End of an Era: No More Kibbe Videos on STBR

Hello my beautiful friends –

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been working with Style Thoughts by Rita full-time. I am absolutely loving this work. Style can be so transformational, so powerful, so enjoyable, so pleasurable. I love clothes, colors, accessories. I love exploring new brands, aesthetics. I love developing my essence system and learning about fashion. Most of all, I love working with you all and being a guide on your personal style journey.

I started STBR on a whim, with no real thought to what it could become or where it could go. Now, I’ve been thinking a lot about exactly that – what STBR can become and how I can best help you to use style as a tool for enjoyment and for personal growth.

In the process of defining your personal style, I find it helpful to start with a “push-away” – an active recognition and rejection of what is not for you. By saying no, you make more room for the good stuff.

There are a few things STBR is pushing away from… one major one is creating video content about Kibbe.

I started the channel by talking a lot about the Kibbe system. I find the concept of yin/yang accommodation useful, and I know for many people placing themselves into an Image ID has been really clarifying.

But of course, it doesn’t make sense for me to make Kibbe videos as I focus on growing STBR. I am all about finding a good effort:reward ratio… and it’s a high effort and low reward activity for me to act as an interpreter of the Kibbe system.

This decision felt a bit sad, because I do know that so many people have found my Kibbe content tremendously helpful. I regret not being able to finish my series on “casual trendy youthful looks” for each Image ID. I am grateful that I have those pinterest boards (and my knowledge of each ID) as a guide when working with clients… but there are many reasons to leave Kibbe behind.

I’ve spoken about my critique of the Kibbe system in a previous video.

I don’t think the current 10 IDs (as presented through David’s teachings and the book) serve as adequate categories for the variety of women I’ve worked with. Also (to my frustration) some of the Kibbe IDs are associated with a stigma or negative vision of dressing (and there is insufficient communication from David to counter this stigma/vision) – so I’ve seen how much harm the Kibbe approach can do for some people, and I want to de-emphasize it.

Among the existing categories, it’s difficult to place yourself in a category and difficult to know what to do once you’ve done so. David has said that the book is not a good guide, but only limited information exists on how to actually create outfits with your Kibbe type in mind.

Finally, I just don’t think the process of accommodating yin/yang and creating head-to-toe outfits inspired by personal situations is the one and only solution to style. This is a central tenet of the Kibbe approach and I am not convinced by it.

The conclusion is: I know Kibbe can really help some people understand, honor, and celebrate their body. I look forward to having it as a tool in my toolkit, but I release my role as a public communicator of this system.

I am so excited about this change! My current focus is making informative and inspirational videos about the foundations of my essence system, and about the process of developing your personal style. Of course there are many, many other things I want to talk about because I am full with Style Thoughts.

Looking forward to the journey ahead, and sending you love -

Rita.