Is Classic your primary style essence? Probably not
Is Classic the most mysterious essence?
I wouldn’t have predicted that the most proper style essence would be a rebel, but in many ways, Classic seems to deviate from the patterns of the other six.
One example: for the many celebrities and non-celebrities where I’ve determined their highest percentage essence, so far it’s never Classic.
It’s not the most scandalous confession, but it does perplex me, because I’ve found so many people who have dominantly one of all the other six essences.
So why not Classic? I honestly don’t know. Some possibilities:
Possibility 1: My typings are wrong
Maybe some—heck, maybe a ton—of people I’ve typed do have dominantly Classic, and I’ve mistyped them.
I unsurprisingly don’t love this explanation, but it is possible.
The most I can say is that I’ve spent years training my eye, have tried to develop a highly accurate typing method, and always double-check all my typings.
I also frequently type celebrities and laypeople as having Classic, just not as a dominant essence. So I wouldn’t say I fail to recognize Classic in general.
Possibility 2: Having dominantly the Classic style essence is really rare
So maybe dominant Classics are just really, really rare. And maybe this is especially true among celebrities, who often have standout, exaggerated features.
That could explain why, even after determining the dominant essence of hundreds of faces, I haven’t yet found one dominant Classic.
Possibility 3: Having dominantly the Classic style essence isn’t a thing
A kind of weird idea: maybe another essence has to exist first in a face in order for Classic to exist.
Then, if Classic does exist in that face, it acts as a modifier of the face’s other essence(s), by making facial features smaller or more proportional.
Maybe that explains why Classic is never the dominant essence—because Classic isn’t necessarily an essence in itself but more like a modifier of other essences.
The problem with Possibility 3 is that it flirts with the black swan fallacy: the flawed reasoning where we assume that just because we haven’t encountered something, it doesn’t exist.
Another issue with Possibility 3 is that there are clothing styles and hairstyles that are completely Classic. So why not faces?
Between the 3 possibilities, I prefer Possibility 2—the idea that dominant Classics do exist but are (extremely) uncommon. I’d love to discover a dominant Classic soon.
Disclaimer/sort of possibility 4
I’ll also say that for all the celebrities I’ve posted on Pinterest, while I’ve verified all of their essence blends, I haven’t verified all of their dominant essences. So it is possible that a celebrity I’ve already typed is dominantly Classic. I’m in the process of revisiting all of my typings to determine this.
But again, for all the celebrities I’ve posted on Pinterest, I’ve verified the dominant essence for many of them. And so far, it’s never Classic.
Can you have only the Classic style essence?
An even harder question: is it possible for a face to have only Classic, with no other significant essences?
I’d say maybe. Having only one significant essence seems (very) rare but does happen.
Based on my virtual draping, model Elle MacPherson is purely Natural, and model Masha Tyelna is purely Ethereal.
I haven’t found people who have only one of the other five essences. But that doesn’t mean that those single essence types don’t exist.
Conclusion
If you suspect you’re primarily Classic, it’s definitely possible! I would guess that dominantly Classic people do exist.
But statistically, it seems rare—maybe even rarer than having only a single significant essence.
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Celebrities who look like they could be dominantly Classic
Despite that I haven’t found anyone who has primarily the Classic style essence, I’ve definitely encountered people who look like they may be primarily Classic.
Below are celebrities who look like Classic could be their strongest essence, plus my thoughts on why it isn’t.
Dramatic Natural Classic Gwyneth Paltrow
"Gwyneth Paltrow avp Iron Man 3 Paris 2" by Georges Biard is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Does Gwyneth look highly Classic? Yes.
Why? Her face is highly symmetrical and has typical proportions (nothing seems especially close together or far apart). Plus her features overall appear moderate in size (though you could argue that actually her features overall appear small).
Is she dominantly Classic? Based on virtual draping, no.
Why? Her striking bone structure, beautiful thin lips that perfectly fit her face, and relatively narrow eyes push her face to be dominantly Dramatic.
I really like the structured unique shoulders of the above top for her—they mirror her sharp bone structure—although the top’s colors don’t appear to harmonize with her color season, and the print isn’t optimal because she doesn’t have Ingenue. This look could have been a knockout were the top in a different print and color palette.
Ethereal Natural Classic Naomie Harris
Highly Classic? Yes—symmetrical, even proportions (nothing especially close together or far apart), overall moderate size of features.
Dominantly Classic? No—based on virtual draping, I think the dreamy Ethereal and confident Natural elements of her face are stronger than the balanced Classic elements.
For example, long Ethereal waves may have been less Classic than the hair she has going on here, but I think they would have been gorgeous and more harmonious.
What does work here is that her top appears casual yet polished with what sort of reads as delicate fishnet detail. (Ethereals tend to be really good in anything that relates to mermaids or the sea, so fishnet tops can be great, though they won’t always be purely Ethereal.)
Ethereal Natural Classic Grace Kelly
Highly Classic? Yes—symmetrical, typical proportions, features of moderate size.
Dominantly Classic? Based on virtual draping, no—again I think the Ethereal elements of her face are stronger than the Classic ones.
For instance, while this hairstyle was probably on trend for the time, I again think either increasing the length or adding narrow waves—or both—would increase harmony.
Interestingly, Naomie and Grace have the same essence blend. I wonder if maybe because Ethereal and Natural both generally have a relaxed feel, faces with these two essences and Classic may be especially likely to pass for being dominantly Classic.
I’ve also noticed that Ethereal seems easily missed in faces, especially when it’s present but not as the primary essence.
(We could probably argue that all essences are prone to being overlooked when they aren’t the primary essence. But I think this might be particularly true of Ethereal, because it has such a gentle quality. So in faces, it can sometimes be overpowered by other essences, at least when it isn’t accentuated by Ethereal styling.)
Romantic Ethereal Classic Marion Cottillard
"MarionCotillard08" by Romina Espinosa at http://www.rominaespinosa.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
To my eye, Marion looks really Classic. But I think highly Romantic style harmonizes with her beauty more so than highly Classic style. She’s beautiful here—especially with the metallic thread detail, a great element for Ethereals—but she can handle more elaborateness in her styling.
I do think she has a lot of Classic, just not as her primary essence.
Final thoughts
Again, it’s quite possible that dominantly Classic people exist—you may even be one yourself! They just appear to be pretty rare.
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I also realize that one of my latest posts was about the Classic style essence—I’m just fascinated by the essence, apparently. I’m fascinated by all the essences, but Classic feels particularly mysterious.
I could say a lot more about Classic mystery, but a final thought is that the other essences all—arguably—have an opposite essence.
Dramatic and Ingenue are literal and figurative opposites (long, sharp, and intimidating vs. short, rounded, and sweet).
Ethereal and Gamine are also opposites (long, curved, and tranquil vs. short, pointy, and high-energy).
The Romantic/Natural distinction feels less obvious, but you can argue that Natural is the most laidback, casual essence, and you can also argue that Romantic is the most high-maintenance, elaborate, dressed-up appearing essence.
And then there’s beautiful, balanced, polished Classic, the paradoxical rebel…
