I Wore My Hair Just Like Beyoncé at the Met Gala

Beyoncé’s high ponytail at the Met Gala. Photo: Getty Images

Beyoncé is a queen, that much is undeniable, but just because she’s royalty doesn’t mean she holds enough influence to bring back a trend. On Monday at the Met Gala, while her custom Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy sheer and strategically bead-embellished gown made a statement, all eyes were on her high ponytail. Placed at the very top of her head, her long blonde hair fell in large curls down the left side of her face. Bey seemed to love the look so much, she kept the black tie style in even when she switched into casual clothes.

Like Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie, Madonna, and every cheerleader and ‘80s teenager before Beyoncé, I decided to hop on the high pony bandwagon. If this is a style that all the cool girls will soon be sporting, I decided to give it a test run before its rise in popularity. On Wednesday, I tied my hair up in a scrunchie, unnaturally high on my head, and kept it like that the entire day.

Me rocking the high pony just like Beyoncé. 

Within my fashion-centric circle, co-workers immediately recognized who my hairspiration was. I got lots of laughs, and plenty of compliments for what they considered very high fashion. But their opinions don’t really count. They think culottes are cute and exaggerated sleeves are the next big thing. They’re sartorially obsessed and standing out is, rather than fitting in, the name of their game.

So I walked out in public with my hair did á la Sasha Fierce (though significantly less fierce considering my mane was air dried and the curls I conjured came from obsessive twisting as opposed to an iron). My commute home started in Times Square and caught the eyes of suits who gave me some curious stares. Then, the reactions shifted when I got off downtown, and glares became “hey girl heys.” At dinner with a friend, who also works in fashion, she knew I was doing the Beyoncé, but the rest of the diners in the restaurant definitely didn’t get my reference. I got a sarcastic “love your hair!” from my waiter, and side eyes from the precocious teenagers at the table across the room.

Beyoncé in her casual clothes and black tie hair. Photo: beyonce.com 

The reaction was certainly mixed, and based on that alone I’d definitely try the style out again, but the fact that it was so uncomfortable means that I’ll be sticking to a regular height ‘tale from now until forever. The pony in its resting position was up against my eye and impaired my vision. Not only that, my light and fluffy hair certainly didn’t feel that way on my skin. It was scratchy and irritating. Shockingly enough, when I pushed the hair behind my ear for a close look at myself in the mirror, I actually had a red mark on my face. And even though the style was held in place by a forgiving scrunchie, the weight still hurt my head and not only did my hair hurt — one of the oddest sensations — it ached for hours and I had to take Ibuprofen.

Sure, as the saying goes, beauty is pain, but to inflict it upon myself just for the sake of bringing back a retro trend that died for good reason was just not worth it. There are so many more things I can do to copy Queen Bey without suffering and humiliation.

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