Can anybody identify this hairstyle?

[sweetestpoison]

It's from Diego Rivera's Painting titled "Flower Day".. My art teacher from middle school had it on the wall and i've been trying to figure out how to replicate the style the girl has in her hair for years since with no luck. Can anybody tell me what this style is so i can find a tutorial? Or if you know how to do it would you mind sharing your secret?

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n531/Tricia_Ann/Flower_Day_1925b.jpg

[pepperminttea]

It looks similar to tucked twin English braids; the second style in Habioku's vid here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuatfZiMwXg). :)

[Yozhik]

Hmm...I'm not sure exactly how this would be possible.

My best bet would be that the ends are somehow woven into the other braid.

[jasper]

I think the hair is braided in twin braids. Braided down to as close to the ends as possible and then the tassels/ends are overlapped and then they are wrapped with thread or fine cord to connect and secure them.

[torrilin]

This is not a realistic piece of artwork, and the hairstyles shown are not very possible. I'd just enjoy it as a fantastic piece of art, and not worry about the hair. Anything you do to get the joined effect is going to hang oddly compared to the art.

[Madora]

This style was shown in a leather braiding book I borrowed from the library years ago.

Each side is braided, then somehow (the illustration didn't explain) the braids are joined together.

I think this style could be done, provided that:

1) Your hair is at least waist and of sufficient thickness

2) You have a Topsy Tail Tool

General thought about doing it:

Loosely braid each side all the way down and secure w/elastic

Put Topsy tool thru end of one braid (not at the very end, however).

Thread the other braid thru Topsy Tail loop and gently pull thru the braid loop.

Secure with pins..or perhaps tie with ribbons to hold in place

Repeat with the other braid

General view: one braid "holds" the other..i.e. they are linked to form what looks like a continuous braided loop.

[sweetestpoison]

This is not a realistic piece of artwork, and the hairstyles shown are not very possible. I'd just enjoy it as a fantastic piece of art, and not worry about the hair. Anything you do to get the joined effect is going to hang oddly compared to the art.

You couldn't tell me that when i saw it for the first time XD But yeah i understand how artists who don't understand styling and how it works. I saw a picture from another thread asking if these braids in an article thing were real hair, and one of the women had her hair fashioned like this but it was 2 loops instead of one. Then i learned that the way the one from the article was done was simply by making dual braids and tucking the ends of one into the base of the opposing and repeat on the remaining braid.


This style was shown in a leather braiding book I borrowed from the library years ago.

Each side is braided, then somehow (the illustration didn't explain) the braids are joined together.

I think this style could be done, provided that:

1) Your hair is at least waist and of sufficient thickness

2) You have a Topsy Tail Tool

General thought about doing it:

Loosely braid each side all the way down and secure w/elastic

Put Topsy tool thru end of one braid (not at the very end, however).

Thread the other braid thru Topsy Tail loop and gently pull thru the braid loop.

Secure with pins..or perhaps tie with ribbons to hold in place

Repeat with the other braid

General view: one braid "holds" the other..i.e. they are linked to form what looks like a continuous braided loop.


Thank you! I will have to try your suggestions (with pics to be posted of course :))

[myotislucifugus]

I've seen it in film, and tried unsuccessfully to duplicate it... I like the topsy tail idea

[Madora]

Here is the illustration I mentioned in my post. It is a copy of a xerox I took from a book on leather braiding (back in the early 70s):

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w225/07Erzbet/5511IllustrationLINKEDBRAIDS.jpg

[Fairlight63]

Oh, I like that! Very pretty hairstyle!
Thanks Madora!

[Roseate]

I saw a woman IRL with her hair braided like that once, and I followed her around trying to figure out how she did it! It was really beautiful, looked like a continuous loop of braid. The woman I saw was a short older Latina woman, possibly Guatemalan. There were no visible ties on the braid.

My hair's not quite long enough yet, but I'll definitely try Madora's method in the future!

[pepperminttea]

I saw a woman IRL with her hair braided like that once, and I followed her around trying to figure out how she did it!

