Poeticizing Personal Style with Fatima Ess: How to Tell Your Story Through Clothing

In this episode of Style POV, we sit down with Fatima Ess, founder of Poeticize Your Presence, to explore her signature system that fuses silhouette analysis, custom color palettes, and style energy archetypes into something deeply personal and liberating.

Fatima shares how her background as an image consultant, author, and brand storyteller shaped a philosophy that celebrates individuality rather than conformity. From challenging traditional color analysis stereotypes to introducing the concept of aesthetic bandwidth, this conversation dives into the psychology and poetry behind what we wear.

If you’ve ever felt limited by labels or rigid style “rules,” this episode will help you see fashion as a creative language of self-expression.

🎧 Tune in to hear Fatima’s approach to creating wardrobes that feel like your story: authentic, joyful, and uniquely yours.

Where to Find Fatima Ess

Website: poeticizeyourpresence.org

Facebook Group: Poeticize Your Presence

Full Story Package: The Full Story

Timestamps

01:01 – The birth of Poeticize Your Presence
03:50 – Storytelling element of personal style
08:02 – Learning the foundations but breaking the rules
13:00 – Aesthetic bandwidth
16:57 – The Poeticize Your Presence method
19:52 – Breaking color analysis stereotypes
29:38 – Understanding blends
33:57 – A system that liberates, not constricts
38:42 – Where to start exploring
41:48 – A piece that tells your story

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Disclaimer: The Style POV Podcast content is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts and guests are their own. Gabrielle Arruda is not liable for any errors or omissions, and listeners use the information at their own risk.

Transcript

Gabrielle: [00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to Style POV. Today I’m joined by Fatima Ess, the founder of Poeticize Your Presence — a system that blends silhouette analysis, custom colour palettes, and style energy archetypes into a holistic approach to create your personal style story.

Fatima brings a richly-layered perspective to the world of style. An Oxford-educated journalist, she spent over a decade interviewing cultural icons from Beyoncé to Nina Simone to Matthew McConaughey, and previously worked with Vogue. As a published author and brand storyteller, she’s also helped leading brands refine their voice and narrative.

Observing how public figures construct their aesthetic and communicate identity through visual storytelling has deeply influenced her work - shaping Poeticize Your Presence into a system that bridges psychology, aesthetics, and narrative craft.

Having grown up as the only child of colour in a rural English village, Fatima  developed a deep curiosity about identity and aesthetics , and believes that individuality and difference are beautiful threads in one's personal narrative.  Her approach isn’t about boxing people into rigid categories, but about seeing each client as a muse and helping them tell their own story through clothing — creating wardrobes that feel intelligent, authentic, and joyful.

So without further ado, let’s dig into it.

Fatima, I'm so excited to have you on the Style POV podcast. Thank you so much for coming on, and I'm so excited to dive deep into Poeticize Your Presence. I think it's a wonderful system that you've created. Would you mind giving us like an overview of your system and how you view like the client as a muse?

Poeticize Your Presence: The components

Fatima Ess: Sure. So, Poeticize Your Presence, it's born of like decades-long interest in style and [00:01:00] fashion, but, also it came together really quickly. I've only had my system up and running for a matter of months. It involves three intersecting layers. So there's Silhouette ID, which is about body geometry, it's about your bone structure, you know, sort of like the physical reality of your face and body.

Then, there's color analysis. I've sort of built on more traditional systems, like the 12-Season System and made it more nuanced. So, a person in my system can be a blend. Their home season might be Summer, but they could be a blend of two different kinds of Summers, for example.

The third layer is Style Energy Archetypes, which are based on the Jungian archetypes. That really obviously takes into account your personality, how you move, what you believe in, what you're about. Because that's a crucial part of how we dress, why we dress, how we present ourselves to the world.

So that is what I call the Style Energy Archetype. There are 12 archetypes based on Jungian archetypes. With each client, I [00:02:00] see the client while I'm working with them as my muse, you know, because the person obviously sort of books their consultation with me. They send me a bunch of pictures.

There's a lot of trust involved with that. It's quite a vulnerable thing to do. They fill in a detailed intake form and then. For the sort of week or so, it takes me to put together their analysis that sort of is like, they're a part of my life, you know?

Gabrielle: Yeah.

Fatima Ess: My background is in writing. I'm a journalist. I've written books. It is kind of a similar feeling to when I'm trying to get an article just right or finish a book where there might be a time when I'm thinking this just isn't quite there yet. It's not quite coming together. That's how it feels with the clients. Sometimes some people are easier to place than others.

Sometimes it's like, ‘Yeah, she's a spring.’ But I'm not sure which spring and I have to like sleep on it and get up the next morning. You'll get that light bulb moment. It's like, got it. And then you send their report out to them and I mean, technically you might never hear from them again.

So it's like you're sort of super involved in this person.

Gabrielle: Yeah.

Fatima Ess: Then you let it go. Luckily, [00:03:00] people are usually very responsive, like, 'Oh my God, thank you. I feel so seen.' But it's a very interesting way of working.

Gabrielle: Absolutely. It's really a vulnerable thing on both sides. You are really digging and trying to develop their character and figure out who they are in their most authentic self. I love that you use that storytelling aspect of it because I also love to write.

I write a lot and it's like building a character and sometimes your three chapters and you're like this character is almost there, but there's something missing. They need this like extra spice, or they need this inciting incident, or they need to have this backstory that I'm not seeing. It sounds like you really use storytelling or creating this authentic character that matches the energy of your clients while you do it. Do you want to talk a little bit how you use storytelling in that way?

