shapely.

[kinga]

Kibbe had been sooo helpful for me. Everything recommended to my body type just feels very natural to wear..

[Marsolan]

Both systems are great. And I could not agree more that the system that works for a person is the one they should use. I studied Kibbe for 2 years and I agree, it's not simple at the beginning. But once you learn to recognize the body geometry ( tall and lean, average height and broad, round and petite etc.) and other features the choice of cuts, fabric, length, embellishments makes complete sense. Test is not used anymore. The apple/pear/etc. system is great for understanding proportions and offers many quick solutions. Kibbe helps to capture the essence. I use both systems!! Thank you for thought provoking video as always!!!❤💃❤

[lorrieorr]

Bonjour Marie-Anne,
I took my measurements according to your Shape-Up course and worksheet last summer. I have always been rather straight up and down, but with a large bust and wondered what shape I really was. Using the measurements and your guide, I determined that I was a Rectangle and have begun dressing that way. I have looked into the Kibbe system (just on my own) and found it very complicated. Using mathematics is much more objective and straightforward. Yay for French Chic!

[deden]

Well I think I have been out of the loop! LOL This is the first I have heard of the Kibbe system. I already know the mood and style I want, I need the French Chic to determine what silhouette will be the most flattering for me. I think the idea that one's features, curves etc determine the mood and feeling of your clothing is very limiting! I already know who I am, and how I want to look, I need to understand more fully how to achieve that in an attractive way, and that is why I prefer the French Chic system.

[keodi]

The french Chic system works for me. Keeping it very simple. Great video Marie-Anne!

[MsBraeswood]

I have learned a lot from both systems. I don’t think of it as an “either/or.” The Kibbe system is more nuanced in terms of body shape and helps me understand my personal type. French Chic, particularly your wonderful videos, provide a marvelous approach for style.

[brifren]

French chic has my preference. It could be just because I'm French and it's just how I grew up, but I also think it is more simple, and based on common sense when it comes to what flatters us or not. Kibbe tries to put a label on a woman's personality, and it can work well if the personality is clearly defined, but many women have different sides to their personality as you explained very well, and like to adapt the style of their outfit depending on their mood and/or the occasion. So I find that by using the French system, it is more easily achieved because we alredy know what makes us look and feel great, so all we have to do is to apply these simple principles/guidelines to our different outfits, and easily see what looks and feels great on us, whether it is classic, romantic, natural, flamboyant etc. We are unlikely to wear the same style to the office, to a wedding, on a relaxed weekend in the countryside, etc, but the body shape system is a constant that we can rely on. Of course the Kibbe system can add extra information and ideas, I'm sure! But I'm very happy with French chic 🙂

[eugeniabraz]

I don’t think the 2 systems are mutually exclusive. The traditional shape system is simple and helps you figure out proportions that are pleasing to the eye so that you can achieve physical balance. The kibble system seems to be more about the type of energy you radiate. I am both pear shape and soft classic, but I am not completely defined by either. Finding your personal style is more complicated than either system. Ultimately everyone should wear clothing that makes them feel the best version of themselves. Both beautiful and confident. And this is a lifelong process. ❤️🇨🇦

[mariesimmons]

It was simple for me. I watched a video you did, found out what shape I was, then listened to the recommendations, I followed them, and made some changes to hone in on my shape. It worked really well.I enjoy shopping for clothes again now, and I haven't for years, Can't be bothered with all that complicated Kibbe stuff Marie Anne I'm sure he's a nice enough bloke, but to be honest he'd do my head in with so much info. That's okay for me to say? I hope so. I just don't want to go beyond French chic to anything else. I think I just love it

[klarapetelei]

Marie-Anne, thanks for this video, it is nice and informative. For me is much simpler the French style. I am a pear, so it is much easier to choose clothes no matter if I want to be professional, romantic, sporty...

[Lisa_Petrison]

I am a Kibbe Romantic, an Hourglass, and a Soft Autumn. If I think about all of these issues when considering what clothing to buy, that eliminates about 95% of all and everything that I buy ends up looking pretty good on me! I wish I had started doing that when I was 20 rather than waiting until I was in my 50's, since I would have saved myself from wasting huge amounts of time trying on or buying things that did not work for me. In short, I think all the systems have been helpful for me. P.S. The striped shirts that look so great on you do not work for me at all, unfortunately.

