Faking Fancy: easy hair styles that look classy

[Katia_k]

I have a big birthday party thing coming up next weekend. My friends and I are being like adults and doing a whole shmancy night out, limo, steak, dresses, etc. (We're 30 and just aren't good at being classy but we're trying).

So I want to do my hair really nicely, but am fairly style-challenged. I can do an English braid, a French braid (sometimes), a cinnabun, an LWb, sometimes an orchid bun if I can remember how, and sometimes an infinity bun if my hair's behaving. I can manage the cinabun braided, but hair's not long enough to do a braided LWB probably.

So my question... what are some styles that look intricate and fancy, but are in reality really easy to do? I want my hair to look cool, but also know I won't be able to manage a whole lot. So, tips for the lazy/style-impaired fake-fancy girl? I have various sticks and forks and pins and flexies laying around the house. My current plan, if I can't come up with anything better, is a braided cinnabun with my lilac TT, but I'd love more suggestions/ideas.

[AmaryllisRed]

Definitely the cameo bun or Elling woman bun. They both *look* fancy but they're super easy.

[Katia_k]

Do you have any tutorials?

[AmaryllisRed]

I don't! Here are some clunky text descriptions!

Cameo bun: basically a bun with a braid wrapped around.
I usually take the top half of my hair like I'm doing a half-up, then take the left half of that section. That will be the braid that wraps around the bun. Put that part aside (in a clip or in your mouth, whatever) and do the bun with the majority of your hair. I usually do a cinnabun.
Then take the smaller section you'd set aside and braid it. Try to start the braid farther back, close to the bun, not at the front of your head. Then just braid that section, wrap it around the bun, and pin.

Elling woman: There are so many variations on this one but what I do is super simple and always gets compliments.
I take half my hair like for a half up and do an English braid. When I get to the nape, I add all the rest of the hair into the braid. Finish down to the end. This creates a gap behind the braid. Then I just do a cinnabun, passing the braid through the loop that was created, and pin. Sticks or flexis or whatever work too.
It sounds way more complicated than it is.

[Katia_k]

This is actually perfect, thank you. My hair's so fuzzy I'm not sure it will cooperate with the Elling, but maybe if I oil it a bit it'll play nice. Because that one sounds really lovely and intricate-looking. Thank you! I think I've done the cameo before, though I didn't know what it was called, and the starting-off-to-the-left is a part I didn't know.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Have you tried a Hypno bun? They are easy but look complicated :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mjcXGA84Gw