Fatima Ess: Sure. You are right. There is definitely an element of storytelling really from start to finish. I think the, quote I've got on my email signature is something like, ‘Your personal style tells a story before you've even spoken.’ What stories will it tell or [00:04:00] something?

Because we don't have to wear fancy clothes or wear makeup, like these are all choices. All we really have to do is not be naked and try how we choose to present ourselves. It's so deeply personal how we choose to wear our hair and so I think even people who say, 'I don't care what I wear, I'm not into style.' That is a statement in itself.

You are putting something out there. You are out in the world. Like, say, you just literally go out onto the pavement. People are going to like look at you, even if just in passing and sort of make judgements and draw conclusions. They might decide to speak to you because of something about your presentation.

It's really about owning the narrative, you know? The system is not about, okay, you are this body type. You must wear this, these lengths and you must wear this color palette. Because not everyone wants to look harmonious. We're assuming people want to look conventionally attractive and harmonious, but maybe they don't. Maybe they want to look edgy.

I had a poll in my Facebook group asking people how they'd like to be perceived and one person ticked scary. ‘I like people to be scared of me.’ [00:05:00]

Gabrielle: That's so interesting. I do think that we shifted from like all the trends that were going on to like, everyone needs to dress harmonious. This is the goal, this is the ultimate thing.

But what I really think is interesting, and we can talk about this a little bit more, is the concept of harmonious. Like, do you understand what it means to dress harmonious? Do you want to apply that to every outfit you wear? Sometimes you don't.

But having the knowledge to be able to do that is freeing. This is where some of the older style systems get into place, right? We have your Kibbe and your Kitchener and traditional color analysis. What was your experience with those? Did you find them inspiring? Like how did they play into your own journey? Like how you took your system and kind of pushed it even further?

Fatima Ess: I would say like of all the different systems that I've explored and I've explored probably most of them. I can't think of one that wasn't helpful in some way. I mean, I'm someone who loves to constantly learn stuff, found something in all of them and I’m quite a big fan of David Kibbe. I'm not sort of saying his [00:06:00] system is crap. I'm not at all. I would say out of everything, I found his system the most helpful. There was a lot of information in there. I think some of this stuff we sort of intuitively know.

I'm taller, I'm 5’ 9”, so I sort of knew that I looked better in certain longer lengths and things like that, but I didn't really understand why. I didn't have the language for why, you know? So David Kibbe introduced me to the whole idea of the vertical line and elongation all that stuff. So I think all of these systems have something to offer.

It's interesting what you said about sort of learning the foundations and then doing what you want with it. Because I had a client recently and this is probably my best feedback I've had. She came to me for a silhouette ID analysis, she's about 5' 10". In the Kibbe world, she's one of the tall types and she's a Summer, but she likes wearing black and she's into the goth scene, so she was like, 'Put something together for me.' And that was a wonderful. She was sort of like, ‘I'm not going to give up black.’ I actually love challenges like that. So that was really fun. And then her feedback was that I'd given her this sort of foundation that made sense and she [00:07:00] can go out and sort of create with that.

That is sort of really what I want to do. It's not really for me to sit here and say, you over there in Germany or Australia should wear this because I talk you to. It's more like sort of, this is what's going on with your body geometry, your, vibe. We can know what the sort of lines and textures and things like that and colors that will light us up and, and sort of look amazing. But then we can sort of like interpret it in a way that means something to us. And also we might interpret it differently depending on what we're doing.

Gabrielle: Absolutely.

Fatima Ess: Especially with the use of color, sometimes we might want to use color like an armor. Like, I'm obsessed with black, I'm a Summer, but like I'm obsessed with black. I've wore non-black just for you. But for me, black can be sort of like an armor.

Even if it's not your most flattering color against your skin, it's sort of symbolic. It's instantly sort of pulled together. It says, I'm serious, I'm edgy,’ or whatever it is you're trying to say.

Gabrielle: Yeah, it can be kind of like an anchor point too, you know, and how it plays with other things. I think that's the beauty of learning about style and [00:08:00] kind of deep diving and learning about it is like you learn how to break the rules in an effective manner so you get the results you actually want.

Fatima Ess: Yeah.

Gabrielle: If you want to look edgy, you want to look a little bit more like armor. You have the tools to do that.

Show, Not Tell

But I want to go circle back really quickly to the storytelling concept. Because I was thinking about this just now and it popped into my head. When you write, there's like a big thing about showing and not telling. I think that style does that so well. Like as a writer, you don't want to be like, the world is dark and dreary. You want to show them by describing the landscape and not having a client, you know, a character be like, It's very cold out tonight and this moon is dark. You know, like you want to paint the picture.

I think that's what style does so well. There's all these little details you can weave into the storytelling of your style that allows someone to look at you and it's showing them who you are, right?

Whether it's like a little vintage earring or a cascading ruffle sticking out from underneath a skirt, you know, that gives it a little more [00:09:00] elongated or celestial vibe coming through. What do you think about that? Like how does your system really customize it to your clients? Like how do they break out of the boxes?

