How style analysis works: Finding visual harmony

I use the phrase “style analysis” a lot, but what does it actually mean?

One definition is that style analysis is a sensory process in which we detect visual harmony.

To better understand style analysis, we can compare it to another sensory process in which we detect harmony—namely, listening to music.

Why style analysis is like listening to music

In a song, a note can be on or off key. If it’s on key, it tends to sound better than if it’s off key. This not-exactly-rocket-science principle is essentially the premise of style analysis.

The premise of style analysis is simply that the shapes of your face will look “better” if they’re surrounded by harmonious shapes in your clothes, hair, and makeup.

Going all in on the analogy

So if we really want to hammer down the analogy, then style analysis is very similar to listening to music, except that the song is your face.

Faces have different shapes, and clothes have different shapes, and for this analogy, we can think of all these shapes as musical notes. Some notes sound pleasing when presented to the senses simultaneously, and some sound not as pleasing.

So, if you have a lot of sharp, elongated Dramatic shapes in your face, your face will “sound” harmonious when you’re simultaneously wearing clothes with a lot of sharp, elongated shapes. If you have this type of face (highly angular with, say, no circular shapes), and you wear a frilly blouse with puff sleeves, then your face, using the musical analogy, won’t “sound” as harmonious.

Just as two notes can be discordant when played together, the premise of style analysis is that certain facial shapes are discordant when paired with certain clothes.

Not everyone prefers facial harmony, and that’s ok

Some people really like music where the notes kind of sound intentionally not harmonious. Similarly, some people don’t care that much about facial harmony or may prefer when a face isn’t paired with harmonious clothes. People have different tastes, annd that’s ok.

So the premise of style analysis isn’t that you’ll look objectively better or more beautiful if you wear clothes that match your face. The premise is that there is an objective sense in which you’ll look more harmonious. And for many people, looking more harmonious makes them perceive themselves as more beautiful.

How to detect visual harmony

Typing a face is a process of perceiving a face in the context of different shapes (typically by viewing the face next to different styles of clothing) and seeing how that face appears in these different contexts. You’re looking for a physical reaction in yourself that tells you whether or not the face “sounds” harmonious in the musical analogy, or whether it looks harmonious in a literal sense.

Specifically, you’ll likely experience greater physical tension when viewing a face next to less vs. more harmonious lines. Your muscles may be more tense, and you may feel less comfortable. And when you look at a face that’s harmonious with a given set of lines, your body should feel more relaxed. Your breath may deepen, and you’ll likely find it easier to look at what you’re looking at and easier to look for longer.

A meditative practice?

This process of perceiving faces next to more vs. less harmonious lines can actually feel similar to a technique that therapists teach people to help them relax. The technique is called Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and it involves a process of first tensing and then relaxing each muscle group.

Typing faces can feel similar—my muscles tense when perceiving a face paired with less harmonious lines, and they relax when I switch to perceiving that face in the context of more harmonious lines.

Style analysis isn’t approved to treat any kind of mental or physical condition, but some people may find it calming or even meditative.

Tips for accurate style analysis

When I type a face, I heavily but don’t totally rely on this perceptual method. I also rely on my knowledge of what the different types tend to look like, which helps cross-check my sensory impressions, asking if it logically makes sense that the person I sensed to be type X is in fact type X.

For example, if I type a face as an Ingenue, I’ll check to see that this face has at least some of the physical features we’d expect of an Ingenue face (e.g., small circular lines). I’ve also developed various methods for enforcing the accuracy of my typings, including comparing faces to other faces to rule out all other possible types.

Visual harmony is pleasing in the way that auditory harmony in music is pleasing. If you dress for your face, you may find that you visually embody a really great song.