Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Style at Large
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Winter Shoe Trends
    • Perfume Necklaces
    • The Board Whisperers
    • Choulie
    • Statement Red Socks
    • Angel Reese
    1. Beauty
    2. Hairstyles, Haircuts, and Hair Colors

    Your Perfect Work Ponytail, Courtesy of Kate Middleton Herself

    Because you don't have to be royal to have fabulous hair.

    By Hallie Gould
    Published 10 April 2014 In How To

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Kate Middleton ponytail
    (Image credit: Getty)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Kate Middleton's classy 'do is the ponytail of our dreams—perfect for work, a business lunch, drinks out, or a formal affair. We tapped Halli Bivona from the John Barrett Salon at Bergdorf Goodman to help us craft this saught-after royal style.

    Step 1: Smooth hair with a blowdryer, round brush, and anti-frizz product (we recommend: Shu Uemura Satin Design)

    Step 2: Take a U-shaped section of hair at the top of your head and tease underneath, then smooth with a boar bristle paddle brush.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Step 3: Tilt your back slightly and use the paddle brush to gather the hair into a mid-height ponytail and secure with an elastic.

    Step 4: Break the ponytail into 4-5 sections of hair and curl with a 1 1/4 inch curling iron. Make sure to curl each end in the same direction, let each section cool, and comb out.

    You may like
    • Princess Kate Slick Back Ponytail Trend Princess Kate’s Ponytail Makes A Case For The Death Of The Slick Back
    • The Clever Way Princess Kate Uses Beauty and Hair Styling Tricks to "Make a Statement" and Invoke "A Fresh Start," Per Celebrity Stylist The Clever Way Princess Kate Uses Beauty and Hair Styling Tricks
    • Princess Kate sitting in a car wearing a white blouse and brown hat Princess Kate’s Summer Hair Switch-Up Has Become a Balmoral Tradition

    Step 5: Take a half inch section of hair from the ponytail and wrap it around the elastic at the base of the ponytail. Secure with hair pins.

    Step 6: Finish the style using a light hold hair spray.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Hallie Gould
    Social Links Navigation
    Editor

    Hallie has worked in beauty editorial for ten years and has been editorial director at Byrdie since 2021. Previously, she was a senior editor at Byrdie since 2016. During her time at Byrdie, she's written hundreds of high-performing stories on skincare, wellness (including fitness, diet, mental health, body image, et al) makeup, and hair. She's a regular on set, helping to source inspiration for makeup and hair looks, as well as interviewing celebrities, models, and other notable women and men in the beauty space.

    Before that, Hallie ran Marie Claire's social media and wrote beauty and culture stories for the site, and helped launch Time Inc.'s digital-only beauty brand, MIMI. After college, she contributed to Time Out New York’s Shopping & Style section before landing her first beauty editor gig at Hearst's Real Beauty. Hallie's writing has also appeared in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle. Hallie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Read more
    The Clever Way Princess Kate Uses Beauty and Hair Styling Tricks to "Make a Statement" and Invoke "A Fresh Start," Per Celebrity Stylist
    Royals The Clever Way Princess Kate Uses Beauty and Hair Styling Tricks
    By Amy Mackelden
    hannah baxter in a red skirt with a slick-back bun
    Hair My Slick-Back Bun Routine Is Elite—Here's Everything I Use Flyaways? Never heard of them.
    By Hannah Baxter
     
     
    Carole Middleton carries her Emmy London bag to attend day 3 'Ladies Day' of Royal Ascot 2026 at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2026 in Ascot, England.
    Royals Carole Middleton's Favorite Bag Gets a Regal Upgrade
    By Amy Mackelden
    Princess Kate wearing her wedding gown and veil looking to the right
    Royals Princess Kate Had a Secret Fashion Fairy Godmother for Her Royal Wedding
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Hairstyles, Haircuts, and Hair Colors
    a collage of three women with mocha balayage hair at the salon with blown our brunette hair
    Hair I Found the Rich Brunette Shade Every It Girl Is Requesting for Winter
    a collage of french bob hairstyles feature choppy bobs, textured bobs, short bobs, sleek bobs
    Hair Everyone Is Trading In Their Long Layers For a French Bob
     
     
    short choppy curtain bangs and shaggy layers on different hair lengths, dark tousled bob with pieces falling across the face, soft wispy fringe and flipped out ends, effortless messy hair inspo
    Hair These Cool-Girl Bangs Never Go Out of Style
    a collage featuring the Emi Jay x DedCool collaboration for holiday gifting of hair and body mist and sweet fragrance notes
    Hair DedCool and Emi Jay Just Released the $59 Holiday Gift Set I'll Be Giving Everyone
     
     
    Latest in How To
    A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike
    Culture Big News—Our Podcast "Nice Talk" Is Nominated for a Webby
    how to contour; hailey bieber contour
    Makeup When Hailey Bieber's Makeup Artist Teaches You How to Contour, You Listen
     
     
    white woman applying sunscreen on the beach, close up shot
    Beauty Sunscreen Labels Can Be Hard to Decipher—Here's Exactly How to Decode Them
    A model wearing red lip liner and lipstick.
    Beauty Try My Lip Overlining Technique, And You'll Be Tempted to Cancel Your Filler Appointment
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.