Star Wars - Ep. 1 Padmé Tatooine

Frankly, this is hands-down my favorite hairstyle ever. (I even wore my hair like this for Easter in 2009.) Maybe I like it so much because it was the first Star Wars hairstyle (apart from Leia's 'cinnamon bun' look) that actually stuck with me. Or perhaps because I first saw it as a Lego piece. (Heheh. . . .)

(Note: The movie used two different versions of the hairstyle for this movie. I'm gonna be sticking to the more-widely-used one, and not touching the other version at all. For more info on the other version, check out Imaginary Styles' page on it. [Link at the bottom of this page.])

Also, this style turned out a world better the second time I tried it. (The pictures further below of me are of that second try - I am not letting pics of that first time see daylight.)

Although I still had to scale the style down a bit in order to do it with my own hair (that also meant leaving out the two 'hanging loops',) I think it still turned out great. (In my opinion, at least.)

Analysis:

This hairstyle is a four-part style. There is:
- The 'tiara' that consists of two braids folded at the sides and crossed over the top of the head,
- The bun at the back of the head (which is quite large [obviously made of false hair,])
- 1-2 braided 'loops' that go from under the bun, down, and loop back up to the other side,
- The two (or three) sets of 'loops' (the only rope braids in this style) that are knotted against each other and hang down with the rest of the hair in the back.

The hairstyle itself is actually one of the easiest to do, once you figure out how to do it. The core of the style is a simple half-ponytail, separated and braided and pinned. (Since I've only seen the movie once, and I can't find any good pictures of the back of her head, I may or may not have it perfect. But I try. :) )


Instructions:

I started this style by taking roughly half my hair up into a half-ponytail starting at right above my ears. I then divided the ponytail into four parts, and braided each. (If you want the looping loops [warning, the braids will be skinnier if you go this route,] divide it into six parts instead.) Take the two braids on the bottom of the bunch and loop each one to either side of your head (an inch or two above your ears,) and pin in place. This part gives the braid its 'angular' look from the front (see pic at the top.) To finish the 'tiara', fold the braids up and over the top of your head and pin in place.

For the bun, take the other two braids and wrap them against your head, and pin in place. (If you want a thicker bun, you could add false hair here.)
If you want the looping loops as well, take the two remaining braids (it would help if these were below the bun) and loop them up and over the top of the bun from either side. Adjust as needed, and pin in place.
Trés simple!

Padme has some loopy rope braids hanging down the back of her head too. I found it easiest to take small pieces of hair (from the part that was still hanging down in the back) and braid it, then tie each set of two against each other at the bottom, leaving a long tassel at the end. These are actually rope braids [look them up at dreamweaver braiding, via the sidebar], The fourth picture from the top explains this best. Although I wasn't able to do this in the pictures here, (actually, I hadn't learned to do rope braids at that time,) that part in my style is unfinished. But it still turned out. :D









More info, pictures, original instructions: Imaginary Styles
(More reference pics at Padawan's Guide)