We should probably send a letter to one Enola Holmes, because there’s a hairstyling mystery on our hands! OK, OK, so the character played by Millie Bobby Brown, the younger sister of pro detective Sherlock Holmes, isn’t actually real—not to mention her story takes place in Victorian England, not the United States in 2026—but we do have some questions about the mechanics of Brown’s most recent red carpet hairstyle, which defies the TKTKT of braid logic.
For the premiere of the third film in the Enola Holmes cinematic universe, Brown walked the red carpet in what may just be the loosest, most undone braid to ever exist, and I really want to know how it came together! So let’s present the evidence and form a theory about its structure, Sherlock-and-Enola-style.
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From the front, it looks like the actor is wearing her warm brunette hair in a messy low chignon, with lightly waved pieces of hair escaping from a knot or bun at the nape of her neck. But don’t jump to conclusions yet—we have to look at all angles of this case!
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 25: (SLOW-MO) Millie Bobby Brown (L) and Louis Partridge attend the “Enola Holmes 3” World Premiere held at The Plaza Hotel on June 25, 2026 in New York, New York. (Footage by Brian Craig/Getty Images)Brian Craig/Getty Images
From the side and the back view, we can clearly see that this is not a chignon after all, but a braid—one that begins at her mid-lengths and is loosely woven together versus tightly cinched, giving the hairstyle that effortless, romantic finish. But it’s so loose at the mid-lengths that I really want to know how it’s staying together!
Maybe a few really strong, strategically placed bobby pins, some hairspray, and a prayer to the universe, or perhaps the immense talents of her hairstylist, Pete Burkill? It looks like Burkill braided the lengths of Brown’s hair and then pulled the braid apart for texture and motion, similar to how Enola Holmes’s hair often begins in a prim and proper Victorian style and then gets rumpled and ruffled during her many mystery-solving adventures. So basically it’s the ideal hairstyle for a carefree summer spent running through a field of wildflowers, right?