Bouba or Kiki? - Topic of the day 3/14/25
Would you describe your personal style as "bouba" or "kiki", and why (see photo for reference)? If you answered in a similar thread before, has your style changed since? ps no we're not changing the picture.
189 Replies
which one is bouba which one is kiki
im :bouba:
i think if u wear a lot of rick u r :bouba:
i think
you know what
im not gonna think
this is a good topic and hard for me to answer, i think my style gives off a more rounded approachable look that leans much more towards bouba than kiki
:bouba:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect also think it's worth reading the wiki for this
Bouba/kiki effect
The bouba–kiki effect () or takete–maluma phenomenon is a non-arbitrary mental association between certain speech sounds and certain visual shapes. The most typical research finding is that people, when presented with nonsense words, tend to associate certain ones (like bouba and maluma) with a rounded shape and other ones (like kiki and takete)...
it's fun
i am :kiki:
I'm bouba for sure I think
i agree
kiki but honestly liking the more organic bouba shapes in CDG's more sculptural work more and more and trying to move towards that
i like a lot of kiki details but don’t feel like i pull it off in fits
i’m lazy so go bouba usually
want more pointy stuff
people with curly hair are bouba and people with straight hair are kiki this is the rule my brain has made
i think i have bouba layering but kiki textures
im going kiki mode this spring
Kiki fit if I’ve ever seen one
:bouba:
But personally I think I run bouba, I tend to like softer cuts and textures in my fits
@Holfram and me discussed and have concluded that I am Kiki and he is Bouba
bouba fit if I've ever seen one
from recent inspo: these to me are kiki
my bouba
:blushcatto: giant sleeves my beloved
So good
if im not knocking shit over in the kitchen what am i even wearing
@carrion what makes this one :kiki: besides his cheek bones?
feel v :bouba: to me
Er... What?
the feeling inside of me
I think the pleats, collar, and like crunchiness of the jacket tho
Im positively bouba
yeah I was gonna say it's kinda between both but the jacket makes it kiki forward
mmm the jacket is crunchy
also his cheekbonefullness helps
Y'all not ready to talk about bouki
i am
:kiki:
I’m very on the :kiki: end I think
I’d argue that despite some bulbous shapes this one is quite :kiki: as well
@thomas i’d like to see your thoughts
also would like to hear from @LlamaλWave
I find it hard to visualize the two unless i’m looking at extreme cases
personally
what if you got wavvy hairs
best of both worlds
:kibo:
kibo,,,,
Im a mysterious third thing
jokes aside, propably more kiki than bouba
I think no break trousers are kiki, while lots of puddling is very bouba
i think my answer is 'bouba fits in kiki clothes'
If i was bouba before I’m Kiki to the bone now
i think i'm kiki
lots of my fits r big but have sharp lines and color contrast
i think my hair makes me a bouba no matter what i wear
i don't think physical features make an entire fit inherently kiki or bouba tbh
several people with wavy or curly hair have identified as both kiki and bouba fwiw
to me my hair hair is an accessory i can use to soften up fits. i have found that people treat me completely differently after growing out my hair, and i have been told/found having traditionally more feminine hair as a tall person who presents masculine makes me much more approachable, and therefore bouba (if that makes sense)
this is based off of me reading bouba as soft and approachable and kiki as a bit more ridgid. this is just my personal definition though, as these aren’t really sciences
guts (kiki) griffith (kibo)
hard fuckin disagree there bud
strong :kiki: energy
rick is mostly soft and bubbly
like u gonna look at and call it kiki
not a chance
u keep posting i'll keep reacting :bouba: and be right every time
those are literally kiki fits
THEY ARE KIKI STOP POSTING BOUBA
all bouba
occasional kiki sneaks in
wait of all of them you think this one is kiki?
crazy tbh
your taste is whack
and you are whack
its been kiki since day 1
:kiki:
u r just saying "avant garde is kiki" which is whack
tell me its not
ur brain is acclimated to the idea of rick owens but not looking at the actual looks
tell me with a straight face, tomato boy
the idea of rick is definitely kiki but the looks are generally bouba
isnt that that point? the idea of it is kiki?
