PONY EXPRESS
Just because it's a summer standby doesn't mean a ponytail can't also be gorgeous. For the most flattering—and grown-up—silhouette, tilt your chin up (to get a hair-smoothing assist from gravity) and rake your hair back with your fingers, fixing the pony with an elastic midway between the crown and the nape of your neck. Then pull a piece of hair from the underside of the tail and wrap it around the elastic as many times as you can, securing it with a bobby pin beneath the base. (This is ridiculously easy, yet everyone will reverently ask, "How did you do that?") For a polished finish: Run a large-barreled curling iron along the length of the ponytail to smooth it and create a slight bend at the ends. "A ponytail never looks like an afterthought when you give it a little flip," says Melville. "It becomes instantly chic." Easy and elegant—isn't that refreshing? Dress, Catherine Malandrino.

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