Fatima Ess: I love how you've put that actually. Because I suppose the way I see it, when I'm doing analysis with someone, so if I sort of focus maybe on the silhouette ID and how that works. The basics are probably I think like page two of the report, like the report is massive. It's like 40 pages or something. So about page two of the report, they're going to get the breakdown of which silhouette IDs are in their blend. So in my system you can be Celestial, Sleek, Stately, Luxuriant, Delicate, Fresh, and Timeless.

Gabrielle: I had little notes.

Fatima Ess: So thank you. You can be any of these IDs, but pretty much everyone is a blend. So most people have at least two. If you look back at Kibbe, he obviously has types like Soft Dramatic, which is dramatic and romantic.

He has some blends of two different types, but in mind often people are three different types. That's the first stage [00:10:00] is like sort of telling the person, figuring that out. Like, this percentage of this and this percentage of that. With that done, then we sort of get deeper and deeper interest. So, that's like step one.

Then what do we do with this information? Because someone could, for example, have a high percentage of Timeless in my system, which is someone who's got a lot of symmetry and is very balanced and overall quite moderate. They may have that, but their personality or even just sort of what they're aiming for with their aesthetic, that may be too boring for them if I just gave them generic recommendations based on them having a lot of symmetry.

This is when we sort of dive deeper and, you know, they fill in a detailed intake form so I have an idea of what they're going for. Quite a lot of people have the other elements done as well, like the color and the archetype. So then that gives me a lot more to work with.

Then we build something that's just about them, not just about you are this type of my system, so this is what you should wear and you know, you're Timeless and get the blazer and pencil cut out. I have one client who, before, she books, she said, me, please don't let me be Timeless.

Because her whole style is like edgy. She's gender fluid. She was like, [00:11:00] please do not give me someone that looks like Kate Middleton. I analyzed her as she was. She was predominantly Timeless, but…

Gabrielle: Oh no.

Fatima Ess: But that didn't mean that she had to wear blazers at all. So it's really about building that story for that person.

Then there's like a Pinterest board that each person gets, which is sort of like a mood board, which is just sort of showing ideas, colors, textures, celebrity inspo.

Gabrielle: There's so much nuance to it. I love that. Can you talk a little bit about like what you would do as someone who was like, 'Don't give me Timeless' because it's hard when clients come in and they're like, I'm fine with anything except Bright Winter, and you're like, oh no.

In my experience, you have to walk, hold their hands and walk them through it and figure out how do you take the space information and customize it. And I love that your system does that so well. You really build their story. You really help them build their character so that the whole narrative is complete and we feel like this person is showing up to the world how they want it to [00:12:00] be. So, can you talk about like what you would give to someone who's like, I am, you know, gender fluid and quirky and I love all these interesting elements and you give me Timeless. Like how do you blend those two together where the nuance that you can provide?

Fatima Ess: That particular client was one of my favorite clients because it was a challenge. Because especially when she did turn out, she had a lot of symmetry, which, you know, these are traits that are sort of prized by a lot of people, so, you know.

Gabrielle: Yeah.

Fatima Ess: She's like, no. So I made sure to really respect her preferences, but at the same time, be honest. I couldn't go and say to her, you are asymmetrical and whatever. But we looked at it as that's the sort of foundational part. But what she does with it is sort of up to her.

So being very symmetrical and moderate, in my system, it doesn't mean you have to be shut into this idea of you can only wear very moderate, understated clothing. Like with her, we looked at it as sort of this base that meant she could sort of really veer in a lot of different directions because she had that balance.

She could play out this bit or that bit. And there's also a concept I have in my system [00:13:00] called aesthetic bandwidth, which is about how much sort of detail and boldness and attitude a person can take based on their sort of face and energy. And hers was high, like her aesthetic bandwidth was high, even though she was predominantly Timeless.

So she could really go in with all, you know, all kinds of quirky details and things like that. So it worked out. Yeah.

Know the Foundations, Push the Boundaries

Gabrielle: And it's like founding where you can push the boundaries, the right boundaries to push. Because if someone has super Timeless in your system, predominantly, they're going to have that symmetry.

But with the high style aesthetic complexity, they're able to like nudge it this way and be like, okay, I'm going to keep this part more streamlined, but here's where I can add in my identity and I think that's so interesting. So do you want to talk a little bit about your style energy archetypes too?

Because I feel like that really helps tie everything together and it's such a personal aspect to it. It's not just saying, okay, you're a dramatic and you wear sleek stuff and this is what you do. You're saying you can be dramatic, but then you can have this completely different [00:14:00] energy that's feeding into it.

And this is why this short, funky cap sleeve, like itty bitty outfit is looking killer on you, you know, or whatever the case may be.

Fatima Ess: Yeah, absolutely. I love working with the sort of style energy archetypes. You know, obviously, people book consultations as a standalone sometimes, so not everyone has all three things done. But with that, It gives you sort of an insight into sort of how that client lives their life, like how they move in the world, what matters to them. Um, and that obviously influences how we choose to dress massively. You know, because someone could have a certain, size, eyes or lips or be a certain height, but that's so not the be and end all is it?

Because that just sort of tells you, in a very sort of technical and rigid way that sort of says, right, you are this height and you've got this sort of face shape and eye. So these things are going to suit you. And it doesn't mean those things won't suit them, but I, to me, that's almost like the foundations of the house.

That's not the whole building, that's not the sort of the decoration and, and the artwork and all of that. [00:15:00] So, the style archetypes are so important. And one of my favorite clients who did all three When we do them, we do the style energy last after we've done the other list.

