Are you yin or yang?

I touched on this subject when I wrote about my Style Consultation in January. As part of  my style analysis I completed a questionnaire that revealed the yin and yang aspects of both my appearance and my personality.  Many of us are a mixture of both yin and yang. Even though we may be firmly in one camp, sometimes we may want to appear a bit more yin or a bit more yang.

In my case, being short and youthful (according to the lovely Fiona!) makes me yin, whereas my angular face and body make me yang. My interest in clothes and shoes is yin but my creativity using ideas rather than my hands is yang. My result was ten points for yin, four for yang and six points were half & half.

I thought it might be interesting to look at a few characteristics of both yin and yang in fashion. In a nutshell, yin aspects are softer and more feminine, while yang traits are stronger and more masculine. Imogen of Inside Out Style has written an excellent post about ways to balance your yin and yang.

If your fashion personality is classic, dramatic or athletic, yang clothing will suit you. If you are a natural, romantic or creative, then yin clothing will suit your personality.

Yin vs Yang

Looking at the outfits show above, I think it is obvious which one is more yin and which is more yang. Both jackets are striped, however the one of the left is a paler colour, with less contrast and the lines are softer. The jacket on the right is higher contrast, darker and with a sharper silhouette. Skirts are usually yin whereas trousers tend to be yang: this skirt looks soft and feminine while the trousers are straight and in a brighter shade. Finally both outfits include flats, however the pale blue ballerinas have a rounded toe and the black and white pair have a pointed toe.

Neither of these outfits would be my ideal choice as I prefer straighter skirts on the odd occasion when I wear one and, though I like the outfit on the left, the jacket is too dramatic a style for me. My preference would be to swap the skirt and trousers, then wear the yin outfit.

Are you more yin or yang? Do you prefer yin fashion styles or are you more drawn to yang fashion?