Malia Obama debuts new braids in New York City

Malia Obama has been spotted out and about in New York City sporting a cool new hairstyle, having swapped her straight shoulder-length hair for long braids.

The 19-year-old former first daughter is on summer break from Harvard, and seems to be using the time to visit her old stomping ground in Manhattan, where she held an internship with the Weinstein Company last summer.

Malia was photographed walking around Soho on June 4, wearing a casual outfit and showing off a new ‘do.

Chic for summer: Malia Obama has been spotted out and about in New York City with a new hairdo

On the go: The 19-year-old was walking around Manhattan's Soho neighborhood

On the go: The 19-year-old was walking around Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood

Outfit: She wore trendy workboots and black leggings with the SoulCycle logo

Outfit: She wore trendy workboots and black leggings with the SoulCycle logo

Outfit: She wore trendy workboots and black leggings with the SoulCycle logo

Exercise: She had on a sports bra underneath her jacket and appeared to have just come from a workout

Exercise: She had on a sports bra underneath her jacket and appeared to have just come from a workout

Malia was walking by herself in New York wearing cropped black leggings, work boots, and a denim jacket. The trendy teen held onto a hoodie and water bottle and avoided looking at the cameras as she made her way down the sidewalk.

The college student may have just come from — or was going to — a workout, since she wore leggings with the SoulCycle logo on them. 

Though she is most often seen with straight hair, this week she was rocking new braids, which were half pulled up behind her head. The new style unraveled below her shoulders and gave way to twisty curls.

According to Essence, braids like Malia’s are considered ‘protective’ hairstyles for black women — since they don’t require styling tools that use heat and can damage the hair.

Box braids, cornrows, and the like are especially popular during the warmer months, when sweat can mess up a hairstyle that’s been set with a curling iron or straightener. Braids stay in place regardless of the weather or humidity.

Malia has worn her hair in braids before — as has her mom. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, Michelle Obama shared a throwback snap of herself in college sporting a similar style.

In shape: The teen seems to have really hard abs, though she mostly covered them up in front of the cameras

In shape: The teen seems to have really hard abs, though she mostly covered them up in front of the cameras

No purse for this one: She carried a water bottle and a hoodie

Her hair was tied back halfway

No purse for this one: She carried a water bottle and a hoodie and had her hair half-back

Beat the heat! Malia wore new braids, which she seems to have styled to get read for the summer

Beat the heat! Malia wore new braids, which she seems to have styled to get read for the summer

The former first lady, 54, shared a photo of herself as a young student at Princeton in the early 1980s at the Ivy League institution. Michelle enrolled in 1981 at the age of 17 before graduating cum laude in 1985 with a B.A. in Sociology.

‘This is me at Princeton in the early 1980s,’Mrs. Obama wrote. ‘I knew that being a first-generation college student can be scary, because it was scary for me. 

‘I was black and from a working-class neighborhood in Chicago, while Princeton’s student body was generally white and well-to-do,’ Michelle added ‘I’d never stood out in a crowd or a classroom because of the color of my skin before.

‘But I found close friends and a mentor who gave me the confidence to be myself. Going to college is hard work, but every day I meet people whose lives have been profoundly changed by education, just as mine was.’ 

And it’s not just the hair that the mother-daughter duo has in common; Michelle is also known to be a fan of SoulCycle, and was pictured leaving one of the spin classes in Washington, D.C. in February last year.

Malia is currently on break from her own Ivy League college, where she will be a sophomore in September. She’s also rumored to be dating British classmate Rory Farquharson.

Throwback: Michelle Obama shared a photo of herself as a Princeton University student back in the early 1980s on Tuesday, while sharing advice with current sudents

Throwback: Michelle Obama shared a photo of herself as a Princeton University student back in the early 1980s last month — and it’s clear Malia bears a striking resemblance to her

Tips: The former first lady, 54, talked about standing out at the Ivy League school

Tips: The former first lady, 54, talked about standing out at the Ivy League school

Like mother, like daughter: The former first lady is also a fan of SoulCycle and was seen leaving one of the spin classes in Washington, D.C. in February

Like mother, like daughter: The former first lady is also a fan of SoulCycle and was seen leaving one of the spin classes in Washington, D.C. in February

Like mother, like daughter: The former first lady is also a fan of SoulCycle and was seen leaving one of the spin classes in Washington, D.C. in February 

The two were first seen together at a Harvard-Yale football game in November, where they were caught kissing. Then in January, they were spotted together again, this time in New York.

Rory — who is a year above Malia at school — is a former head boy of Rugby School, one of the top ‘public’ schools in the United Kingdom and just a rung below the more famous Eton and Harrow. 

He also played rugby, and was an extra in a rugby video that played in the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony in 2015, with Prince Harry also making an appearance in the clip. The young man also represented the school at golf and was a member of the Blue Bunsen Society, a chemistry club.

According to his Twitter account, he seems interested in following in the banking footsteps of his father, Charles Farquharson, who is a chief executive and director of an investment fund management group in London. 

Growing up: Barack and Michelle's daughter Malia is on break from  Harvard University. The family is pictured in 2015 at the White House

Growing up: Barack and Michelle’s daughter Malia is on break from Harvard University. The family is pictured in 2015 at the White House

Earlier this year: Malia, who until recently wore her hair in a straight style cut just below her shoulders, has been dating her classmate, Rory Farquharson

Earlier this year: Malia, who until recently wore her hair in a straight style cut just below her shoulders, has been dating her classmate, Rory Farquharson

Hanging out: She and her British beau were seen in New York in January

Hanging out: She and her British beau were seen in New York in January

Summer break: It's unclear yet if they are spending time together this summer, or what Malia is doing in New York

Summer break: It’s unclear yet if they are spending time together this summer, or what Malia is doing in New York

Couple: The two were first seen together at a Harvard-Yale football game in November

Couple: The two were first seen together at a Harvard-Yale football game in November

Before starting at Harvard, Malia held an internship at Weinstein Company in 2016, working for disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein a year before reports of his alleged sexual misconduct made headlines.

When Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy in a Delaware court in April, documents cited a long list of people still owed money — including Malia, who seems to be missing some paychecks.

It’s unknown just yet whether she has landed another internship this summer.

Meanwhile, her younger sister Sasha, 16, has been having a bit of fun herself down in Washington, D.C., where her parents Barack and Michelle Obama decided to stay so she could finish out her education at the same school.

In April, she attended the Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C., where didn’t just get to see rapper Cardi B perform — she also got to hang with the Bodak Yellow star.

Little sis: Sasha Obama attended the Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C. in April and hung out with performer Cardi B

Little sis: Sasha Obama attended the Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C. in April and hung out with performer Cardi B

VIP: The 16-year-old watched the wrapper perform after meeting her backstage 

VIP: The 16-year-old watched the wrapper perform after meeting her backstage 

Behind-the-scenes pictures from the event showed Sasha smiling and sitting on a couch between 25-year-old Cardi and her fiancé Offset, 26, looking too cool to be starstruck.

The teen, who is finishing up her junior year at Sidwell Friends School, wore distressed blue jeans with a large rip at the knee, a white crop top, and more white fabric tied around her middle.

From other photos shared by Cardi herself, the snaps seem to have been taken in the star’s dressing room before her performance.



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