Serena van der Woodsen hairstyle

[mariika]

So I liked this hairstyle a character had in a TV show, maybe you know what I'm talking about - the character is "Serena van der Woodsen":
pictures been removed so you can see them here http://youhavebeenchosen.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/serena-hair/ (I do not know now if it's okay to use images this way now but anyways let's try this; I thought it was okay to link to images uploaded to LHC......)
At first I thought this hairstyle was easy and since I have hair about as long as the actress (only my hair is curly and hers is dead straight) I thought this should be easy. But all I got was this:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6486&pictureid=86959
Agrrr.
Anyone got any idea what went wrong? I am suspecting the actress got extensions woven in but I wonder where did they begin their braids - after they ponytailed hair or before? Because I braided hair after I ponytailed it and the starting points of braids were terrible. And my braids are so undefined while hers are very defined!

[Madora]

I'm not familiar with this actress but judging from her hairstyle, it appears to be either a multi strand braid or several individual braids. A separate section of hair has been twisted and then entwined down the braid.

Your version is very nice..and certainly your hair is in MUCH better condition!!

[mariika]

Oh, thanks, Madora! Didn't pay attention to condition of her hair. I tried several braids I have no idea what the original hairstyle involves though but I love how sophisticated it looks! And I definitely agree that a section of hair has been twisted around the braid(s)

[JulietCapulet]

I love Serena!!! Here are my favorite dresses she has worn to date. But with her hairstyles I like it best like this too.
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/velvetysoft/?action=view&current=q009.jpg


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TrWQWM8jA_c/TElFz1G6ifI/AAAAAAAABZw/kl9yFy5HdQI/s1600/jenny-packham-fall-2010-long-dress-and-serena-van-der-woodsen-gallery.jpg&imgrefurl=http://adreamcalledfashion.blogspot.com/2010/07/gossip-girl-fourth-season-looks.html&usg=__xTTsJs_9Q3XSBpdQ_uGvuml1c5U=&h=650&w=459&sz=65&hl=en&start=0&sig2=TMlb9Hj3nNJK_qFSAEDATA&zoom=1&tbnid=XpaFBgoUin1a-M:&tbnh=146&tbnw=121&ei=r93KTJXtO4G78gbU8PXLAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dserena%2Bvanderwoodsen%2Bpackham%26um %3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1017%26bih%3D570%2 6tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=124&vpy=59&dur=871&hovh=267&hovw=189&tx=118&ty=86&oei=cd3KTJKuNcP78AaQ8vmGAQ&esq=3&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

[AreWild]

I'm not great with dissecting hairstyles, but I'll give it a shot. It's looks to me like her hair was pony-tailed first then separated into three parts. Two were braided, very loosely at the top but tighter closer to the end. The last section was gently twisted, then twisted around the braids and secured with another band at the bottom. Does that make sense? I think for having curly hair when hers is straight your attempt looks great.

[eezepeeze]

I think maybe it is two rather loose English braids braided together, with a third strand twisted as for a rope braid. Then, I think they have rope braided the twisted strand with the English braids to get that twisty effect.

Her hair is a lot thinner than yours is. To get the definition, you may want to try this on slightly damp hair or oiled hair.

Also, on second look, it may be just one English braid, then rope braided with that one twisty piece. I defintely think there is some sort of rope braiding going on with that twisty piece.

Cool look....what show is she on? I'm not familiar with it.

ETA: Wait...I think I've got it...the top part of the braid is two english braids rope braided around each other, while the tail of that has been fishtail braided. That well-defined twisty piece was left out of the original braid and twisted around the whole braid at the very end. I think the tail of the briad looks so defined because they have taken the two tails of the original english braids, tied them off after rope braiding the english braids together, then used the leftover tail hair to fishtail briad right to the end of the hair, so there is not much tail left at all. The twisty piece was secured by itself higher up on the briad with another hair tie.

Did that make any sense at all?

HTH!

