If celebrities are to be believed, artfully dishevelled, undone hair is the hairstyle we all want this season.
Picture Love Story’s Sarah Pidgeon (in real life, and as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy), and her trademark side-swept, unstyled hair will spring to mind. Kim Kardashian embraced the laidback, ruffled look at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, with her dark hair looking less ‘done’ than ever before, while Marty Supreme star Odessa A’Zion attended the same party with her gorgeous curls untamed and flowing freely.
However, while we’re led to believe that low-effort, undone hair is what we all want in 2026, it seems that secretly we might be craving something a little more coiffured.
Royal ‘dos
A new survey showed that unlikely style icon Princess Anne’s signature bouffant ‘do is the fourth most popular royal hair look, beating Princess Beatrice with her tumbling auburn curls, Zara Tindall and her sleek blonde bob and Princess Eugenie’s thick, glossy hair too. Who would have thought it?
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesThough in her younger years, Princess Anne was occasionally seen with her hair long and loose, you’d be hard pushed to recall a time in the last four decades where the Princess Royal has been seen without her statement coiffured up-do, and the survey shows that while we’re lead to believe undone hair is more modern, the King’s sister’s power coiff is secretly what we all crave…
The power of a signature ‘do
Given that I can’t picture many people who could rock the royal’s signature updo with the prowess of the princess, I wonder if her high-ranking hair look is down to the fact that there is power in having a trademark style.
Consider her mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and even the late Princess Diana. Both women were loved deeply by the public – and both always wore their hair in the same style. You knew what to expect from them, creating a sense of reliability in our sometimes-tumultuous world.
© Getty ImagesPrincess Kate treads the trademark look line lightly. She is best known for her long, dark hair, but she has been known to chop it shorter, wear it lighter and even cut in bangs or a side fringe. You never see Princess Anne so much as dabble with a different ‘do.
The power of Princess Anne’s trademark look lies with a feeling of safety for royal watchers. She’s known for her work ethic and stoic nature, working hard for her family, and her never-changing hair reflects that. It reinforces her reliability, which is what we need from the royals, when other members are less than trustworthy.
Celebrity statement looks
Princess Anne is in good celebrity company with her never-changing look. While many stars change up their hair for every album cycle or film release, there are certain pop stars in particular who have power in a trademark look that is iconically them.
Take Sabrina Carpenter. Just like Princess Anne, the princess of pop favours a strongly styled look – and it’s one she hasn’t deviated from since she hit the big time with Espresso in 2024. It’s almost as if her whole identity is tied up with her heavy bangs and Dolly Parton-inspired curls, and if she changes her hair, her success could dwindle.
© Getty ImagesKaty Perry has spoken openly about the phenomenon of losing popularity when you ditch your signature style. The singer was known for her long dark hair and heavy full fringe. When she cut her hair into a peroxide pixie crop, she saw remarkably less success – people no longer related to her without her trademark hair, and the internet rejoiced when she dyed it back to black and started wearing it long once more, declaring that “the world is healing.”
© Daniele VenturelliWhile we doubt Princess Anne will change her signature style anytime soon, if she did, we suspect her popularity might remain as high as the number of engagements she partakes in…
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