Had a bridesmaid tell me her updo had to be 'messy but also perfect'

I was in Dallas last month and this girl showed me a photo from Pinterest that was basically a tangled bun with flyaways everywhere. How can someone want something that looks like you put zero effort in but also took three hours to do?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.taylor18d ago

I read somewhere that the whole "messy but perfect" thing actually started with fashion runways in the early 2000s where they wanted models to look like they just had really good hair that didn't try too hard. But honestly, I think it just became an excuse for people to charge $200 for a bun with a few pieces pulled out. My cousin is a hair stylist and she told me that 90% of her clients ask for this look and then get upset when the straps on their dress still show up in photos. It feels like a trap where you're paying for the illusion of low effort, not the actual low effort. Maybe it's just me but the whole thing seems like a way to stress out over something that's supposed to look unstressed.

the_dylan18d ago

Didn't you hear, messy but perfect is the standard for everything now, like my kitchen counter after I tidy it but leave exactly one coffee mug with a ring in it? I had a friend who spent two hours curling her hair into a "beach wave" look and it just looked like she ran through a wind tunnel with a can of hairspray. At this point, I think what people really want is a hairstyle that screams "I woke up like this" while secretly whispering "I woke up three hours earlier to look like this.