Are you wondering what the 8 style roots system is?

This article will help you understand it!

What’s this fuss all about the eight style roots? It’s good when Kibbe body types match your personality, but it’s a dilemma for individuals who don’t confide in these style aesthetics.

It’s not rare for individuals to feel lost in their own body types.

Their body may have “Kibbe Dramatic” imprinted in BOLD; but their soul may want to translate a different story, perhaps more gentle, sweet, or sensual. 

This is where “Style Roots” comes into play. It’s a simplified style system, articulated to help you dress according to your personalized aesthetics without feeling constricted or strained. 

In a way, “Style Roots” is relatively similar to ‘Kitchener style essence,” yet entirely casual, carefree, and poetic.

You could say “Style Roots” is a simplified and more laid-back version of Kitchener’s style essence.

It solely focuses on your aesthetics and helps you refine them according to your body type. 

We’ll discuss how to refine your style roots with respect to your body type later in the article.

Let’s first understand the eight style roots and what resonates best with you. 

The eight style roots— your personalized aesthetics! 

What I personally admire about Ellie Jean’s style roots system is their connection to nature and the simplicity she renders in all these style roots.

Although extremely helpful, Kitchener’s style essence’s vocabulary and the yin-yang influence can be very difficult to understand as a newcomer to the world of style systems.

But also, I know a lot of personal stylists that use this system like “religion”. 

In that sense, root styles are self-explanatory.

It uses terms like ‘Fire,’ ‘Sun,’ ‘Moon,’ etc., to define your root aesthetics and how to dress them.

It doesn’t take science to understand what ‘moon’ in this context translates to— the night’s beauty, darkness, moody aesthetic styles, witchy vibe, and rebellious aura. 

With that in mind, let’s unravel all these Eight style roots:

1. Moon

2. Sun

3. Flower

4. Fire

5. Earth

6. Mushroom

7. Mountain

8. Stone

To help you with a more extensive wardrobe; I’ll co-relate all these style roots with a similar Kitchener essence. 

For instance, the moon-style root resembles Kitchener’s Gamine essence.

Following Gamine essence for your ‘moon’ style root will give you better and more extensive choices/options. 

The moon-style root— Moody aesthetics

‘Moon’ portrays the dark and subdued night— daringly beautiful and serenely rebellious.

Adjectives such as gloomy, witchy, lustrous, illuminated, dark, moody, daring, gothic, etc., best define an individual with the moon-style root. 

If this description resonates with you, you want to go with darker and highly pigmented colors, a lot of chunky jewelry, leather, the color black, dark emerald, lacy chokers, silver metal accessories, knuckle rings, boots, edgy and unconventional hairstyles. 

Now, suppose your body type is ‘romantic’ (sensual) and your style root is ‘Moon.’

You simply have to add sensuality to your outfits— A dark green (ankle length) bodycon dress with a plunging neckline, silver metal jewelry (with studded diamond), a slit that runs to your thighs, and dark maroon lipstick. And so on! 

• Dark green color, dark jewelry, diamonds, dark maroon lipstick, and thigh-length slit are all characteristics of the moon-style root.
• Bodycon dress, plunging neckline, diamonds, and maroon lipsticks are romantic attributes. This is just an example of how you can mold your style root with your body type. 

The moon-style root is very similar to Kitchener’s gamine essence. You will find a wild style variety there! 

The Sun root style

Like a sunny summer, the sun style root portrays colors, vibrancy, vividness, creativity, spontaneity, and experiments.

It’s above the neutral aesthetics and indulges proudly in the hues of bright and pigmented colors. 

Individuals with this style root would look and feel their best in colorful and expressively bright choices that are experimental and portray out-of-the-box thinking. 

You want to choose trend-defying choices; it displays your artistic and youthful soul. 

Forget a minimalist palette, your soul is made to slay lively and fresh choices. Whatever your body type is; add colors to them! 

The Flower Style Root

The flower aesthetics embody softness, delicacy, and intricate and pretty details.

