History

• Though most Americans use the word "pigtails" to refer to two tied bundles of hair, the term actually means braided plaits of hair, according to Merriam-Webster.com. Historically, unmarried girls in ancient China would wear their hair long and braided, while Jewish girls in Eastern Europe would sport two braided pigtails. Perhaps because of the style's prevalence among young, unmarried girls, people generally view pigtails as a childish hairstyle that proves less common among adult women.
  
  A common Colonial hairdo, pigtails maintained their popularity during the Civil War era and among pioneers, who needed to keep their hair tidy and away from the face during traveling, farming and household tasks. Author Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the "Little House on the Prairie" series about her childhood on the frontier, describes in "Little Town on the Prairie" how she would hurriedly run a comb through her hair until it reached her braids each morning, and how as a young woman she was allowed to pin her braids over her head, while her little sister Carrie wore them down.
  
  

Variations

• Two small side braids with a ponytail in back is a less common style.NA/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
  
  Pigtails stick out on either side of the head, as worn by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren's fictional childhood heroine Pippi Longstocking, or demurely frame the face, in the way actress Judy Garland's hair was styled when she played Dorothy in the 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz." Variations on the standard pigtail or braid range from eye-catching pigtail twists, which use strands of twisted hair to form a "tail," to elegant French braids. "Star Wars" heroine Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, memorably sported coiled side buns as she fought and evaded Darth Vader in all three films. You also can pin simple braids over the top of your head, add decorative bows and hair ties, and experiment with making the braids loose and large or tight and small.
  
  

Ethnic Hairstyles

• Odango, a Japanese hairstyle sometimes referred to as "meatballs," comprises two double buns with hair flowing from the middle of each bun. This style was popularized by the Japanese manga character Sailor Moon, a magical teenage girl who fights crime in the 1995 "Sailor Moon" TV series. The Chinese equivalent of this hairstyle, called "ox horns," features braided or plain double buns securely bound to the top of the head. A variation on side buns is indigenous to this country as well, according to the Native Languages of the Americas website, which states that some tribes wore whorls -- large, round bunches of hair on either side of the head.
  
  

Considerations

• Combing and parting your hair while still damp will ensure a neat 'do.Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  The look you're after -- girly and fun-loving or adult and elegant -- will determine the appropriate style, but it should draw attention to your most beautifying features and minimize attention to imperfections. Piling hair on top of your head, via double buns or coiled braids, takes attention away from a square chin and adds height. If your face is narrow, buns on the side of your face or loopy pigtails add width to your profile.