French Girl Flair: Messy Buns, Braids, Twists, Chignons, and What(k)nots

Daily (nay, perhaps hourly) I find myself coveting some beautiful French woman’s messy bun here in Paris. I’m obsessed with their twists, chignons and braids (the more Hunger Games–esque the better) and any style that will look snazzy enough to prevent me from having to wash my hair for just one … more … day … (It’s amazing how lazy you get when your only job is to enjoy life, eat, and go to cafés to write.)

The ladies over at my old job at DivineCaroline gave us this sock bun tutorial the other day, which I tried out, though mine didn’t look as good as hers, probably because my sock didn’t have a lot of bulk. (It was a knee-high from the Monoprix, truth be told; lesson learned.)

I’ve also been obsessed with Joanna Goddard’s fabulous hair for a while now since I discovered her back in my lady-mag employment days (not crazy obsessed, just in the most complimentary of ways; just so you know if you come across this, Joanna). I love the plethora of hair tutorials I found on her blog and I tried this one out today. It looks waaaayyyy more fabulous on her thanks to her gorgeous color and perfectly even skin tone, but I’m debuting it in Paris today, for better or worse, at my favorite haunt Télescope Café.

What do you think, Interwebs: is this mermaid tail braid fab or fail? Don’t leave me hangin’—somebody leave a comment, s’il vous plaît ! (Be constructive, though; the French butter makes me sensitive!) If you have other good recos of sites or want to leave some instructions or ideas of your own, feel free! Merci, au revoir, bonne journée! xo

Coming soon: a messy bun twist for your thumbs-up or thumbs-down.  Because apparently, living alone in a foreign country takes away the ability to evaluate your own hair.