Byrdie Editors’ Hair How-To: A Texture Takeover

At Byrdie, we’re obsessed with all things beauty, inside and out. We’re self-described product junkies, and we’re always testing out the latest stuff to see what actually works. Take note: We have a nose for gimmicks. Keep an eye out for our guest posts, where our editors will share everything from what’s worth buying to celeb looks, step-by-step tutorials, and more.

While sleek hairstyles are super-chic and have their moments, we can’t get enough of textured hair these days. Maybe it has something to do with not wanting to fully let go of summer, but in general, textured styles are more laid-back and look best when every strand isn’t perfectly in place. Striving for imperfection? Now that’s a strategy we can get on board with. Also, these gorgeously—and thoughtfully, we should add—messy styles often embrace our natural texture, which is always a good thing.

We’ve chosen three texture styles and mapped out exactly how to achieve them. We like to call them style all-stars because they’re worthy of adding to your arsenal of signature looks. Plus, they’re easy and fun, and only require three products to nail. From the perfect pony to beachy waves, you’ll have these textured styles mastered in no time. ’Do you.

Loose, beachy waves aren’t just for summer. Keep that effortless vibe going straight through fall and winter with this textured and tousled style.

1. To get this look, you’ll want to boost texture right from the start. Aveda’s Texture Tonic, formulated with magnesium sulfate and cane sugar to give hair a piecey, fresh-off-the-beach texture, kicks things off. Apply to damp hair.
2. If you have straight or slightly wavy hair, you can air-dry or blow-dry while scrunching your hair with your fingers to add definition. If you have curly hair, you’ll want to blow-dry it straight.
3. Once hair is dry, use a tapered styling wand like Drybar’s The Wrap Party Curling & Styling Wand to give hair a loose, haphazard texture. To do this, take random sections of hair and wrap around the wand. Start at the ends, but don’t wrap the very tips. Keep them straight for a more modern look. Switch up the direction of the curls and the thickness of the sections for a more laid-back, natural feel.
4. To make the look last, flip hair over and lightly spray hair with a flexible-hold spray. Living Proof’s Flex Hairspray will give you a soft, touchable hold. Keep the bottle at least 10 inches away from your hair, and scrunch as you go for a little extra volume boost.

SHOP: Hair Care

Have natural curls? It’s time to celebrate them! Especially now that humidity levels are dropping along with the temps, it’s the perfect time to let your curls shine.

1. Mix Aveda’s Be Curly Curl Enhancer with Ouai’s Curl Jelly in the palm of your hand to create the ultimate curl-enhancing cocktail. Apply to damp hair and, working in sections, distribute the products all the way through from roots to ends. Use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb.
2. Next, you can let your hair air dry, but if you’re impatient or in a hurry (and when are we not in a rush these days?), the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer will be your new best friend. This splurge-worthy tool is arguably one of the most advanced on the market, and it’s especially great for curls because it minimizes heat damage and dries hair crazy fast. Grab the diffuser—designed to evenly disperse heat around each curl—and work in small sections. Pro tip: Avoid frizzy flyaways by setting your dryer to the lowest speed you can get away with.

You’re finished, but if you need a bit more definition, use a curling wand. You don’t have to do your entire head; doing just a few pieces around your face can make a big difference.

SHOP: Hair Care

The perfect pony is an easy, breezy style that keeps hair back and in place all day. No touch-ups required.

1. Apply a small amount of Moroccanoil Treatment to damp hair. Distribute from roots to tips, but remember: a little goes a long way. You want the Moroccanoil to work its magic and make hair shiny, not greasy.
2. Blow-dry using a paddle brush (we love Aveda’s lightweight wooden one) to smooth strands.
3. Working in small sections, use a flat iron to add some texture to the hair and give it a loose, modern bend. Just keep the ends straight. The plates on GHD’s Platinum Styler maintain the perfect temperature—365 degrees Fahrenheit—to minimize breakage and maximize shine.

Backcomb hair at the crown for some height, then gather hair into a low pony. Lastly, wrap a section of hair around the base (secure with a bobby pin) so that the look is a little more polished and intentional—it’s a detail that contrasts with the style’s messy texture.

SHOP: Hair Care

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Scene Snaps: Paris Fashion Week, Part Deux

Photos by Crystal Nicodemus

All though les rues of Paris, we’re tracking the street-style stars that show us how to translate the runway into real life. These fashion editors, bloggers and Insta-stars brought their A-game to PFW–and probably some pretty hefty suitcases, too. Here are some candid shots of their enviable style in action. Take notes.

Just try to keep up with all of our Fashion Week coverage.

