u/elizaoltramare

Just for fun, here are some pre-Kibbe outfits through a Kibbe lens, inspired by Gabrielle Arruda’s “style journey” post, a Millennial fashion flashback post I saw elsewhere, and me being sick in bed for a whole weekend.

These are all from 2013-2015, hence some of the unfortunate fashion choices (all the color-blocking…). I was also trying to follow, in my own idiosyncratic way, the basic fashion advice of the day: if you’re slender, emphasize your waist and—skinny or not—try to create the impression of an hourglass shape you may or may not possess.

Looking at these outfits now from a Kibbe perspective, I see a lot of waist emphasis (not recommended for FNs). I belted everything that moved, favored fit-and-flare silhouettes, and wore a lot of cropped cardigans and overly tailored/too tight jackets. Almost every outfit cuts my vertical line either at the knee or the waist (or both). I wouldn’t wear such fitted/snug clothes now. The outfits that look the best to my eye now have some drape and movement to the fabric, or more openness around the shoulders.

It's also interesting to see how some of my early style preferences have translated from my mid-20s to late 30s: my love of folkloric embroidery, vintage pieces (though I shifted from 40s/50s to late 60s/early 70s), bohemian details, and mixing prints, and my aversion to fussiness (even when fussiness/twee was very very ‘in'). I was also starting to cultivate an easy to mix-and-match wardrobe (mostly blue then, mostly green and maroon now). I kinda miss those lace-up boots! (And badly miss my Halloween cat.)

Last slide is a few post-Kibbe outfits incorporating FN recommendations from 2025-2026.

How did your style evolve pre- and post-Kibbe?

We had a chilly May and June here. Lots of peasant skirts, slouchy sweaters, sundresses… and notes on a few outfits. Feedback welcome.

1. I like the long, slim lines of this dress, though the olive is too warm for my coloring.
2. Witchy but verging on costumey.

3 and 4. This skirt would make the list of my most-worn in all seasons items of the year.

7-12. Obviously living in these slouchy Madewell sweaters.

13 and 14. I think these are good examples of being able to carry a lot of visual weight at the shoulder/not being a dramatic. The off-shoulder necklines are much better than the spaghetti straps (too delicate and placed too far 'in' on the bodice, emphasizing width in upper body without really accommodating it) in 15.

17. The fullness of the skirt doesn’t really work on me and the embroidery on the tiers breaks my vertical line. It’s all a little too fussy, so I’m going to resell this.

18. This was just a try-on and return, the only outfit I didn't actually end up wearing. The ruching and slit were kind of awful, too slinky and body-hugging, though I love the print.

19. This looks a little frumpy! I think if the top were more fitted (and the boatneck not quite so drapey), it would work. I like the mix of greens.

20. I loved this dress for a black-tie wedding.

Didn't realize you can see the more comfortable heels I switched to! Oh well! And the clutch I bought online didn't arrive in time. But loved the dress.

Continuing to experiment with FN recommendations and move away from about 15 years of belts and too many fit-and-flare dresses.

Here are some things I wore to special events in the last month:

1. This is my go-to dress when I don’t know how dressed up everybody else will be…

3 .I still like this dress but I can see that the hemline hitting right at the knee isn’t ideal.

6. Wore this to an arts fundraiser on a very cold May day!

Everyday outfits contending with back-and-forth April/May weather:

7. I wore this to a cold and drizzly spring festival on May 1 :(((

8. This dress is one of the oldest survivors in my wardrobe (from 2011-2012, maybe?) and the proportions now seem wrong to me. Too much skin, neckline too low, hits right at the knee.

9. I think I should hem this more.

12 and 13. Both of these with the blue blazer look a bit frumpy. I think the blazer hits a bit too high and the cut is too rounded, but the color is so beautiful that it's hard to part with.