French Plait - Yay or Nay? Classic or Dated?

[SparkyDuchess]

Regular S&B lurker here, and could do with some thoughts.

I have shoulder blade length hair, which when I can be bothered I blow dry and straighten the bits that have gone wonky - takes about 30 mins in total, looks good (if I do say so myself )

Some days though, I blow dry the front and French plait it, starting not too high on the crown. Takes about 5 mins...

My question is, is French plaited hair classic or horribly dated? It suits me, suits the shape of my face (square jaw, high cheekbones), but is it aging (I'm 41 - look 'good' for my age, but look like an attractive 41, rather than looking younger iyswim).

If a French plait is out of the question, can you suggest anything else I can do quickly to make my frizzy if not dealt with hair look good quickly?

I'm 42, sometimes I French plait, took the end under at the nape of my neck and secure with a silk flower.
Usually though, I twist and secure with bulldog clip thingdy. Buns I hate, I just think they look so grannyish....shrugs, but what do I know?!

Sigh...I've tried a messy bun umpteen times today after watching about 73 million youtube tutorials, and it just looks like a pony tail but like I got bored half way through pulling it through, iyswim? What is wrong with me, it should not be this hard! I really like how a messy bun looks, now that I know what it's meant to look like, but I'm screwing it up somehow.

Eggrules , I can't work out what you mean (am dim), wrap it how? That sounds interesting, but I can't picture what it looks like?

WinnyBella - I'm more the latter I guess. Tallish, skinny jeans and flats are my standard wardrobe, but I still think the plait dates me even when I leave it a bit looser and less 'done'.

I end up reverting to a big clip, but I know it could look better.

It's annoying me now - I want it to look reasonable without tons of effort, that has to be achievable (although my total ineptness at following instructions on youtube is not helping me I think)

Chandon - a partner in my quest for casual hair perfection would be most welcome :o

I have been wearing a french plait since teenage and haven't stopped though clinging onto my 30's...I like the 80's dated look, depends how you feel.

I too have longish, rather uncontrollable, curly/frizzy thick hair. If I want it to look nice, it's a good 15 mins of drying and straightening. However, it can be passable in the messy bun, or to do a kind of chignon, with the curls coming out of the top. It keeps it out of the way for work, but it's still wet in the middle when I take it down at night. :( French plaits take me back to my teenage years, I'm afraid, and I'm 37....

Put two fingers close to your ponytail and loop it around to make a circle curl to pin. Starting at 12 O'Clock it takes me 6 loops to do the whole bun. A blast of spray keeps it in.

The technique is like

I do the loop in one go and tighter around my fingers than is shown here. I usually do a small braid at teh front and then a bun on teh oposite side at teh nape. I also do it with bigger loops higher up. You can do it so it looks really neat like a traditional bun or you can spray the ends out for a messier look.

Try it without looking in the mirror. It is much easier to do than I am making it sound.

EggRules, you hero - that looks like great, and I think I can probably do it which is a bonus :o

My good friend showed me this about 10 years ago and I am happy to pay it forward. Pre GHD's it was a lifesaver especially on holiday to avoid the Crystal Tips humidity look . For very messy up do I leave my hair wavy and don't put a ponytail in.

For my wedding, I had my hair cut and straightened and I put my own hair up and put fresh orchids in.

It is a million times easier to do than explain.

ps it is the only way I can go for more than a day between washing my hair. It is ideal for hair that isn't freshly washed.