Are plaits better left to the young?

[Redwineistasty]

I’m 34 and I like plaiting my hair, usually loose braids or pigtails.

But I rarely leave the house with plaits in.

Occasionally with a braid, which then goes in to a pony/bun rather than plaited to the end. But my hair’s not long enough to pull off a full pony/bun yet.

I just feel self conscious, like I’m too old to pull them off!
And i right, or being ridiculous?

I think one plait is appropriate at any age, but two plaits when you're over about 12 is kind of "jokey" - absolutely fine for the beach or hippyish occasions but I probably wouldn't wear them to work (not that my hair's quite long enough at the moment anyway).

I also think that unless your hair is very thick it looks a lot better if you leave quite a long unplaited end below your fastening. If I plaited my hair all the way to the bottom it would be about 1cm wide at the bottom.

I'm 21 and wear my hair in 2 plaits all the time, it's my favourite hairstyle.
Anyway, Willie Nelson wears his hair in 2 plaits and he's 84!

The braid at an angle and side bun sounds nice icelandic

Wow cake your hair sound amazing!

I would definitely give plaits a go if only my hair were long enough. I think they can look really cool.

I might draw the line at Disney hair ribbons.

I sleep in a single plait. I also swim in a plait (in preference to a ponytail.)

My aquafit teacher wears two plats when teaching us. I would guess she's a similar age to me (I'm mid-40s,) going by her music choices.

Cherry healey has a tutorial somewhere online for how to do her hairstyle.
I usually wash my hair everyday but I can pull off cherry healeys plaits with dirty hair and dry shampoo. Otherwise my hair just looks too thin.

I often plait my hair, but I’m 24 and spend all day with toddlers so I don’t particularly care if it looks silly. The three year old I Nanny tells me I look like Elsa so that’s good enough for me.

I think one plait can look good at any age and agree the side plait bun can look really nice. I think, over the age of 12, it's hard for most people to pull off 2 plaits/pigtails in a stylish way but depends what look you're going for!

Cherry Healey is 37 and I think she looks great with plaits. At 34 you're still so young, certainly too young to be worrying about looking too old for something. I didn't wear miniskirts for my entire 30s. Crazy because as a shortarse minis fit my proportions so much better than knee length skirts (that never hit my knee). Now nearly 50 and living in miniskirts again.

Ooh thanks sew I’ll take a look!

I’m not a fan of saying that anyone is too old for something.

I think it’s more to do with personal style than age. Some people can carry two plaits off beautifully and others look a bit odd.

A single plait is fine at any age.

Agree that two look odd on grown women, one is fine. A single plait has the advantage of sitting comfortably under a hat, unlike a bun, so is useful in EXTREME WEATHER. I often plait mine for this reason, plus it doesn't get all tangled up with scarves. My hair is long and thick and gets too hot in summer- like an extra layer of clothing- so often gets plaited then as well.
I think as an adult though, loosely plaited rather than tight and neat is the way to go.