When we got to her style energy archetype consultation, it was like everything started to get a lot deeper and make more sense. She was talking about, and this was just sort of like quite an offhand comment. She mentioned that because I asked people to sort of send a video of them walking, but we also talk about how they walk and things like that and what other people think of them.

And she had mentioned that her son had made fun of the way she walks. Because she had like this really sort of full on way of walking and she had like a little anecdote about when she was a child and her dad was sort of encouraging her to walk properly and, you know, walk with purpose.

And she actually had quite a lot of the warrior archetype. That was sort of like the entry point into the, into sort of looking into the warrior archetype, which is one of the archetypes in my system. And, and like the way she walked and her sort of philosophy towards life.

It was just, yeah. It just came together.

Gabrielle: That's so cool.

Fatima Ess: And that was like that client she had [00:16:00] Timeless in her blend with the warrior archetype and that client also had the outlaw or the rebel and the queen. So that brings a whole other layer to it. You can't just sort of wear moderate safe clothes if you've got that sort of play.

Gabrielle: Yeah.

Fatima Ess: You know, there's more to it. Like you can wear the beautiful tailoring, but you're going to maybe have like touch of leather with it or you know, it's going to be a little bit of attitude and stuff like that going.

Gabrielle: Yeah, I love that because like it's someone who has dove into all the systems and tried to figure out all the different options. And in one, like in Kibbe, I think it's safe to say I'm a Flamboyant Natural. But if you were to ask my friends like how I move through the world, most of them are like, you're just like an energetic pixie. You're just like bouncing around, moving really quickly and you have a bounce to your step.

So it's really interesting to see some of the attributes that go into this energy. Do you want to talk a little bit about that? So it's like your walk, kind of how you move, like anything else that you're deep diving into to figure those layers out? Because it sounds like it's pretty customized.

Fatima Ess: Yeah, it's pretty customized. So it's the sort of physical things, like the [00:17:00] mannerisms, the way a person walks. The sort of clothing and accessories they naturally, intuitively gravitate towards. But it's also more than that. Like, what matters to them in the world.

Some of the questions I ask them might be sort of, what are you most proud of or, what are you not happy with? What's something that you've done in life that you feel utterly horrible or what are you most proud of? You know, just also, I mean, the conversation obviously flows. So all those sort of different things come about sort of, you know, what do you do for a living and how do you feel about it, and what would you do if you didn't have to earn money?

All sorts of things like that. And, so much has really revealed about that person's inner architecture because we explore the outer with the silhouette ID and about sort of what's going on in the inner world. I mean, that has to be at least as important. With these three different layers, it's quite hard to separate them. So if someone comes to me, for example, just to get their colors done. I'm not going to ignore their bone structure. Like in the intake form, I'm going to get a flavor of their personality. So it's all very much connected.

I've noticed with the intake forms that go with it, some people have been [00:18:00] like, 'I can't answer any of these questions. I've never really thought about anything this deeply.' Whereas others will write you a whole essay, thousands of words, right?

Gabrielle: I know that well. It's either like one word or 2000. There's nowhere in between. Very rarely is there anyone in between.

Fatima Ess: I think also with the style archetype, some of it is not obvious physically. It's more in how someone lives their lives. So one of my favorite archetypes is the outlaw or the rebel. And I have some of that in my own blend, but the way I actually dress and sort of behave socially. I don't think people would sort of think Outlaw. But even like launching this system, that is a very outlaw thing to do because it is a disruptor kind of thing, right? And that is very much part of the outlaw energy.

Gabrielle: I love that because it's like, it's an undercurrent. It's not like, ‘Oh, you're Outlaw so now you need to wear leather and heavy things.’ It's like, no, this is an undercurrent. This is part of your personality. And there's little touches, like back to the storytelling aspect of show, not tell.

How could we give you a little touch so that like, and it could be so [00:19:00] subtle. It could be like, I'm spit balling here, so tell me if this is wrong, but like some chunky ring that's unexpected or a little sharp or something where you know, like. You're in a board meeting and then they just write like, and then there was this really strong ring or the, the ring hit the table and you're like, all of a sudden there's a focus point there where you're like, oh, okay, you, you break the rules a little bit.

It's just this nod that tells so much about the person with one small detail, and I think that's where some systems go a little too heavy handed. They're like, if you are classic, you need to wear a button up and a pencil skirt and keep everything in moderate length. It's like that's such a 101 version of what it means.

What I love about your style is a system that poeticize your presence is that you are making it poetry, you're making it nuanced and subtle. It's wonderful.

Fatima Ess: Thank you.

Color Analysis, the Poeticize Your Presence Way

Gabrielle: I also want to talk about your colors. Because we kind of jumped from the silhouette ID to the style energy, but I know in your full package, [00:20:00] typically the full story package, you typically do a custom color palette in the middle.

For anyone who doesn't know, you have been doing so much work to break some of the stereotypes and lack of inclusivity in color analysis. Like I always admire your posts in the Facebook groups and your own group. They're wonderful. I think they really challenge a lot of what's wrong in color analysis.

So do you just want to talk about where you started with color analysis and how you created your very unique offering with custom color palette.

Fatima Ess: Sure. So my history with color analysis goes back to being a child when somehow I got hold of the book Color Me Beautiful.

Gabrielle: Oh, classic.

