For a while, I was perplexed. By this.

No, not by the fact that Lauren Conrad knows how to read, let alone write, a book. I’m was perplexed by the bun.

No matter how long I grew my hair, I could never achieve the full top knot beloved by ballerinas. But now I know. The secret, it turns out, is a sock. See below.

Yep, turns out all that you have to do to fake a full and fabulous bun is to cut the toe off of a sock, roll it into a donut, and tuck and roll your pony tail into the sock. (For those visual learners in the audience, and for those who enjoy a laugh, I also invite you to watch the YouTube Video “Sock Bun Secret“, which delivers informative lines like, “In order to make a sock bun, all you need is a sock. That is why it is called a sock bun.”

Add a tie-neck blouse and red lipstick, and voila. Kourtney Kardashian.