School Dance Hairstyle

Hair styling for a school dance
Photo: Ivan River/Shutterstock
Q: What kind of hairstyle should I do for a school dance? I want to do half up half down & have my bangs to one side & then curl the bottom just a little bit. How do you think that would go & what do you call that kind of hairstyle?
 
A: The type of style you are referring to is usually called a "partial up-style" and is pretty popular among young women with long hair. It has the benefit of being dressy and still allowing the young woman in question to show off her locks. Depending on the type of school dance, I think it should be fine.
 
Many women don't realize this but the degree of intricacy in a hairstyle should correlate to the dress code for a specific event. Just as you wouldn't spend hours getting your hair done simply to go on a picnic in the park, you don't want to go to a formal event with a brush-and-go hairstyle. You show a great deal of maturity by being able to recognize the need to make sure your hairstyle is appropriate to the function you are attending.
 
If the dance you will be attending is meant to be semi-formal or formal (if the young men who will be attending are encouraged to wear a dark suit, or tuxedo) then you need to have a hairstyle that is very elegant and intricate. A partial or full up-style hairstyle is ideal. This type of event would be your Winter Formal, Prom or Spring Formal, etc.
 
For less formal events like Homecoming Dances, Valentine's Dances, etc. where the dress code doesn't call for a dark suit or tuxedo, but still needs to be dressy (tie or coat-and-tie for young men) then you can be a little more relaxed with your hair. The partial up-style you describe sounds perfect, provided you don't frill it up too much in this case.
 
You should also consider the dress you will be wearing. Dresses that are strapless, off-the-shoulder, or which reveal much of the upper chest and back (including spaghetti-strap dresses and dresses that are cut low in front and back) are better suited to hairstyles where all or part of the hair is worn down.
 
With dresses that are high-necked (even if they are cut low in front) tend to look better with the hair worn mostly up. With this type of dress, you can still leave down some hair, but restrict it to a handful of curled locks at most.
 
I hope this helps, and I hope you have a lovely time.
 
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See also:
 
Photos of up-styles and partial up-styles
 
Special occasion hairstyles
 
Hairstyles for prom
 
Matching your hairstyle to your mode of dress