Plaits and pigtails

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“I never wear pigtails, I wear plaits.” ~ Emma Watson

I am pretty sure I have used this quote before but Emma Watson is cool and also it always makes me smile when I see it. Plaits are a very British word/term, in ‘Murrica they would be braids and and pigtails feels like something little girls wear. Somehow plaits sound more grown-up, more sophisticated. However the truth is I love them both. I love wearing plaits and I love wearing pigtails.

Back in the not to distance past I had short hair. I had cut when I had my first child and I kept it that for a very long time until I got to my mid to late 40’s and then I suddenly realised if I didn’t grow now then I would probably never have long hair again and so I stopped going to the hair dresser and let nature takes it course.

That was about 5 years ago and now my hair sits mid way down my back and I am so happy that I decided to grow it long. I absolutely love it. Even if it does shed everywhere and clog up our Robot hoover. I love that I can do so much with it. I can straighten it and leaves it loose or a can bundle it up and let it dry and then it is falls in kinky waves. I can tie it up in pony tails or bundle it all up on top of my head. Some of my favourite things to do with it though are the space buns and bunches and of course pigtails.

They are playful, fun and quirky and I feel like that is so very me. Sometimes my daughter rolls her eyes when I do the space-buns and I say what and she mutters something about, you are funny, or whilst smiling she will say, nothing. I know she is not being meaning she is just acknowledging that mum is, well, being Mum. As I said, quirky, maybe a bit usual, different. I know it, she knows it. We both end up smiling.

I will confess that I have absolutely worn pigtails for partners in order to be provocative. As someone once said to me about them, and he had a particular love for them, they are dirty hot. That whilst they seem to suggest an innocence that worn on the right person with the right look in their eye they suggest that underneath that initial impression there lingers a ‘bad girl’. I totally know what he is talking about and with that in mind I have definitely worn pigtails for that exact purpose.

But mostly when I tie my hair up in plaits or bunches and like in the picture add a ribbon, I do it for me. It speaks to my queerness, they make me smile and I like how they look. I think they suit me. Also I like that they are maybe a bit subversive, older women are not supposed to go around with pigtails and ribbons in their hair. My response to that, is to do exactly that. Like I said, they are fun and playful and they make me feel that way.

No matter my mood plaiting my hair into pigtails will always make me smile, it is happy hair. They make me feel cute and yes, sexy too. I think, more than any other hair style, they capture something about my personality and my sexuality and I feel really comfortable with them. I love my long hair for many reasons but pigtails (and bunches to be fair) are definitely my favourite things about having long hair. I can’t ever imagine going back to short hair again but I once said that about long hair so who knows. For now though, I have absolutely no plans to ditch the long hair. The hair dye? Well that is a post for another time but I all I will say for now, is it’s days are numbered!