[littleflower]

Who has time to go through all those systems? I try to be classic, elegant, but modest and all the way feminine and adapted to the lesser elements age is offering me after my 60th birthday. All that is allready a lot of work. Even if I try to keep it simple. Marie-Anne, thank you for the info.

[amiek]

I’m like a magpie - I collect the shiny things from many different systems. And by shiny things, I mean the principles that appeal to me and that work for me.

Having an apple shaped figure has presented style challenges and learning the basic principles for dressing this body type has been key. But other systems have allowed me to make refinements that have led me to a greater understanding of what works for me and what doesn’t.

The Kibbe system is very complex and the further I looked into it, the more it felt like trying to nail jello to a wall. But I did a couple of the online Kibbe tests and they indicated that I’m a Soft Classic. It made so much sense. I need structure but *soft* structure in my clothing. Very tailored items make me look and feel uncomfortable but flowing unstructured garments make me look like an unmade bed. This has made a tremendous difference when it comes to shopping. Instead of a classic tailored blazer, I look for blazers in a knit fabric, structure but with softness. In summertime, instead of a loose flowing kimono, I look for a duster, still soft and flowing but with more definition and structure.

When I create an outfit with this idea of soft structure in mind, I’m happy with both the way I feel and the way I look in the mirror.

The other principle that was key for me was learning that I have soft blended colouring, i.e., hair, skin, and eyes are low contrast. I look best when there is both a low value contrast and low colour contrast in my outfits. For example what Marie-Anne is wearing in this video, a dark sweater with a white shirt underneath wouldn’t work for me; it’s too much contrast. I cannot do black and white. The outfit would stand out and make me fade into the background. Instead, I would choose to layer a soft beige or grey sweater over a soft white shirt, in order to bring down the contrast. Or I’d wear a shirt in the same colour family as the sweater for a monotone look.

I was not born knowing these things. It has all been part of a conscious journey of learning what looks best on me. My natural inclinations often led me to buying clothes that didn’t look right on me. I’d see an outfit that looked great on the model or celebrity in the magazine photo but when I’d recreate it, I wasn’t happy with how it looked on *me*. I sought to discover exactly why some outfits worked and others didn’t. It has been like fitting together pieces of a puzzle.

I have long appreciated French Chic style. When I was a teenager, I attended a conference with other students from all across Canada. I noticed that the girls from Quebec had that certain French Chic style about them and I wanted to learn how to emulate it. And here I am, 40 years later, finally learning the secrets, thanks to Marie-Anne Lecouer and the French Chic Ladies. These are some of the final pieces to fit into the puzzle of my own unique personal style. 🙏

[tamiewert]

I've seen the Kibbe method on several individual YouTubers. I feel like it's very in depth, but tends to be very time intensive to evaluate, and that, for me, takes the fun out of fashion. French Chic all the way!!💗

[Pinkychi]

I tend to use a combination of both systems to style myself, leaning mostly towards the French chic system more. The kibbe system is helpful in determining which fabrics/prints are better for our bone structure, however the French chic system addresses what to actually wear in terms of creating a balanced silhouette. In both systems, I’m a combination type, in kibbe, my body is pure dramatic but my face isn’t which makes it difficult to pull off dramatic tops since it’s close to my non dramatic face. In French chic, I’m a combination of inverted triangle/rectangle however if I gain weight I lean more to an inverted triangle/apple. The French chic system is so much more helpful with my weight fluctuations. I need the ruffles and flared bottoms to balance my extremely large shoulder, the kibbe system doesn’t recommend fluffy tulle skirts for me yet it’s my best look when paired with a high neckline and dramatic recommend accessories. Both systems are helpful but I personally prefer the French chic system. Thank you for addressing this topic, your videos are always so helpful! Xoxo

[leonorehling]

Thanks, Marianne! I’ve never heard of the Kibbe system and now I know why — too complicated! Simple is best for me. Also, I’m naturally suspicious of a system designed by a man to describe female body types! 😆

[kymberleychristiansenrauber]

I definitely prefer the French chic method, my initial reaction to Kibbe was that it seems overly complicated. I am one of those who absolutely likes to keep it simple.