Fatima Ess: Yeah, I guess I got it from the library. This is before the days of Kindle night. And like it became like my Bible. Because, as a child, I was very creative. I was into writing and art and stuff like that. So I guess it really talked me. And so I got hold of this book and I was reading it religiously. I was probably, I don't know, not 12, maybe something like that.

I can't remember exactly how it words it, but it just sort of, obviously it has Summer, Winter, [00:21:00] Spring, and Autumn. And it says, as a woman of color, you're Winter. I think that's what it said. Or maybe you could be in autumn as well. But, I didn't have any reason to, you know, to challenge it.

I just sort of thought, oh, okay, I'm a Winter, and it said you should wear black and whatever, other colors, primary colors, things like that. And I remember like at that age as a child, I wasn't allowed to wear black. I don't know if there's some cultural thing, I was just always told by the adults, black is not appropriate for a child.

So soon as I had my little part-time job and had my money, I went out and bought all these black clothes. That was when I fell in love with black. So I started wearing black and I was living as a Winter and, you know, life carried on. I was wearing like bright red lipstick. I mean, not ideal, but you know, and then.

After I graduated and all that stuff, when I think literally with my first paycheck and a proper job, I paid for a color analysis, so I would've been by now in my early twenties. I remember I went to this color analysis, and it's so long ago that I can't remember exactly what she said, but I remember her saying, I definitely wasn't a Winter. And I remember her giving me the results and some little, [00:22:00] I guess it was like a swatch.

Finally Finding your Season

I remember thinking, well, this was a load of crap. Because I was just like, I was so convinced I was a Winter. But after that, I remember I started buying because I, I'm pretty sure she actually said it was a Summer because, even though I thought this is a load of crap, I started buying these colors that she had recommended.

Like I remember I had this heathered sort of muted purple coat that I bought, which was exactly what she told me to wear in terms of color and I moved to New York just after this and I remember people would stop me on the subway and just be like. They would just be asking me about this coat.

I thought it was a really amazing coat, but it was probably because it was literally like my A1 color. So I was buying all these like, random Summer colors, even though I thought black was blessed. And so I was wearing Summer colors and then life went on. And then it wasn't until about five years ago I was at a family event.

I remember I was holding hands with one of my brothers and I remember just like looking at our hands, I guess, and his hand just seemed sort of like, glowing and bronze and mine just looked grayed out. , why does my hand look [00:23:00] like his? And so something just sort of went, bing, you're a Soft Summer.

So maybe that woman had told me I was a Soft Summer those years ago because then that's when I just sort of jumped into all this Facebook stuff. Like literally I woke up one morning and thought, Because I was going to go and get a checkup to see if I was anemic.

Then, I joined all these Soft Summer groups and color analysis groups and it was interesting. I eventually went out and got analyzed, but I started wearing Soft Summer colors and learning about it. And the responses I got in the group was so polarized because there aren't many women of color or people of color in those groups, and they're even less than sort of four or five years ago.

Some women in the groups would be like, oh, ‘I love your post so much. It's so lovely to see a woman of color who's a Summer.’ But some people would just be like, 'You're just delusional. You're just embarrassing' stuff. Like, it was like really, really full on. There was a lot of gatekeeping and that I guess that sort of drove me to go and get analyzed by a professional.

I went and got draped in person. I [00:24:00] wasn't surprised by the result. I mean, I guess some of the group members would be. I was told as a Soft Summer. And then I was sort of back in the groups like, ‘Oh, you know, I've been confirmed as a Soft Summer.’ People were still, people were literally like inboxing me saying, you're not a Summer.

People like really were weirdly invested. I ended up getting another current analysis this time online and virtual one. Soft Summer. So I was thinking like somewhat rare for people of color to be draped as Summers, but clearly I mean it, and then I even had a third one— Soft Summer. So I was like, okay, I'm case closed.

Gabrielle: I don't even think we have the data to say that. No one has compiled enough data in any one's system to say, this is rare or this isn't. And I mean, I know the way we look at it inside is like, you have to drape. You have to drape the person. Like you can't just guess your way to the season.

You can take clues for what they're wearing and be like, oh, okay. But it's that comparison that makes things really light up. You can be like, they look good in that color, but then you put a better color on it and you're like, wow. How could we ever have liked that color? This one's so much better. But it is kind of crazy.

I [00:25:00] remember some of your posts back when you were talking about it and people would get so heated about it. And color analysis has become something that people get very attached to and feel very strongly about telling you that you're wrong. And it's crazy that you had to go and re drape just for yourself to be like, no, I'm a Soft Summer.

I mean, you wear these colors so well. I can't imagine anyone saying you're not a Soft Summer. So you're living as a Soft Summer.

Fatima Ess: Yeah.

Gabrielle: What's it like? Where are the holes? What's the next step for you?

Fatima Ess: Honestly, like looking back at some of the sort of stuff I was wearing when I first was confirmed as a Soft Summer, it's actually embarrassing to me because it just didn't look like me.

You can have colors that actually suit your skin and your coloring. And that's me with Soft Summer. It just didn't really feel like me. Because I remember in one of the groups I'd gone from wearing all black and the red lipstick to, I remember I had this sort of little powder blue suede jacket on and this light colored lipstick. I just don't look like me. I mean, it [00:26:00] look, it looked nice in harmony with my skin. I can't even look at that person. I was like,

Gabrielle: I had, yeah, I had that same experience where I had some Bright Spring colors and I'd put on like a pink that was bright spring and I'd just be like, who is that person? Like, it's just not me.