the looks are mixed at best
we aren't saying if the idea of a brand is kiki or bouba we are saying if the look is kiki or bouba
perhaps this is where we differ in perspective in which case i respect ur opinion but disagree
literal bouba brain
my brain? kiki
i have to fast at 7pm i am definitely going to get boba
you are what you eat
my booba make me bouba
bouba all the wayyyy
idk what i was on about with algo
my whole aesthetic is based around bouba
I’m bouba because I’m soft
shoes, collar, and hat make this fit kiki @Shrimp
im gonna freaking kikify you @algoresky
i hope you marry a kiki
and learn what its like
hmm seems good
now look for famous boubas
hmm seems obvious which is better
those kikis you posted are serious boubas fr
:kiki: :bouba:
i hope you find peace in your life you sick fuck
:tomwalkerThejokerbaby: im da joker baby :timallenjoker:
:noooooooo:
kiki
bouba
I’m sorry this is insane
Why are we still doing bouba or kiki and not dippy or tinky?
My brain genuinely cannot grasp what is happening here. Like I can see how a soft sillouette is being associated with the word “bouba”, and can be associated with the images color and shape. But I have to really squint to do it, and I can’t see how (most) sillouettes don’t also fit this description? I’m confused
God this season was so good though
We are collectively underappreciating what Richard is providing to us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect whole thing is about the human condition and how even though the words mean nothing there is a tendancy to associate the word bouba or kiki with the particular shape across cultures
Bouba/kiki effect
The bouba–kiki effect () or takete–maluma phenomenon is a non-arbitrary mental association between certain speech sounds and certain visual shapes. The most typical research finding is that people, when presented with nonsense words, tend to associate certain ones (like bouba and maluma) with a rounded shape and other ones (like kiki and takete)...
Also Booba is a French rapper exiled in Miami
The more you know
exiled to miami.......a fate worse than death...
literally its just vibes
Yes I read the wiki page, and I kinda get how the language to shape association works and am pretty surprised it’s universal.
But, I’m not quite getting the dichotomy when applied to fits. Or in other words, everything that’s not really extreme feels more bouba to me. Clothes are roughly cylindrical and therefore round? In this thread I don’t see any “normal” fits that are pointy for example
kiki isn't necessarily pointy
(This is more of a statement about my brain than about objective reality. I get how others are seeing spikes and edges, I’m just not)
it's a vibe
normal outfits lmao
Yeahhhh too abstract for me, can’t compute
person on the right here is kiki tell me otherwise ninjury https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1350136394546413660/1350195642357514321
person on the left: bouba
Yeah I don’t see it, everything ish is round!
zoom in
think topologically
This feels like the white/blue dress thing
None of these look either Bouba or Kiki
if u abstracted the clothing out into a 2d texture map what shape would that texture pack take on
They're straight fire
That's different
can the french see bouba or kiki gen question
like do yall got the rods and cones
I got no idea what you're saying but
Yes
ive missed u pesto
reminder that failure to properly differentiate between bouba and kiki will result in a ban from the server.
Such a Bouba take
im sorry that is bouba as fuck
literally a curved hem
final answer?
bouba
Pretty much! It’s so subjective and i didn’t even know how to approach it at first to even answer myself Lol
pinkkea you are correct about most things but in this case you are not seeing the full picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what is the full picture
the edges. hemline is part of the inner shape. like saying the part i circle in red could be perceived as bouba because it is round. look at the collar and shoes which are the edges and gotta keep the abstract shoe shape in mind to realize just how SHARP they are
fuck i forgot to attach an image do not consider that i am in fact stupid in your reconsideration
tabis are bouba. elastic at the ankle is bouba. baseball cap is bouba (literally all round). the collar is even floppy. its as bouba as a collar can be
im dying on this hill
tabis are BOUBA????
elastic brings things in, not bouba. collar is sharp point all collars flop. if u think floppy is bouba then there is no singular outfit that is ever kiki
at which point why care about kiki v bouba????????
