One of my little pigeons wrote to me eons ago asking about braids. Should she fear them? She thought they were pretty but was a bit nervous that she might wind up looking too Swiss Miss to be taken seriously, and I told her I needed to think about it. I have written before about the cheezy French braid, which I think really does look juvenile on any woman who isn’t working it as an intentional style in conjunction with a great clothes.
Wait, I take that back. A whole head of hair done in a French braid is just cheezy. It is 100% evocative of the mid 1980’s proms, and it hasn’t come back in style anywhere. So avoid a whole head done in a French braid and make Auntie PB happy, okay? I know some of you have written telling me how great you look in a French braid but I’ve seen photos and I’m telling you: DATED!!!! NOT a good look.
What is really in style right now, however, is partial braids and Heidi braids. Again, if you tend to dress in a fairly unexciting, and borderline dowdy fashion this is a great way to tip right into Frumpland. If not, then not:
Actress Lauren Conrad. Very pretty, but could be dangerously girlie worn by a minister. Wear it with a sharp outfit, structured, nothing too uber femmy. You’re not a flower fairy.
Actress Sienna Miller wearing the Heidi braid look. I think some of you could rock this, I just can’t think how, exactly. Like with a cute dress, blazer and wedge heels. Or trousers, a cardie and a great pair of sort of crazy heels. As in, not the classic pump but something different, a bit edgy and hip.
[This just in. Thanks to Scott Wells for reminding me of the lovely Yulia Tymoshenko, whose hairstyle I think belongs strictly to her. As in, “Oh my God, she’s trying to pull a Yulia Tymoshenko!” – PB]
If you do braids, my darlings, do NOT over-accessorize. No necklaces to compete with the intricacy of the hair framing your face. No crazy earrings. Keep the lines of your clothes neat and tailored. A prominent belt would be nice if you want to accessorize.
Here I am ignoring my own advice with a fringey scarf, but it’s not super-feminine and I was on a road trip, not at work. Play around. See what works for you.
And then there’s the Yulia Tymoshenko look.
I totally wore Heidi braids in high school! I agree that braids can look too sweet if one is not careful. I think an edgy look is another way to tone down the “precious factor”.
Back before my dramatic crop, I found this site to an excellent source for inspiration and instruction for white people braiding their hair:
http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/index.htm It does tend towards a RenFair appropriate look at times, but it introduced me to some braiding techniques beyond the basic three-strand braid that I grew very fond of.
I think part of making a braid work is to make it look polished, chic, and interesting. Controlling stray hairs with a bit of gel worked wonders for me, as did getting rubber bands that matched my hair color.
For ministers of color looking at braiding,
“Alice” has a great blog on care for natural hair here:http://diaryofakinkycurlytransitioner.wordpress.com/ with specific instructions on cornrows here: http://diaryofakinkycurlytransitioner.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/tutorial-cornrows/ Great links, excellent inspiration.
http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/ is another excellent tutorial source that uses the blogger’s adorable daughter as a model for many styles.
I’m so glad French braids have gone out of fashion. Perhaps I’ve watched one too many science0-fiction movies, but they always resembled exoskeletons to me. [Okay I just died – PB]
Braids, especially heidi braids, can work either with a super crisp, tailored look – as Scott suggested above, or with something hip and edgy.
Please do not wear heidi braids with anything remotely bohemian and attempt to look professional. [LOL!!! I could not have said it any better, my dear!! – PB] If you want to wear danskos or chandelier earrings to work, pick a different hair style. On your weekends, rock them and look adorable.
Sorry, aside from the biblical stuff against braided hair 😉 this just screams junior high, “mork and mindy” to be exact (Mindy rocked the little bang braid) Unless your roomate wears rainbow suspenders and is from Ork, this is a childish look to me. Grown women should not wear braids unless exercising, gardening, or doing other similar work. (I totally rocked the french braid back then, and even occasionally french braided my hair upside down, but as much as I would like to do it now, alas I cannot as an adult.)
I think French braids can look terrific on some people.
I French braid my hair in the summer because it is the ONLY way (and believe me, I’ve tried them all) to keep my fine, thick, heavy, slippery hair off my neck and under control. Every other hairdo just falls down within minutes.
I do two braids, one on either side of the head, and – this is key – whenever I have a collar on or otherwise need to look like an adult, the braids are caught up into a clip at the back of my head. So basically it looks like an updo, except that it actually stays put, unlike any other updo I’ve ever tried.
I only go for the pigtail look when I’m off duty!