Wire Ponytails: Where Fashion and Practicality Meet

There's nothing like some timely Fashion Week inspiration to give your mood boards the much-needed shakeups they deserve. This year's trend season gave us everything from floating eyeliner to microbangs and even patterned french manicures, but the best looks were the ones that could be easily replicated at home. "What could I possibly be able to re-create from Fashion Week?" you may be wondering. Let us introduce you to the wire ponytail.

Now, this trend is not new and admittedly sounds more complicated than it is. It involves taking your ponytail style of choice and using a wire hair accessory either over or in place of a hair elastic. Yes, it's that simple, but the small step is the quickest way to transform what would otherwise be a boring everyday hairstyle into a piece of art that could hold space in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Hair accessories are fun ways to update your traditional ponytail and also make your hairstyle a focal point of a head-to-toe look," celebrity hairstylist Lacy Redway tells POPSUGAR. "It's similar to jewelry — having the touch of metal in your hair can only take your look to the next level."

While the way they are typically worn today tends to be for aesthetic and ornamentation purposes, wire accessories hold deep significance in other parts of the world. "The women of the Ndebele tribe and Kayan people wear rings around their necks and place rings along their hair," Redway says. "This practice is seen as a sign of beauty in the community."

Plus, the style adds an edge to your look with just one step, and it's easy to re-create the trend at home. If you're wondering how, Redway has some tips on getting that sleek, editorial version — right from the comfort of your home. First, the ponytail: take a gel or shaping butter (Redway recommends the Dove Crown Collection Defining Shaping Butter Cream ($7)) and apply it around the crown of your head before brushing it upward to get that smooth look, then secure with a hair tie. If you really want your hair to hold, tie it down with a headscarf and let it set for a few minutes.

Then, you can finish the look by adding the wire material, which you can get at a crafts store like Michaels, around the base of the ponytail. You can also buy a premade elastic or wrap like this ($35). Pro tip from Redway: add dry shampoo at the base of your pony to keep the wire in place and add volume while simultaneously keeping your hair free from oil.

If you're feeling inspired, take a look at some of the different ways that you can wear wire ponytails ahead.