What,in your opinion,makes for a sophistocated style?

[CurlyNinja]

My one teacher always does the most professional yet still pretty updos I've ever seen, buns, french twists, french braids, and gibson tucks. The rare day her hair is down, it's wild and curly. Still pretty, she just tends to look more like a student that way since she is so young. The updo's add a good 10 years to her, but not in an old way, just in a put together professional way. It's definitely about attitude, but appearance can help carry it in your favor when done correctly.

This is exactly what I try to get out of doing updos. I definitely look better with my hair down, but I don't like to straighten and an updo is a good compromise when I need a more classically-regarded "polished" look.

If it were entirely up to me I'd wear my hair wild and crazy all the time and tell everyone who thought it was unprofessional to [insert rude expression here I'm not sure I'm allowed to use]. But...as that sort of thing doesn't usually get one very far, I settle for a more "restrained" style.

[MotherConfessor]

Depends on what version of elegant you are going for. As with just about anything it is not what you do but how you do it. Having your hair down can be perfectly elegant, but not if you have been head banging and your hair is a tangled mess. Just about any updo will work beautifully, as long as the updo is done well. My old dance teacher told us once that a simple dance that was done perfectly was vastly better than a complex and difficult one done poorly. A simple nape bun done perfectly can be all you need. So if you want to look elegant and put together just make sure the style is smooth and in place in a way that will hold all night.

That said, I have found that if I want that put together down to the last stitch look to put my hair up wet.

[rubyredslippers]

In my mind, the most sophisticated style is the French Twist. Not sure why...maybe because when I grew up that was THE "classy" hairstyle for ladies to wear on a night out.

That said, I can wear a FT and no way on earth can I ever be accused of being elegant, sophisticated, or pulled together!!

In my case I HAVE just rolled with the dogs...or the cats...or the rats!


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The same goes off for me. For some reason, classy = French Twist for me. Not sure why that association is there.

[Hypnotica]

When I do a FT with a little bun poof on the top, I instantly feel more classy.

[hazelfaern]

The same goes off for me. For some reason, classy = French Twist for me. Not sure why that association is there.

Oh, me too! Perhaps because it's French?

But really, there are few hairstyles that look so steamlined, feminine, un-fussy, not-dated, classic, classy, easy and no-nonsense, all at once! (Oh, and when Grace Kelly's immortalized in it, you know it's timeless!)

If I were looking for a really classic look, though, I'd probably pick a couple of famous people who were known for their polished appearances and then use the google image-search till I found what I wanted (Eva Peron, for instance, had an amazing French-braid chignon combo that looked simple yet polished with anything).

Which is how I found this: I'm not so very convinced about the soundness of the styling advice and it does seem to focus a lot on having a certain "cut" to go with each style, but it's fun to poke around in what someone else considers a basic guide to celebrity fashion, classic and modern.

Anyhoo...

[Periwinkle]

Definitely updos. I wouldn't say any fringe, and probably no part either. Think the kind of things you see in period movies. Alternatively, French twists: they've always seemed very professional to me.

[goodenough]

I can't imagine working with my hair down. I wear mine in a bun, because it stays best that way. But I do a side part, because pulled straight back I look ten years younger

[Boudicca]

For me, sophisticated styles would be: a chignon, a bun at the nape of the neck, or a low, sleek ponytail. I would probably leave out the hairtoys, too, unless they were very simply and discreet. For the low pony, what can look nice is a wide band of black ribbon wound around the top of the pony and taken down the ponytail a bit, which gives even more control.

Keeping everything sleek and controlled is important too. No escapee bits of hair or flyaways.

I think any parting is fine. A side parting can look quite chic, especially with a low bun.

I agree with Motherconfessor, too. I think putting up hair when wet results in a very smooth, finished look.

[tiny_teesha]

French twists, low buns (chignon) and twirly updos seem to give me that impression... It's worth a try right?

[Zindell]

Bree Van de Kamp (now Hodge) in Desperate Housewives seem to pull it of. But I guess she has a stall of stylists following her around during the shoots fixing her hair all the time.

I think a french twist will do it for me ...
Once I've learned how to do a proper one!