Which is why I think you're taking it step further and customizing things. That's so important because it's more than just the colors. It's how do those colors work with all these other elements. Your silhouette, your energy. I didn't mean to cut you off. Continue.

Fatima Ess: No, no, that's fine. No, I think, I think you're so right because again, with colors, it's not just about, these are the colors that look the absolute best against your skin. Because I've been like powder blue, you know, honestly. I mean, other things like what do you enjoy wearing and what suits your personality and, and your body as well.

I remember, I just felt like a tall ice cream sundae. I was wearing all these super soft, slightly light colors. And some of the people in the groups are going, 'Now you look nice, you look approachable, and you look like someone I'd want to approach.' I don't know if I even want to look [00:27:00] approachable.

Gabrielle: You have that warrior at undercurrent, you don't want to look approachable, you want a little bit more nudge.

Fatima Ess: So I was doing all that and sort of decided that I was a sort of deep, Soft Summer. There is kind of such a thing. It's not really recognized in style.

What I'm wearing today actually could qualify as, as sort of, you know, a deeper Summer and that was a point where I felt like myself and I think that's really important. I felt like I was cosplaying at sort of god knows what in the standard Soft Summer colors. So I started thinking there's more to this. There's more to our use of color and, and sort of in these groups. I used to attract what I call, and in my own, I have like my own color analysis group on Facebook.

I used to attract what I call the lipstick police because one of my sort of stinger things, like I wear bright-ish lipstick and I get all these people just sort of saying, well, you know, I, I would like to see you without that lipstick. Or, I see the lipstick before I see you.

Gabrielle: Oh, I have such a bone to pick with the people who say, I see the lipstick or the color before you. We are not used to color as a [00:28:00] society. Everyone uses that term wrong. The amount of times I'm like, I noticed that color before you. I'm like, what do you actually mean by that?

Fatima Ess: Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? The sort of slight outrage that people have.

Gabrielle: Yeah. They really get spicy about it. My goodness.

Fatima Ess: All of that was going on and I was sort, getting on with my life. I was like slipping back into wearing black but with what I would call a Summer lipsticks, it's not everyone's cup of tea. Then I started thinking about the concept of a Dark Summer. I mean, that exists in some systems, like House of Color has a Dark Summer. But I found with their Dark Summer and a few others, the colors were darker, but they're also quite saturated because I had to accept, I'm not a very saturated person.

I can handle depth personally, but, I can't handle bright colors. And so I thought what's missing here, what I'm not seeing anywhere is a palette that's deep, the depth and the sort of richness, but it's still very muted. Like I'm not really seeing that here.

That's sort of where this concept of Midnight Summer, which is in my [00:29:00] system, was born. So I'm like part Midnight Summer, which is these beautiful dark moody colors that, you know, they're just as muted as standard Soft Summer colors, but they have more depth. Standard Soft Summer can go somewhat deep.

Color Analysis: Rulebook or Starting Point?

Gabrielle: But you're taking the frameworks of these color palettes and saying, how do we find your little, like your little pocket in this, and how can we push this boundaries? Because I mean, seasonal color analysis is basically supposed to be a rough outline of where you can push. It's not meant to be like the rule book, the rigid, like these are the only 30 colors you can wear. If you wear 31, you are not in palette, you know? And what I love about your system is this idea of blends as well. So do you want to talk a little bit about that, like how you created these blends?

Fatima Ess: With all three layers, in my system, each one can be a blend. I mean, you could be a standalone something, you know? But you can also be a blend. So for example, with the color, just to look at the summers, I have the Midnight Summer, Rhodonite Summer, Bluebell Summer, and, then there's sort of like a much lighter summer [00:30:00] as well. So someone could be sort of two different types of Summer.

They could be a Summer bordering on an Autumn where they're actually both a Summer and an Autumn, for example. As I started to sort of put that together, everything fell into place, and a lot of the clients I get for color analysis have been analyzed elsewhere. For example, they might have been told by one analyst they're a spring and by another one they're a Summer.

Sometimes, what will happen is they are actually both. They can be of colors from both. I'm not the only person who does this. I suppose if you look at John Kitchener's work. You know, and I haven't been analyzed by him, but I have friends who have, and he will sometimes someone will be part subtle blended and part something else.

I think the idea that someone is just this type and they have to fit into that type. I mean, some people do, or some people fit neatly enough into it, but not everyone will. And I think I get quite a lot of people who just didn't fit in very easily into one particular type. And then the palette I build for them is a custom palette.

Gabrielle: So in your system, I just want to clarify, you could be a Bluebell Summer and have a Citrine Spring option in [00:31:00] there, or would there be certain ones that would be more commonly found together in your experience?

Fatima Ess: Yeah. Okay. Certain ones that would be more commonly found together because like for example, if Summer was a Bluebell Summer, which is very sort of English rosy summer garden colors, it would be hard to reconcile that with Citrine Spring, which is beautiful citrusy oranges and zesty yellows and something. I mean, I guess anything in life is possible, but you know, they're more likely to sort of maybe have that Summer going on and then perhaps lean into autumn and have some colors from one of the autumn palettes, so all Winter. You know that those are more likely to be in a blend.

