Council

My version:
Not here yet!

Reference images:







Analysis (whoo, scientific): This was another style that took a lot of piecing together from lots of different pics to figure out what they had done. Elrond, Elrond. It doesn't matter how macho you are, guys cannot look cool wearing a butterfly clip. It's still a beautiful style, though. The top half of the hair is pulled back into the ubiquitous fishtail braid, only the hair just above the braid has been woven basket-style. In addition, the hair in front of the ears is knotted, and there is a small butterfly clip (Ha!) at the base of the fishtail braid, as well as a circle wrapping halfway around the head. In pictures 1 and 2, the sideburn knots are regular square knots, but in picture 3 they look like figure eight knots. You can just see in pictures 5 and 6 that some of the side hair is what is forming the horizontal part of the woven part, while the vertical sections are from the front by the forehead. From there the woven pieces are either incorporated into the fishtail or blend into the hair that is hanging loose. We can't see the tail of the braid very well, but it's probably wrapped with a small piece of hair as most of the other Elvish braids are. This style is identical to Elrond's style in The Two Towers when he and Aragorn are talking at Gilraen's grave.

Directions: I haven't tried this yet, but this is how I think it'll (hopefully) work. Take the front, top section of your hair and separate it into 5 sections. These will be the vertical part of the woven section. Wrap an elastic around each section or keep them separate in some other way. Now take two sections from each side of the head, just above the ears. Now weave one of the side sections through the 5 vertical sections, high on the head, pinning it on the other side temporarily. Do the same with the opposite side section, also high on the head (one or two of the woven sections seems to be rather high, while the others are low, closer to the fishtail). Weave the other two side sections through, pinning everything. Now separate the hair where you would to make a half ponytail, leaving the hair in front of the ears hanging down in front. Take your half ponytail and braid it into a fishtail (see Dreamweaver Braiding for directions on how to do a fishtail braid). Incorporate all the ends of the woven pieces or otherwise tuck them under the braid so that they blend into the hair that you leave down. Tie off the braid a few inches from the ends, and wrap a small piece of hair around the elastic to hide it. Stick in a butterfly clip and a circlet, and that's it!