Elevate That Ponytail

Yahoo Beauty

Updated June 21, 2014 at 12:07 AM

By Mackenzie Wagoner

The ponytail — in every iteration — has been swishing down runways from New York to Paris, shedding its connotation of bad hair days and uncooperative strands and becoming a chic symbol of ease at shows like Kenzo, Valentino, and Chanel.

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When it comes to owning the look, it’s all in how you tie it. Take, for example, the bouncy coif spotted on Kate Middleton during her New Zealand tour last week: The Duchess of Cambridge took a page from Bottega Veneta fall 2014, winding a swath of her own hair around the base of her ponytail and securing it with discreet bobby pins.

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If polished isn’t your vibe, there are plenty of accessories with a twist. A vintage silk Chanel bow creates the right amount of ladylike subversion for a deconstructed ponytail (the lower the better) or simply secure yours with a strip of black leather. And nothing suits sculptural severity like Sylvain Le Hen’s gold barrette — a Vogue office favorite we first spotted back at Jason Wu’s spring show. Translation: Save the elastic for the gym and elevate the everyday ponytail with spring’s best hair accessories instead.