Permission to Break the Rules

Gabrielle: So interesting. Yeah. So your clients, I think, really probably benefit from you giving them permission to break the rules a little bit, right? Like, people dive into the style systems, the bigger ones like the Kibbe and the Kitchener, and. And they get a lot of information and then they test it out in this very narrow sense of like, these are my rules. Which rules can be helpful. Yeah. Um, but how do you think your system helps them be [00:32:00] free of that and like, break those rules? Like what about your system frees people?

Fatima Ess: I see. I mean, I think some people do sort of respond to getting the analysis from me as, as if they now have permission. I mean, obviously they don't need more permission to do what they want, but, um.

Gabrielle: Of course. But sometimes it's nice to have that professional say, it's okay if you wear this, like you're free to do it. You know, it's just a mental hurdle that sometimes we have.

Fatima Ess: Yeah, and I think that's beautiful because, you know, I was talking through earlier about the process of doing a silhouette analysis.

So it's like this: These are your types, this is your blend, these are your percentages. These are the sort of fabric weights and finishes that will look good on you. But that then, like, let's dive into what you do with this as a person. Like how you take this out into the world, into your real life and what you do with it.

Maybe someone wants clothes for the office, or they're postpartum and they want to sort of, I don't know, build a wardrobe for that time in their life. They just want to start again. They've divorced their husband or something and they just want to hold new, you know. So we've got to take that into account rather than sort of say, right, you've been typed as this, you have to wear this.

Then if [00:33:00] you don't, getting the sort of fashion police saying, oh, but that's not honoring your vertical. That's not doing this or that. So it's kind of like saying this is what the foundation is. I don't want to use the word rules. This is sort of what the founding framework is.

But, there are so many ways you can work with that and so many ways you can apply your own personality, your own needs. Because if you are someone who has high Celestial, which is one of my favorite types, you look good in kind of quite wispy fabrics and sort of long, narrow drape.

But, say you've got a toddler that you're sort of running around after. I mean, you could like trip over for. You're not going to want to like keep having everything dry cleaned, you know? So we have to exactly look at the real life as well.

Gabrielle: Trying to make a snack with Celestial batwing sleeves might be a little tricky. You're like, ‘Oh, there's, you know, carrots in my shirt now.’

Fatima Ess: Yeah, exactly. Let's be reasonable, right?

Gabrielle: Do you want to talk about how one of your clients, like kind of a success story of how they were like liberated by your ability, your system, and how it helped them? How much more [00:34:00] inclusive your style system is and how much more nuanced it is?

Fatima Ess: One client I really enjoyed working with, I mentioned her a little bit earlier. She came to me, I think she'd had her essences done, but that was it. And she's really tall, so in the Kibbe system, she had sort of landed on Flamboyant Natural for herself. She just sort of came to me and wanted the silhouette ID done.

She was interested in sort of work outfits, but also she had wanted to bring this whole goth culture piece into her wardrobe and she's a Summer, right? So I typed her in my system. Part of her blend was, um, Stately in my system, which is probably my favorite type.

It's someone who has a majestic presence. They tend to be tall. I suppose that the sort of nearest fit in the Kibbe system would be a Flamboyant Natural. I wanted to put like a different spin on it and have just more attractive language. I don't know many women who enjoy being described as blunt and white.

Gabrielle: The [00:35:00] amount of conversations I've had with people when I say I have Kibbe with who know me in real life, and they're like, but you're like small. And I'm like, no, I have it though. It's interesting language for sure.

Finding Your Personal Style is a Journey

Fatima Ess: So this person came to me. She had been sort of trying on Flamboyant Natural, and she'd been sort of dressing in. She hadn't been to Kibbe himself, but she was dressing in, you know, sort of what the groups advised, a Flamboyant Natural, to wear. And after she came for the consultation, she actually say that she felt that I was really kind, that my language was really encouraging. That was like the best feedback. Because I'm not just going to write you a bunch of poetry and give you ideas that aren't practical.

But at the same time, I'm going to respect the vulnerability it takes to even send pictures of yourself to be typed, and also your sort of personal needs in the real world. So she had the silhouette, ID done. It took ages to get feedback. If someone's silent, you think, 'Oh my god, maybe they hate it,' right?

Then she gave me feedback and was like, 'Oh wow, you know, this has really, really helped me.' Then she gradually started sort of like applying some of the advice. And what I [00:36:00] liked was that I could see she was having fun again, right? Because she had been told she had to wear, you know, like she mustn't break the vertebra.

She was wearing some very long things, which, you know, she had that height, so it looked nice on her. But now she's wearing short legs and showing off those long legs and doing all sorts of stuff that technically you're not supposed to do in systems like Kibbe and what I love most about it is I can see she's having fun.

Gabrielle: I love that. That's so important in client work. It is understanding that it's going to be a journey for them. That if you can give them the tools to play for themselves to create their own vision, that's like the biggest gift you can give someone as a stylist. Right? Like, you know, if we think about it, Kibbe is kind of a paint-by-numbers almost, or it used to be, whatever he's turned it into now.

But like originally it was a little bit like, here's the picture, here are the paints you need. You're going to paint this picture, you're going to fill it in. And everyone's is going to look very similar with like little subtle changes. But you know, because we all have different technique, but everyone's kind of painting the same picture.

 You're like, here's your colors, here's your [00:37:00] paint brush. Here's a mood, here's some words to be inspired by. But what you put on that painting is completely up to you. And they try things and they play and they get like creatively inspired because you're giving them all the tools they need without the strict, this is what the picture looks like at the end of the day. Yeah. And I think that's really, really freeing.