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Everlane’s Top 10 Bestsellers (a.k.a. What Everyone Else Is Buying)

Like clockwork, every fall, the same sartorial fire drill repeats over and over in our minds: Do we have enough sweaters? What about jackets? Is it time to invest in some new jeans? Maybe a pair of jeans without the holes, so our legs don’t freeze into blocks of ice when subzero gales hit?

Fortunately for everyone here, Pop-In@Nordstrom partnered with Everlane—the cult-status retail company that specializes in timeless, high-quality basics—to quell our collective cold-weather wardrobe quandary. In fact, there are more than 200 women’s and men’s pieces to mix and match to your liking, including cashmere sweaters, sustainable Japanese-denim jeans, Italian leather loafers, water-resistant trenches, silk dress shirts, leather totes, knit scarves and so much more.

While we encourage you to browse the entire curated collection (it’s pretty impressive), we’ve compiled a list of tried-and-true, can’t-go-wrong pieces that Everlane customers buy on repeat—just in case you want to cut straight to the chase.

1. The Day Heel, $145

No more wincing. Cleverly designed with a rounded toe, walkable 2-inch block heel and flexible, elasticized back, it’s the sporty, modern heel you can walk in. All. Day. Long.

2. The High-Rise Skinny Jeans, $68

If you have to limit yourself to just one pair, this is it. Everlane’s number one denim style promises a hold-you-in high-rise cut from premium Japanese denim that won’t bag out.

3. The Wide-Leg Cropped Pants, $68

What to say about this clean, of-the-moment fit? We’ll let customer feedback speak for itself: “Holds you in, lifts you up and makes your waist look super small.”

4. The Modern Babo Flat, $145

Taking its cue from Morocco’s babouche slipper, the ultra-comfy Babo is sculpted from supple Italian leather with a collapsible heel you can wear up or down. Options!

5. The Silk Short-Sleeve Square Shirt, $88

Everlane’s most popular top boasts an oversized, geometric silhouette with zero bad angles. The gorgeous silk fabric only adds to the flattering drape.

6. The Cashmere Crew, $100

Lucky you—cashmere yarn prices dropped last year and Everlane passed the savings down with zero impact to quality. Ultra-touchable, warm and beautifully weighted for years of pleasure.

7. The Cashmere Crop Mock-Neck, $100

Something so luxe as grade-A Mongolian cashmere deserves to be flirted with. So Everlane’s designers cropped the torso for a playful cut you can wear with high-waisted pants.

8. The Japanese GoWeave High-Neck Tank Dress, $78

Italian-spun GoWeave fabric in a nutshell: cool to the touch, astonishingly smooth, opaque and wrinkle resistant—a bonus for traveling. Slip it on and go anywhere.

9. The Draped Trench Coat, $138

A relaxed cotton trench luxed-up with weather-ready details like a storm flap and water-resistant finish. Wear this cloudy-day classic all fall long.

10. The Day Market Tote, $165

Grab this roomy carryall and call it a day. Crafted out of premium Italian leather, it’s polished enough to go everywhere you go—from morning commute to evening nightcap.

Shop: All Everlane

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Inside Balenciaga FW17 with Nordstrom Men’s Designer Buyer Dan Drewes

Legendary Spanish luxury house Balenciaga is experiencing new life under the creative direction of Demna Gvasalia, who took the reins in 2015. He brought his singular aesthetic, a kind of warped normcore luxury, and it’s a hit. Our current offering is already a favorite of celebrities like A$AP Rocky.

Previously known for his controversial, logo-riffing brand Vetements, Gvasalia operates in the designer world but seems skeptical of it, even opposed to it. He’s interesting to watch as a consumer and a cultural spectator.

For more insight, we turn to our men’s designer buyer Dan Drewes to explain what Gvasalia is up to in fashion, and take us through our current Balenciaga selection.

Please note: we sell men’s Balenciaga shoes online, but men’s Balenciaga clothing is sold in-store only. Shop Balenciaga in person in our Seattle, Vancouver and Aventura locations, and in Toronto at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. You’ll also be able to find Balenciaga at Nordstrom in Manhattan once our first men’s-only store opens there in spring 2018.

SHOP: Balenciaga online

What has Balenciaga been about for men’s historically, and what changed in the transition of creative directors from Alexander Wang to Demna Gvasalia?

Before Wang, Balenciaga wasn’t on most men’s radars. They’ve had more presence in women’s. Wang is a streetwear favorite, and to see an elevated version of his style was exciting. He designed the Arena, still one of Balenciaga’s most-loved sneakers. Eventually Wang went back to his own line and Balenciaga brought in Demna. It could be argued that there’s almost no continuation now from the original Balenciaga as it was under the founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Demna brought his own ideas and now has this massive fashion house behind him.

