A perennial style classic, beloved of eternal girl-child icons the world over (think Kirsten Dunst, Mary-Kate and, well, Lolita) the ”Heidi braid” has me utterly enchanted this summer. A playful reminder of childhood days and ribbons, of girls who don’t take life or fashion too seriously, girlish and whimsical without being overtly feminine it is the only hairstyle that will do right now.

Scattered on A/W 08 runways everywhere from Margaret Howell to Yohji Yamamoto, there is something endearingly scrappy about messy braids. Perfect for scraping unruly hair off your face for flustered summer days, plaits and braids will always be offbeat chic in a ‘ballerina in the library’ sort of way.

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