Fatima Ess: I think that's key. One of the forgotten elements is go out and have fun, right? It shouldn't feel like a prison.

Gabrielle: No, it should be an education that allows you to expand past it, to take this information and tweak it to be your exact character. You're not writing character A for every single person who comes, sees you with this exact blend. Like each character you create, each story you tell is really personalized to that individual. And I think that's so powerful.

Fatima Ess: I have a sort of phrase that I keep in mind, which is the 'particularities contain the poetry.' So it's like the things that, yeah, that make a person [00:38:00] unique often the things that, they'll come to me and they'll sort of say, oh, I hate my this, or my shoulders are too wide, or I'm not confident with my weight or whatever it might be.

But those are often like the things that Yeah that contain the poetry. Because we're all completely unique, even sets of twins.

Gabrielle: So, yeah. Um, yeah. It's just embracing your own presence in the world. That's what I really liked your idea of presence too, that like you take up space, you create your own story.

So for listeners who are interested in your system, obviously we'll talk about your full story package, but is there a way for them to kind of dive into your system and play with it? Like what would you recommend that they do?

Fatima Ess: So I have a Facebook group for Poeticize Your Presence. It's sort of got people who are just interested in playing with the system and trying to sort of DIY. People who are clients, um, you know, different challenges and stuff like that, that we post in there. So that's a really good place to, and sometimes, you know, people guessing as celebrities' blend. So that's a really great [00:39:00] place to learn more about the system.

There's my website, which has a breakdown of the different types. Like, I'm sort of still in the process actually, but there's like a deep dive into each silhouette identity that goes really, really deep which will give someone a really good idea of whether they might have that type in their blend or not. There's a Pinterest board as well that has sort of images for each different type. So those are the best resources for learning more about it.

Gabrielle: Do you think people should go off what they're drawn to or expand on what they know works? Like if I was to say I look good in Stately lines, maybe I try stately first. Like how should people pick and choose or is there, is it kind of make your own adventure?

Fatima Ess: Yeah, I very much believe in what I call line testing, so, you know, trying on many different types of silhouettes basically. The right silhouette or the right blend of silhouettes. I mean, obviously it is going to look good. Whatever looking good means to you, right? Because it might mean something else to someone else, [00:40:00] but also it should feel good. When you have the right blend or the right silhouettes on you, there's a feeling of, like, you exhale, like you just feel comfortable in your clothes, whereas other things will just feel so wrong.

That's a really big clue. How you feel as a human being in these. I totally advocate going to a department store or something just like trying on loads and loads of different clothes, and just sort of seeing what hits and what doesn't and what the pattern is there.

Gabrielle: Yeah.

Fatima Ess: Like with me, for example, like I feel if I wear short skirts or dresses, I just feel wrong. If it looks like I couldn't afford clothes that were long enough. But that's, you know, not every tall woman is going to have that. So for some they will feel out of place in longer lines.

Gabrielle: I love that and I think it's really important to focus on how you feel or if something feels off to, like listen to yourself that way.

So, do you just want to give us a breakdown of what your full story package is

Fatima Ess: Yes, absolutely. So the full story package, it's probably my most popular service actually. It's all three layers of what I offer. [00:41:00] So it's the silhouette ID, which we've discussed. The custom color analysis, which comes with a completely custom color palette and a long report and a Pinterest board. Then the Style Energy Archetypes consultation. So it's all three of those in one. And by the time, you know, the client and I have worked through all of that. We get to know each other pretty well. So it feels like a real sort of journey. It feels like a narrative journey.

Then, we come to the end of it with the Style Energy Archetype. Everything comes together. It's like you are handing them the book of their style story.

Gabrielle: Their story, their full story. You leave no stone unturned and I absolutely love that. Exactly. We'll make sure that's in the links and everyone can find your beautiful website Poeticize Your Presence and the full story package.

A Piece that Tells Your Story

I like to end on kind of a fun question. So what's one piece in your own wardrobe that really tells the story of you?

Fatima Ess: So I would say it's this pair of boots, these crazy boots that I've had. I [00:42:00] must have had them for more than 10 years actually. They're like these thigh-length boots, they're suede and with this sort of shielding along the side. Every time I wear them, someone's like, people react really strangely to these boots. Like, oh my God, your boots. Like, people are really freaked out because they're really over the top. But they're also, I suppose in terms of my silhouette ID blend, I have Sleek, Celestial, Timeless.

They're very long and they're very sleek. But there's also the element of the unexpected. Like with this sort of shilling bit and they're just so fantastically over the top. I think they tell the story not just of my body geometry, but of me as a person.

Gabrielle: Because that mood, that energy.

Fatima Ess: In my archetypes, I have some of the Outlaw in there. I also have a little bit of Gesture.

Gabrielle: Okay.

Fatima Ess: I love it. So, the Gesture is just going to do their own thing and like they're going to do, might quite conservatively dress and then they've got some kind of crazy footwear.

Gabrielle: Amazing.

Fatima Ess: Or they've just got something going on that's unexpected.

Gabrielle: That is the perfect answer. I love it. You'll have to show us all these boots. Because now we're all curious. I just want to say it [00:43:00] was so wonderful to talk to you. I think what you're doing with your style system is beautiful. You've broken a lot of the, closed-mindedness in the color analysis space and so thank you so much for coming on. It's been a joy to talk to you.

Fatima Ess: Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Gabrielle: Okay, until next time.