by CALIN VAN PARIS
While scrolling through our favorite Instagram accounts this season, we've come across a rich source of hair inspiration -- specifically in the category of braids, which have been artfully executed far beyond your basic single plait.
Posted by actresses, models and musicians, the new breed of braid consists of endless permutations, all of which turn would-be simple styles into cleverly zig-zagged art. Sisters Beyoncé and Solange Knowles have both been known to embrace rows of minuscule, waist-grazing braids, woven so tightly that they function as slightly thickened strands, easily personalized by a perfectly perched sunhat or a sun-kissed ombré with a deep side part.
FKA twigs expertly customized her signature coils with a tiny down-the-part braid, a unique twist recently adopted for the festival circuit by Kate Bosworth. For an instant beach waves upgrade, Joan Smalls further texturized her salt-sprayed lengths with a duo of camouflaged plaits. Even the classic milkmaid braid has undergone a reinvention -- Harley Viera-Newton took her signature style to new, sculptural heights, and just last week, Frida Gustavsson tied the knot in a loosely woven crown adorned with several well-placed stems of baby's breath. Here, ten Instagram braids primed for summertime emulation.