Only an LHCer... :lol:

[sweetestpoison]

Here is the illustration I mentioned in my post. It is a copy of a xerox I took from a book on leather braiding (back in the early 70s):

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w225/07Erzbet/5511IllustrationLINKEDBRAIDS.jpg
YES! Oh thank you! that's exactly what i'm looking for, do you happen to remember the title of the braid??

[JuliaDancer]

Watch the movie Frida, with Salma Hayek. She has a hairstyle like this in the beginning of the movie. This movie also got me completely obsessed with wearing flowers in my hair... Went and bought a ton of hair flower pins online...

[terpentyna]

I agree with Madora, I believe one braid can be woven into the other with a topsy tail or an extreme darning needle, and it's definitely something I have been curious to try.

In the painting though, the braids have tassels, so I believe that those are just twin braids that are overlapped and tied with string on both sides to make that U shape.

[Yozhik]

Wow, Madora, thanks for the explanation!

I'm glad to hear this style can be made in real life, because it looks so beautiful!

I'd love to see anyone's attempts. I'd try to do it myself, but I don't have a topsy tail.

[Madora]

@ Sweetestpoison...

Here are the instructions..I assume they are all there. These instructions refer to working with LEATHER, not hair, but I thought you'd be interested:

How to Make a Braided Lash for the Romal

If you wish a fancy braided lash for your romal, take a strip of rawhide--or a piece of strap leather -24 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. If rawhide is used, soften it before you start braiding.

The braid to be used is known as the "Trick Braid", or "Inside Braid". It is a puzzle to many. On seeing it for the first time, it is hard to believe the braid can be made without its working ends being free. It is often used on belts and wrist loops for quirts or riding crops.

Mark the middle of the strip and measure off 1-1/2 inches each way from the center. At these points slit the strip into three 1/4-inch parts, cutting down on each side for about 6 inches.

Place the two slit parts of the strip together, the flesh sides together.

In actual braiding, you braid both sides together at the same time.

Special Note: The author illustrated the above with lovely ink drawings. I don't know if these would photograph well as they are faint on my xerox copy. If you'd like me to put a pic of the drawings in my album, let me know and I'll do so..but only for 3 days. The number of pics in my album is running out and I hope to be adding new outdoor ones soon..so need all the album space I can get. Thanks!

[gthlvrmx]

I've seen many mexican woman wear this style, especially the indigenous woman;my great grandmother was one of them, except she wore her english braids in the front. They were always tied with ribbon of some color. Weaving one long braid like that would be rather difficult.
They just make twin english braids in the back and tie them together with ribbon. We have a similar poster of this in my spanish class except the girl is sitting holding the flowers, and she has her braids tied with a ribbon.

[jasper]

I do think the tassels are just tied together in the painting. I was interested in trying something like what Madora posted, which looks like the ends are woven, not tied, though I can't make head or tail of the written directions.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5639&pictureid=102206
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5639&pictureid=102207

What I did was braid both sides and stop the braids temporarily with mini jaw clips. I took the sections from one side and wove them into the other braid, one at a time, going upwards from where I had stopped. I used a thin strip of paper folded in half as a sort of needle to help pull the sections through the braid. I made each section follow a section in the existing braid. After I did one side. I put that mini jaw clip close to where the tails ended up and worked on the other side.

I had to do this in front, then flip the whole thing to the back.

It wasn't hard, and I was liking how this style would help hide my braid taper. The style lasted almost long enough to take a photo. If I wanted it to stay, I would have to use some kind of product. Hair wax, maybe. The sections were staying put easily after they were woven about three times through the other braid, but the ends of the sections wanted to obey gravity and stick out.

[danacc]

I agree with others that in the painting, it looks like the braiding on each side stops near the top of the u-shape, then the ends are crossed and attached to the other braid with thread or ribbon on each side. The texture of the strokes changes from a braided look to a straight look for the u-shape. to do this in real life, I would need to twist the ends about each other a little because I have a lot of taper that would want to poke out all over the place.

I'm intrigued by the illustration that Medora posted. One observation: the tops of the twin braids are different. One is done English style. I think about this one as twisting the outer strand over the middle. The other is done opposite, sometimes called Dutch (but I don't mean that is continually picking up hair so that it hugs the head). I think about this one as twisting the outer strand under the middle. It makes sense that you would need to do it this way to get the continuous look.