Lea Michele helped celebrate the FEED USA and Target collaboration launch last night in New York City (the retailer's first socially conscious design collab goes on sale this Sunday), where she played off of the Americana-esque setting by balancing her otherwise polished ensemble with a breezy tousled braid. "I wanted to do something different tonight, and I love the messy braid!" she told us. "It's so perfect for summer." The roughed-up plait balanced the drama of her bold liner -- and it works so well in peak humidity. (The more flyaways, the better!)

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"In order to get a cool messy braid that will last, prep your hair with the Beachwaver Curling Iron," said Michele's hairstylist Sarah Potempa, who created the look, as well as the handy self-rotating curling iron ($200; sarahpotempa.com) used on the star. "To maintain the soft wave, spritz hair all over with a texturizing spray. The finished style is the perfect easy, trendy braid for summer." We're obsessed with the L'Oreal Paris Texture Series Beach Spray ($7; lorealparisusa.com), which forms the ultimate surfer girl waves.

See more sexy summer hairstyles.