One morning a couple of months ago, I was perusing photographs of the previous evening’s Met Ball when I noticed an off-the-beaten-track hair trend coming out of the woodwork. In between bespoke couture gowns and Graff diamonds, this was something you don’t see so often at those kind of industry affairs. Corn rows. Yes, those teeny-tiny plaits of the Afro-Caribbean variety were spotted aplenty in amongst the Park Avenue blow dries and careful construed up-dos.

Cara had them, of course. Model Chanel Iman had them too – offset by a pair of gigantic sapphire and diamond earrings – while A-listers like Miranda Kerr and Mary-Kate Olsen had thicker, more wearable versions woven into their lengths. And it didn’t stop at the punk parade that was this year’s Met Ball. Last month, Kristen Stewart sported a rather neat set of the things at Zuhair Murad’s couture show in Paris. They sat neatly on the right of her head, the rest of her brunette hair cascading to one side of that ever sultry face.

Then there was Heidi Klum’s all-over vision last month in New York, fresh off the plane from her Bahamian holiday and channelling a Bo Derek in 10 type of look. They’re popping up everywhere, and in places you’d least expect them to, from high brows fashion parties and on the front rows of the most expensive haute couture shows of the season. Corn rows on the front rows – it’s got a ring to it, hasn’t it?

But the question remains: can corn rows really ever be cool? Didn’t Katie Price ruin them when she walked out of Celebrity Big Brother with that full head of peroxide blonde braids? Are they a bit Cheryl Cole, 2003 Girls Aloud tour? Maybe. Although, surely enough time has passed now to view corn rows in an entirely new, shiny light. Particularly when the likes of Cara and Chanel have cast their rebellious, youthful, high-fashion gloss all over them.

Enough with analysis –  I decided to try them for myself. Trying to find a salon that could complete the simple task of threading a few corn rows proved very tricky – most of London’s top salons couldn’t do it, strangely – but I ended up at the expert hands of hair stylist Natasha at Errol Douglas’s Motcomb Street salon. I couldn’t quite face doing a Heidi Klum and going for the full shebang across my whole head, but I thought a generous section was a good enough attempt. Afro hair is a lot easier to plait than the slippery lengths of most Caucasian heads, Natasha told me. She threaded away like the clappers, sealed them with a bit of hair wax and hey presto, after a speedy 20 minutes or so, three neat rows appeared on my head. Easy.

I have to say, I quite like them. I’ve had them in for five days now and each day I like them a bit more. They’re slightly awkward to sleep on – I try not to – and washing my hair has been quite tricky (I tied them up into a tight ball and just avoided touching them too much). I think they look best pulled back into a ponytail or bun to get the full effect – leaving my hair down means they get slightly lost under the mass of other hair. My boyfriend, who I thought would have a minor hissy fit at the mere sight of them, really quite likes them. He sort of wishes he had long hair to have them himself (perhaps I should be worried) and reckons I should do a full Bo Derek and get them done finer and more abundantly next time. He was a bit of a dab hand at rethreading one of them that became loose this morning, even reaching for his pot of wax to reseal it into place like a proper pro – watch out Natasha. 

"My boyfriend reckons I should do a full Bo Derek and get them done much finer and more abundantly next time."

Though one thing I didn’t think about was how I’d dress with my new found hair. The day I had them done I happened to be wearing a particularly girly pair of silk shorts I own, along with cutesy, bow-tied espadrilles, and it felt a bit wrong. The attitude and boldness the corn rows exert require a tougher canvas, so since then I’ve been working around more tom boy-esque, monochrome outfits and my oversized studded jean jacket has been a daily go-to.. Post coffee with a PR she emailed to say ‘I’m still in awe of your hair’ while friends reckon it’ll become the new dip-dye craze. And by the end of the bottle of rosé I shared with my mum yesterday evening, she grew increasingly fonder of them, even declaring that she might quite like a row or two herself. Although I’m blaming this on the wine.

I think it’s safe to say that the association that corn rows once had with 90s girl bands and page three girls has been firmly left behind. Judge for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments below. 

Corn row threading, from £15 at Errol Douglas