If you have always resonated with a soft, gentle, and girlish vibe— you have what is called the flavor style root. 

You want to look cute instead of sensual or fierce. The best way to achieve this look is by adding softer colors to your wardrobe, dainty floral details, bows, tiaras, pretty and dainty jewelry, and compact outfits. 

• Soft and flowy fabric choices such as georgette and chiffon with pretty prints, especially lilies. 
• A-line or frilly mini skirts and 3/4 skirts.
• Tops/dresses with a sweetheart, spaghetti strap, or square necklines.
• Balloon or frilly sleeves. 
• Mini dresses that wrap your waist gently and fall freely until your thighs. 3/4 length is a gorgeous choice, too! 

You can follow “Ingenue Essence by Kitchener” for an elaborate and extensive wardrobe.

You can also take suggestions from Kibbe’s soft gamine and soft classic body types. 

The flower aesthetics embody softness, delicacy, and intricate and pretty details.

If you have always resonated with a soft, gentle, and girlish vibe— you have what is called the flavor style root. 

You want to look cute instead of sensual or fierce.

The best way to achieve this look is by adding softer colors to your wardrobe, dainty floral details, bows, tiaras, pretty and small jewelry, and compact casual outfits. 

* Soft fabric choices such as georgette and chiffon with pretty prints, especially lilies. 

* A-line or frilly mini skirts and 3/4 skirts.

* Tops/dresses with a sweetheart, spaghetti strap, or square necklines.

* Baloon or frilly sleeves. 

* Mini dresses that wrap your waist gently and fall freely until your thighs. 3/4 length is a gorgeous choice, too! 

You can follow “Ingenue Essence by Kitchener” for an elaborate and extensive wardrobe. You can also take suggestions from Kibbe’s soft gamine and soft classic body types.

The Fire root style

Wild sensuality is what comes to mind when we talk about the Fire Style root— Untamed, raw, and hot! 

It’s endowed with lushness, luxury, and extravagance. Dark maroon and lace are the two best choices to accentuate your romantic aura. 

Women with this style type have a primal instinct to embrace and embody their sensuality through their existence, style choices, and appearance. 

You would feel and look your best in outfits that hug your body seductively and accentuate your curves.

• Plunging necklines give away space for a deep cleavage. 
• Blood red color. 
• An intense focus on your lips, hips, and breasts because these are primarily connected to one’s sexuality. 
• Smokey, sultry, and drunk eye makeup— it helps you achieve that playful and seductress look. 
• Lush hairstyle including voluminous waves, long hair (waves or thick curls), side-parted 1920s hairstyle, etc. 
• Extravagant jewelry, especially big diamonds. 
• High heels to assert dominance. 

Follow “Romantic Essence by Kitchener” and “Kibbe romantic body types” for your wardrobe selection. 

The Earth Style Root

Inspired by soil and natural dirt; the Earth Style Root takes a serene drive toward neutral earthiness, roots, wood, the dark and deep forest, autumn, night creatures, wildlife, flora/fauna, irregular landscape, etc. 

Do you connect with nature the most; does it bring you immense peace and calm?

Would you rather prefer the serenity of Mother Earth than the comfort of this concrete world? 

There’s no doubt in the fact that your style root is “Earth.”

You naturally gravitate towards outfits woven with naturally occurring materials that are eco-friendly and comfortable.

Your style is laid-back, comfortable, artistic, boho, and inspired by the intricate beauty present in nature! 

• Fabric choices: Thin jute, linen, or other softer fabrics that flow with the wind. They shouldn’t be body-hugging though! 
• Loose-fit outfits: Loose-fit outfits are comfortable, airy, and unstructured. It also shows how less you care about the societal beauty parameters, aiding your free soul and lively spirit. 
• Asymmetrical outfits: You don’t need symmetry to slay a good outfit. Asymmetrical outfit choices embody the irregular and gorgeous landscape. 
• Mute/subdued and neutral colors: Instead of highly bright colors; you look gorgeous in mute or neutral (beige) shades/tints. Subdued colors portray the colors present in nature, the soil, the roots, the branches, trunk. You’d look beautiful in autumn colors if you want a little variation from beige or neutral virtues. The Autumn palette is full of pigmented but subdued colors. 
• Boho patterns or artistic prints. They should be unique and unconventional. 
• Boho jewelry made of gemstones, seashells, beads, etc. 
• Showing skin is a beautiful choice for individuals with natural style roots.
• Denim and sport wear: After loose-fit outfits; if you want something body-hugging, stretchable material such as jersey or rib-knit are great choices. 