His style is anti-luxury in a way, very normcore, driving the counterculture. He does stuff nobody else does: he brought the ’90s power suit back and other designers copied him. His crazy fits and hoodies are normcore style, but he takes them to extremes. With Balenciaga he’s doing what he does with Vetements, too, which is take everyday items and give them an edge.

Talk to me about the white hoodie. What is Kering? 

The parent company for Balenciaga. They never do merch. They’re the ultimate luxury company that owns several of these designer brands. So for them to do merch is almost too low-class, and that’s what Demna loves about it. It’s like something you’d get at a conference.

And this raincoat?

We did this for a couple stores in a camel color. Demna will take an odd fabric like this shiny rubber and make a pedestrian piece, but with strange details and amazing finishing touches. It ends up like a super-luxury take on a rain slicker.

And this vest?

If there is any nod back to Cristóbal Balenciaga as a designer, it’s this. The back of the bottom of the vest has a downward arc, and the front goes up, and that’s a reference to the famous C shape of early Balenciaga dress designs. When you see it from the side, it’s really apparent.

And then this Bernie Sanders campaign-referencing merch … what’s the deal with it?

The trend of clothes that look like merch is a real thing. It got more popular with Kanye West, who took concert merch and made it into a well-designed product. And then the Bieber merch designed by Jerry Lorenzo blew up. Helmut Lang is doing it now too, with Shayne Oliver–designed tees that look like concert tees. The styling here is really cool, with the tees and hoodies over the flannels. The flannels have pockets inside the shirt. The model doesn’t have his hands in his pants here. It’s unusual.

And, finally, what’s happening with this sweatshirt? Is it gold?

That is a bleach dye. A very ’90s logo, a very normcore fit, doesn’t feel super “fashion.” We loved the vintage look and the throwback nod. Customers are already feeling this one a lot. A lot of celebrities have been wearing it, including A$AP Rocky.

Photos by Indigital Images

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Scene Snaps: Paris Fashion Week, Part One

Photos by Crystal Nicodemus

The fashion pack has arrived in Paris wearing Dior berets and tailored trench coats, proving the best is always saved for last. Ahead, street styles from Fashion Week’s final destination.

Just try to keep up with all of our Fashion Week coverage.

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Get the Look: Paris Fashion Week Street Style

Photos by Crystal Nicodemus

Saint Laurent’s sparkly and leggy presentation at the Eiffel Tower promised a spectacular beginning to Paris Fashion Week–and the runway shows have not disappointed. Neither have our favorite bloggers and Insta-stars, who continue to give us their most dazzling street styles in the City of Light. With a steady stream of power-suiting on our social feeds, a sharply tailored woman is clearly fall 2017’s fashion muse. Below, a collection of our favorite looks (plus links to shop similar styles) during this final stretch in France.

Fashion blogger Sylvia Haghjoo gives the traditional trench a rocker-chic update with a leather-clad look in Paris. Her edgy, belted trousers are balanced by her more feminine accessories, namely her Chloé bracelet bag and slingback flats.

Shop similar styles:
trench coats | leather pants | Chloé bags

Shop our picks to re-create this look:

A.W.A.K.E. trench coat | Monse leather pants | Chloé bag

Another day, another take on the year’s knockout power suit trend. This particular paring is especially noteworthy for its loose fit and double-breasted blazer, which we’d happily wear to the office or to cocktail hour. Finished off with the perfect daytime handbag, this structured look feels easy-going and accessible.

Shop similar styles:
blazers | wide-leg pants

Shop our picks to re-create this look:

Victoria Beckham blazer | Victoria Beckham pants | Simon Miller mini tote

Evangelie Smymiotaki looks sporty and polished in her head-to-toe Balenciaga ensemble, proving that casual combos can look sharp. The blogger’s refined styling makes even a slouchy tee look elegant when tucked into cranberry trousers. Her darling polka-dot pumps add a final playful punctuation to the borrowed-from-the-boys getup.

Shop similar styles:
designer tees | designer pumps

Shop our picks to re-create this look:

Marc Jacobs track pants | The Great tee | Balenciaga Knife pumps

This season, we’re seeing a hoodie redux of glamorous proportions. Tay Borges proves that the loungewear favorite is for more than lazy Sunday mornings as she contrasts her informal blush top with a graphic, floor-length skirt and black clutch. For added finesse, the personal stylist completes the look with a pair retro-looking sunnies.

Shop similar styles:
hoodies | long skirts | cat-eye sunglasses

Shop our picks to re-create this look:

Zella hoodie| Roksanda skirt | Tom Ford sunglasses

Just try to keep up with all of our Fashion Week coverage.

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