If it seems like girls with long hair have all the hair fun, don’t despair. Girls with shorter hair can wear braids, too. This simple braided hairstyle is fast-moving, allowing for a loose, unstructured style that’s easy to create—perfect for a garden party, outdoor festival or summer bash.

Just because you have shorter hair doesn’t mean you can’t jump on the braided hairstyle train. This style is especially good when you’re growing out your hair or have hair that just skims your shoulders. Before you get started, consider adding texture to your hair and creating good gripping power for braid building by using a spray like this one designed for short styles.

1. Part your hair in the middle and start with one side, creating a loosely woven traditional French braid. This technique helps the different layered lengths in a shorter hairstyle to stay in place, while adding to the overall aesthetic of the look and creating a face-framing style. Once you’ve reached the end of your braiding on the first side, tie the finished braid with an elastic band.

2. Repeat on the other side. Loosely tug the braids to make each appear thicker.

3. From the back, grab the end of one braid and twist it, rolling it toward the nape of your neck. Pin and tuck the ends of the braid with two hairpins that match your hair color. I prefer to pin vertically instead of horizontally to hide the pins easier.

4. Grab the second braided strand, twist it, rolling upward to hide the ends of your braid. Pin and tuck any loose strands. The beauty of this style is that you don’t really know where it begins and where it ends.

Finish with hair spray. You can dress up the look with metallic hairpins or floral pins to create a flower crown. To really drive home the ethereal garden party look, dress up sections of your braid with floral accent pieces.

For more hairstyles by Maritza, go to Beauty for Bloggers. Photography by Lindsey Humes of The Garden Apt/White Oak Creative. Modeling by Monica Modzelewski of Caravan of Style. Hair accessories by Tigerlilly.