Follow John Kitchener’s natural style essence if you have Earth-style roots. 

Mushroom style root

Mushroom Style Root encompasses the neutral and poise side of nature; like the soft beige found in the mushrooms or the Zebra’s elegant stripes, the ocean’s magnificent shades of blue, and how well they contrast with the glittering sand. 

All in all, Mushroom embodies elegance, poise, class, and sophistication.

Do you want to dress more modestly and elegant than sensual or cute?

Well, here’s a style root right up your alley. 

• Monochromatic color scheme: Instead of playing with too many colors; try to style your outfits with similar monochromatic shades. Here’s an example: An off-white beige sweater, off-white pants, and a matching beige overcoat with a beige stiletto. 
• Clean and solid colors for bottoms. Try to stick to lighter colors for tops when going for two different colors. Try not to have more than two colors in your attire especially brighter colors. 
• ¾ dress length is perfect! 
• Men’s wear that is neither too tight nor too loose. Pants and shirts provide the perfect symmetry to your style root. 
• The symmetrical neckline and formal clothing. 

Refer to Classic Style by Kibbe for an in-depth wardrobe suggestion.

You can also use Kibbe’s soft classic and dramatic classic wardrobe suggestions for your classic taste. 

The Mountain Style Root

Strength, power, vigour, and resilience are just a few adjectives that best describe individuals with mountain style root.

The mountain style root subtly resembles “Dramatic style essence” by John Kitchener but it’s not all the way the same. 

Your strong style choice is men’s wear, including shirts, coats, pants, suspenders, and men’s formals. 

The Stone Style Root 

The stone style root is inspired by the modern world that we live in— city lights, modern and nature blends, snowy streets, sunny summer parks, lit nightlife, etc. 

Terms such as relaxed, casual, and carefree are some of the aesthetics you connect the most with! 

• Casual wear includes hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, denim shorts, and denim shirts. 
• You connect best with current fashion trends instead of wanting to be more timeless. 

Find your style root— What do you connect most with?

Unlike Kitchener or Kibbe’s style system; it’s not difficult to find your style root!

You can absolutely have more than one style root! Let’s be honest; we are a blend of multiple aesthetics.

What particular aesthetic pulls you the most?

• Is it the dark and gothic style or the pretty floral style? 
• Is it your sensuality or your modesty? 
• Is it nature or modernization?
• Do you like to experiment or do you rather want to wear practical outfits? 

Whatever pulls you strongly is your style root, but you can have more than 2-3 styles! 

Suppose you connect with the flower-style root but also connect with the fire-style root! You can absolutely combine and blend these two aesthetics.

Here are a few examples: 

• Choose a bodycon dress with a plunging neckline but with floral prints and small balloon sleeves. 
• Or, a body-hugging jeweled top with a low neckline, a dainty but diamond-embedded neckpiece, and a long ¾ airy skirt well-fitted with a waist-defining belt. 

This is just an example of how you can combine two different aesthetics!

Let your primary style root lead your style choices, the secondary or tertiary style root should be silently present. 

For instance, if your primary style root is “Earth” but your secondary style root is “the moon,” focus on “Earth” first and add details to emphasize your secondary style root “Moon.” 

A loose midi linen dress in black color with lace details at the neckline and spaghetti straps combined with big boots.

For accessories, choose silver chains with a big and lustrous cross pendant, and boho rings in silver/black metal. The boho rings can absolutely have gemstone details! 

