Trend Watch: Viking Braids

I often catch myself brimming with envy as I take my seasonal hairstyle census: the oppressive NYC heat is already distributing its usual calling cards of humidity induced frizz and neck-clinging flyaways, and bold young women everywhere are lopping off their locks, side stepping the styling struggles.

I, on the other hand, due to a great many years of consecutive, ill-advised hair don'ts (mohawks, faux hawks, mullets - you name it, I'm ashamed of it) am completely unwilling at this stage in my life to part with the limp strands still recovering from so many botched color processes, which have finally made their way down to my clavicle. So what's a girl to do with her sloppy mop when summer's unforgiving conditions set up camp in the muggy Big Apple?

Ladies, I submit to you THE VIKING BRAID. This more ornate cousin of the bohemian styles that have permeated the summer festival subculture for a handful of years now is an attractive alternative to messy buns and *shudder* ponytails that scream, respectively "I don't have my shit together" and "I just came from the gym." For a small investment of time (enlist a gal pal and make an event of it) you can rock these intricate hair sculptures straight on till shampoo day, and fancy yourself an elegant warrior-goddess who is not to be crossed. 

Source: Bustle

Pinterest has oodles of inspo and -thankfully- tutorials with which to experiment. Go forth and impress with your tresses!

xoxo Effeigh

House of Holland

I've had my web-obsessed eye (that's the one that never strays too far from one screen or another) on the brilliantly blinding and always evolving plethora of patterns from emerging fashion brand House of Holland for a handful of years now. Since my discovery of brand in 2011, a mere three years after the label's official launch in 2008 by mastermind Henry Holland, the collections have broadened to include an eyewear line (made famous by a collaboration with Le Specs and a promotional campaign with Iggy Azalea), and other accessories, but as early on as 2009, the Holland was attracting attention from household names like Levi Strauss & Co., superstar supermodel Agyness Deyn, and dance floor diva MIA. House of Holland's designs appeal to the anglophile in us all, bringing an edgy London-look to the fashion scene that has been sorely missed since Jean Paul Gaultier first adapted Trafalgar Square's punk styles for the runway.

The latest collection, not to be out-shined by its predecessors, boasts prismatic plaids, illustration-inspired prints, and structured, asymmetrical silhouettes. Not only can you view the Autumn-Winter 2015 catwalk show via their website, but you can try on the collection with a virtual version of yourself, constructed from your measurements, thanks to a handy widget called "memodel." You can also shop the current ready to wear collection via their UK-based online store, or via ASOS in the US.

xoxo Effeigh