13 Best Ponytail Hairstyles Set to Define 2026
When done right, a ponytail works just as well at a wedding as it does at the beach.
Reported by Vogue.
Summer hair should not be a project. And yet, somehow, we overcomplicate it every single year — reaching for the same flat elastic, the same rushed bun, wondering why we don't look like we just stepped off a yacht. The answer, according to Vogue, is simpler than you think: it's all about the ponytail, and how wildly you're underutilizing it.
The tousled pony is having a serious moment — think Nicole Kidman, textured and effortless, achieved with a comb, some well-placed face-framing pieces, and zero perfectionism. On the other end of the spectrum, the power pony — smoothed, elongated with extensions, swept high — is the one pulling double duty from boardroom to bar. For textured hair, the boho knotless braid ponytail is the low-manipulation, high-impact move: gather your braids back, secure with a satin-wrapped scrunchie, wrap a few braids over the elastic to hide it, and let a couple of curls escape at the front. Done.
The Details Are Everything
Celebrity sightings have turned the 2025 Met Gala into an unofficial ponytail lookbook. Charli xcx made the case for the half ponytail — length intact, face clear, works on every face shape. Ayo Edebiri went wispy and low, hair tie at the nape, just enough curl cream to keep things soft. Daisy Edgar-Jones served the polished low pony: combed smooth, secured twice for a slight bump, a few strands loose near the ears. Meanwhile, Elle Fanning doubled down — literally — with twin ponies placed low on the scalp, jeweled hair ties, and retro bangs that made the whole look feel considered instead of casual. Dakota Johnson braided hers off to the side with no structured part for an undone effect that still reads intentional.
For those who want to experiment with form, the bubble ponytail delivers — three to five elastics spaced down the length of your hair, each section gently pulled outward into that rounded, graphic silhouette. The barrette pony adds architecture: high placement, maximum volume, a single barrette centered for punctuation. And if your hair is short? Natalie Portman wore a bouncy mini pony with a backcombed center part at Cannes and made it look like a choice, not a compromise.
The through line across all of it: a little product, the right placement, and the understanding that a ponytail is only boring if you let it be.
Read the original at Vogue.