yeah i think these are bouba as fuck
these are kiki
very stiff jeans. kiki
this is a collar thats kiki
by your logic this is bouba u are inconsistent. this is the same as the tabis linked
how so
same shape
the collar i think is meant to convey a sharpness (kiki). tabis are just meant to convey weird (bouba)
this is unbelievable
how did we go an entire discussion about rick and not post studded stuff smh
here is a outline using ur logic
thats kiki af
amougs...
i mean you can draw a crappy rounded shape around anything
it means nothing to me
:sheeesh:
this is REALLY fuckin simple
i am simply taking YOUR logic and extending it. By what you say all things are bouba as evidenced by these images where i LITERALLY draw the shape for you
im actually not sure what we are doing here
see u claim these are kiki and i agree but past u would have said bouba as you can see here
This is exactly my point. Except for armour¿ clothes are soft!
clothes are soft if youre a baby who dresses in baby clothse
Yes, most baby clothes are bouba
everything has a crisp line
nobody in this thread knows what theyre talking about
yeah well other clothes like n&f 40oz denim might not be soft like baby clothes. also shoes
you act like youre an expert on everything but just like algoresky you know nothing of bouba and kiki and for this i will not forgive you
they're 40oz denim and raw denim usually comes starched to hell lmao
i assure u, raw denim did not feel like bouba on my tendies
what are your tendies btw
bouba
linen was one of the first armors
lmao
wrong
what does that have to do with anything
people still wear jeans
All my jeans gone
sorry u just don't get it and that's okay
respectfully you're overthinking
it's vibes
yeah and im the arbiter of the vibes
and everything i say is right
Its true
ok fair enough
ok well you dont know how it moves but i know
and its very stiff
sooooooo
youre wronggggggggg
you can also kind of tell by the way it looks
important things happening in here
mfad mensa meeting
i would never join mensa
i am smart, i understand mensa is a scam
@LlamaλWave i posted these earlier in the thread and im interested to see how u agree/disagree. these are all kiki to me.
Everything you’ve ever seen was standing still
Your brain put it together with some other bullshit (stuff you’ve seen before and after) and figured out how it moves
Why can’t we do that here?
Pinkkeas wrong btw I just disagree with your premise here
im going to redacted redacted redacted redacted
Right feels very kiki to me
It’s dominated by all these hard edges and sharp lines
Even (especially) the pants imo
im unfollowing this thread
Look at that hem and the pleats!
end of the day its all subjective but u have bouba brain
y'all this is not that deep
source: me, person who made the thread
Kiki
you're going to probably make an association between bouba and kiki (and in fact not linking the wiki article was meant to trigger the phenomenon but that got ruined :hawyee:) but whatever your interpretation of bouba or kiki is, it's subjective in this context because you're looking at a three-dimensional object on a human body and - as many people ignored - it's about one's view of their own personal style. if there's any main 'point' to this it's hopefully to look at/think about/make connections to clothes you like on a different level
Are you guys fucking stupid
but also now that i've said all of this we can never do this again and i'm probably going to be sent to the firing squad which seems like a just punishment
Zeo its okay you can just ask these guys if they’re fucking stupid
Is the firing squad kiki or bouba
yes
I wanna do this again it was fun
Kibo
Is she the one shooting me
Yes
anyway im right
Bouba
the quibbling was not minor
Thanks for the tag. I feel like bouba and kiki both have their essence in each other. Kiki only makes sense in contrast to bouba and vice versa. I think both in themselves are boring, but trying to integrate them in their contradiction is interesting. An outfit where everything is huge and round and drapey isn’t interesting to me nor is an outfit where everything is purely angular / skinny (usually). Perhaps the reason I like Lemaire is that it is a brand that always pairs the bouba (the soft and elegant) with the Kiki (the rough and the angular). For example one of Lemaire’s signature fabrics is dry silk, which takes the softness and liquidity of silk and blends it with polyester to make something rough and crinkled. Similarly, Lemaire constantly pairs elegant and delicate pieces with denim, leather, squared off shoes, etc.—and it’s in that contrast that each gets to shine.