Earth elements: 

• The linen material is an Earth element because it’s naturally occurring fibre.
• Loose midi dress. 
• Spaghetti straps: 
• Boho rings with embedded gemstones. 

Moon Elements in the details: 

• The color black, of course. 
• The lace details in your neckline. 
• Unconventional shapes add a rebel touch against the current beauty standards. 
• Boho rings,
• Silver chains and cross pendant
• Boots. 

Combining your style root with your body type

This is where things get interesting for me! When you solely focus on your style root; it’s inevitable to end up with clothes that don’t suit your body!

A wrong silhouette would never help you express your soul confidently; it will work against you. 

So, it’s crucial to combine your style root with your body type!

While David Kibbe solely focuses on the physical characteristics of an individual to evaluate their style;

John Kitchener goes the extra mile to connect your essence with your body type. 

Reading both these style systems (Kibbe body types and John Kitchener’s style essence) will help you evaluate your body type and your most accommodating characteristic. 

Now that you have found out your style root; it’s time you understand your body type to know what works for your body and what goes against it!

Here are my simplified guidelines to understand Kibbe body types and Kitchener style essences, if you’d like to take a better look! 

Once you have found out your body type; it’s time we combine them to create a wardrobe for you that works for your personality but without sabotaging your body type. 

How to combine your style root with your body type: Ellie Jeans has three simple systems: Refine, Focus, and Follow! Trust me, they are not as difficult as they sound!

1. Refine

“To improve something by changing little details.” 

“Details can make or break your style,” I have always believed in this philosophy. 

Style is all about choosing and focusing on the right details. In this context, “Refine” means adapting your style root with respect to your body type.

We worked on a similar example above! 

Compliment your style root with your body type’s detail.

Suppose your body type is gamine, but your style root is fire! To accommodate your gamine body type; you want a compact silhouette.

To accommodate your fire-style root; you want to accentuate your curves, especially your breast, and hips. 

Choose a compact outfit but with romantic details: A compact outfit will compliment and accentuate your gamine body silhouette.

Now for the details, choose a low neckline body-hugging corset with lace details and black denim shorts with a chunky belt to emphasize your waist.

Add silver metal jewelry but with diamond details. 

Instead of going for a black corset, go for a maroon corset. Marroon is a more romantic color, isn’t it? 

There you have it! You embraced your “Fire Style Root” without sabotaging your body type! 

Gamine body type elements: 

• Compact top and bottoms. 
• Corset and black denim shorts; both are edgy and a rebellious choice. 
• Chained neckpiece. 
• Chunky belt
• Dark makeup. 

Fire Elements: 

• Plunging neckline with lace details.
• Maroon corset. 
• The hourglass shape. 
• Waist definition
• Dark and alluring makeup.
• Diamond details.
• Body-hugging outfit choice. 

2. Focus

Adorn your body silhouette with the right outline; the outline your body type accommodates. The rest can be inspired by your style root.

Accommodating your body silhouette is crucial to ensure the clothing doesn’t work against your body! 

Suppose you have a dramatic body type— adorned with straight lines, a non-curvy body frame, and an angular frame.

However, your style root is more gentle and sweet, like the flower-style root. 

Choose clothes with sleeker and straighter lines.

For instance, well-stitched high-waist pants but in pastel colors. You can match these pants with a beautiful strapless (floral-printed) bralette in the same color palette. 

3. Follow

This option is very limiting, but also the easiest. It means choosing outfits/elements from your body type platter that also accommodate your style root! 

Now, this may sound impossible, but hear me out! We know, Kibbe has both yang and yin subtypes for his main families. 

Let’s take the classic body type as our example:

Classic body type has a yin undercurrent (soft classic) and also a yang undercurrent(dramatic classic)! So, if you resonate with a softer and more gentle vibe and your body type is the classic body type.

You can take suggestions from the “soft classic body type” wardrobe. 

If your style root leans towards stronger and fiercer qualities like the Mountain style root, you can choose outfits from the “dramatic classic wardrobe!”