ith an appointment at a professional hairdressers now a distant memory, stylish women have taken to creative ways to tame their lockdown locks. The latest solution is a hairstyle more commonly associated with schooldays: pigtails. Grown-up, glamorous women have taken to wearing plaits. Kim Kardashian West, famous for her long mane and penchant for hair extensions, posted an image of herself with son Saint on Instagram last week with her hair in pigtails. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who owns the haircare brand Pattern, regularly wears pigtails, and posted on YouTube last week a how-to video of “four braided styles to rock right before wash day”, including pigtails. Mary-Kate Olsen, Taylor Swift and Lily-Rose Depp have also been seen wearing the style, and the trend goes beyond those with verified Instagram accounts. Chloé Zhao, the director of Nomadland, collected her best director and best film awards at this month’s Golden Globes via Zoom, wearing a simple green top and pigtails. Some Vogue staffers have revealed that they have reverted to the hairstyle as a working-from-home solution. “I’ve been struggling with my hair lately – despite my varied efforts, it lies limp and flat, and I’m reminded of the issue every time I see myself on Zoom,” US Vogue’s senior living and beauty editor, Ella Riley-Adams, said in an article in the magazine. “While I continue searching for solutions, pigtails have offered a sweet alternative to a severe ponytail.” The beauty editor for the website Refinery29, Jacqueline Kilikita, says the trend has partly arisen as a kind of “making-do” creativity due to current restrictions: “With salons closed until 12 April, it makes sense that we’re favouring quick, fuss-free styles that we can do ourselves. When braided, like Mary-Kate, [pigtails] also hide hair damage such as DIY box dye mishaps or dry lengths in need of salon treatments.” Pigtails work across diverse hair types, as seen on TikTok, where videos with the hashtag “pigtails” have been viewed 64 million times. “[The] tutorials prove that pigtails can look good on anyone, take minutes to achieve and work for all hair types,” says Kilikita. “Black beauty content creators on the app are reworking pigtails for afro hair.” As well as celebrity endorsements, pigtails come with a priceless cool factor – they were popular in the 90s, when worn by stars such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. “Beauty and fashion lovers are obsessed with 90s hair trends, and while tendrils and the blunt-cut bob are still so popular, pigtails are overtaking them,” says Kilikita. Certainly until those salons open, anyway.