[mariika]

I think maybe it is two rather loose English braids braided together, with a third strand twisted as for a rope braid. Then, I think they have rope braided the twisted strand with the English braids to get that twisty effect.
Thanks! I guess I'll have to try different ways before I get it right so thanks for the input! This actress is on CW's Gossip Girl, bad show but it has its perks:) Btw I don't think her hair is a lot thinner, her hair is just straight, mine is curly, it has volume no matter what and it's really quite thin originally. I have pretty small ponytail circumference, well, not extraordinarily, just on the thin hair side already.

I'm not great with dissecting hairstyles, but I'll give it a shot. It's looks to me like her hair was pony-tailed first then separated into three parts. Two were braided, very loosely at the top but tighter closer to the end. The last section was gently twisted, then twisted around the braids and secured with another band at the bottom. Does that make sense? I think for having curly hair when hers is straight your attempt looks great.
That makes sense, thanks!

I love Serena!!!
Yeah, she's an interesting character, isn't she? I love the idea of Serena though, not the actual TV character. And yes, she always gets the best dress:)))

[TrudieCat]

I think others have done a good job dissecting the hair style. I just wanted to add that I think a fair amount of gel worked into damp hair would make this style a lot easier for you to do, and it would hold once it dried.

Though I think your version you posted looks really cool, actually!

[mariika]

Thanks, TrudieCat! Btw my version stayed that way ALL DAY!!! (no product at all used there)
So the only improvement I need here is the actual technique.... Btw my head ached terribly after a day in a ponytail..................... )))

[katha]

Gossip Girl is one of my guilty pleasures. -.-

I like most of Serenas hairstyles on it. Lily wears some pretty buns, too.

[wendyg]

eezepeeze: the character appears on Gossip Girl.

wg

[eezepeeze]

eezepeeze: the character appears on Gossip Girl.

wg

Ah, I thought it was familiar...not a viewer of the show, but definitely heard of it. Thanks!

[vividdreamer]

I must be quite unsophisticated, because if I saw someone with hair like Blake Lively's in those pics, I'd want to hand them a wide tooth comb and some detangler. It looks like a hot mess to me!

Mariika, your hair looks much better than hers, and all you guys are hair geniuses...I must have stared at those pics for five minutes and STILL have no idea how (not to mention WHY) they did her hair that way!

[mariika]

Lily wears some pretty buns, too.
YEAH, Lily is the epitome of class, her hair is NEVER messy (coughunlikeSerena'scough)

I must have stared at those pics for five minutes and STILL have no idea how (not to mention WHY) they did her hair that way!
HAHAHA))) Weird, that hair doesn't look tangly to me... And I like the style, maybe I'm weird :)

[enfys]

Mariika, how did you do your style? It's really pretty.

I concur that the photos show two English braids with a third strand rope braided around. It would probably look a bit nicer/fancier if the hair had been smoothed out with gel or serum to give it more definition first. Hers, not yours ;)

[mali]

:eyebrows:I love Serena! Blake Lively is a great actress! I've seen this hairstyle on the last episode of season 3! Little J came back,right?

[ddiana1979]

I see at least three (possibly four) hairbands in that style, not counting the large one making the pony tail.

I think your version is quite cute.

[McFearless]

She is such a gorgeous girl but being an actress= being a fashion and beauty guinea pig. Poor hair!

[LouLaLa]

I just watched that episode and yours looks much nicer. I think Serenas was a little messy but yours is much cuter, I was watching and going ohhh Mariika did a better job :p

It looked on her like a five strand braid with a loop going all the way to the bottom but they left some jaggedy bits out so afte seeing yours first I was a little let down by Serenas.
I think in season one the deb ball she has FABULOUS hair.

I think they find it hard to do as in an issue of Glamour she said she has hair extensions which made me sad :(

I LOVED lilly's hair in that ep too! The criss cross braids with a sort of chigon underneath is begging for me to try it ;)

We should sooo have a GG thread and see how many people will give GG hair a go because they have some cool ideas in it.

[mariika]

We should sooo have a GG thread and see how many people will give GG hair a go because they have some cool ideas in it.
we definitely should!!
Enfys, I made several braids of different size, left one loose lock to roll around them and bobby pinned the ends up, also I added a couple of bobby pins just inside the end of it for the ponytail to be straight and not bend like it did without the pins.