showing her buns
Princess Leia’s doughnut ’do makes a chic comeback
W ALKING down Prince Street, I’ve never felt so chic.
Soho fashionistas swivel their heads as I stroll by crowded storefronts, and I catch whispers of praise for my edgy look.
I say “whispers” because I can’t hear that well — my ears are warmly covered by Princess Leia buns.
The world first set eyes on the now-iconic ’do in 1977, when Carrie Fisher debuted as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” wearing two doughnuts of hair covering her ears.
And now, with the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the buns are back in style — both on-screen and off.
Fisher’s own daughter Billie Lourd, who stars in “The Force Awakens,” recently paid homage to her mom in the new film, in which she wears a modern pair of tiny cinnamon rolls on her head — and it’s downright trendy.
And just last week, Sofía Vergara made the Leia ’do look sexy at the “Force Awakens” premiere in LA, rocking an updated twist with two soft buns on the back of her head.
But could I— a 23-year-old Midwestern transplant — pull off the classic Leia style?
My quest to find out starts at the Birchbox store in Soho, where senior hair and makeup artist Adriana Misoul twists my hair into a fashion that would make Fisher proud.
“It’s coming back in style,” she says as she slicks my hair into a middle part and two high pigtails. “Everyone loves a top knot, and Miley Cyrus a couple years ago was rocking the double buns.”
Two spongy sock buns, lots of extra-strength hair spray and two hours later, it’s time to find out what people think.
I head down the street, bracing myself for snide comments and glares — but the buns bring a pleasant surprise. “Bravo!” shouts a man as soon as I turn the corner.
I’m met with smiles, laughs and, oddly, respect. In a neighborhood where fashion rules, getting Leia’d makes sense. “It works for you, your whole style works for you,” declares 33-yearold Nereyda Jones, an employee at trendy French Connection. I walk away glowing between my buns — I’ve never been told I had a “style” before, let alone that it’s “working.”
While the look is accepted in Soho — and Leia’s galaxy — Times Square is a different universe. I board the R train and head uptown, and start to notice tourists snickering in the seats around me. “Only Princess Leia can pull it off,” says 24-year-old Thomas Wright, an English tourist perusing the shelves at Midtown Comics, after I get off the subway.
(Since when is a comic-book nerd an arbiter of style?)
“It’s a ridiculous hairstyle,” scoffs a 20-something North Carolina woman at the “Star Wars” costume exhibit when I ask if I look good.
Still, when I return to the office, my co-workers cheer my new hairstyle. But five minutes later, my buns — and the 30 bobby pins — are out.
Maybe the ’do is good for spying with the Rebel Alliance and making a fashion statement, but I’m a reporter, and it’s not the easiest thing to wear when talking on the phone.