On Tuesday I filled you little lovelies in on the wonders of the long and elegant side plait, which I have been dying to see out in the world since they were seen on Alexander Wang a few years ago. Celebrity bores Fern Cotton, the Olsen Twins and Sienna Miller probably held the trend back until Rhianna popped up on the red carpet showing them how to really wear the look earlier this week.

The long side plait, whether you wear it messy or elegant, really is the perfect look for summer. If you don’t believe me just look at the gorgeous Rachel McAdams above, see how effortlessly stylish it looks. Don’t you want to look that effortlessly stylish? Well I’m here to help you with these simple steps of achieving a pretty side plait of your own.

First things first, if you have fairly short hair like me, you might want to invest in some clip in hair extensions.

1) On freshly washed and towel-dried hair, spray a sea salt spray throughout and distribute with fingers from root to tip. This will give the hair a ‘straight from the beach’ texture.

2) Part the hair low on one side and roughly blow dry in sections using a large round brush concentrating on root lift sweeping the hair over to one side.

3) Begin plaiting the traditional three strand plait low on the side, keeping it loose and casual for that effortless feel and secure with a snag-free hair band when there is an inch or two of hair left.

4) Let a few tendrils hang loose and spray the hair liberally with a shine spray and voila you’re a hot-ass hippy chick.

This is your friendly neighbourhood hair guru signing off...until next time citizens

- Gems