Emma Bunton channels Baby Spice by wearing pigtails—but there’s actually a very clever reason for the hairstyle

Emma Bunton has stepped out wearing pigtails in a tribute to her Spice Girls days, much to the delight of her loyal followers. 

Baby Spice is set to appear as a celebrity judge on Ru Paul's Drag Race UK Season 3—and fans already can't stop talking about her iconic hair. 

From wavy hairstyles to side fringes, the English pop star has worn many fabulous cuts throughout her impressive music career—but there's one look that might just always be her trademark. 

Emma was famous for donning cute pigtails during her Spice Girls era, regularly teaming her summer dresses and white crop tops with the youthful hairdo in the mid to late '90s. The Wannabe singer typically opted for a dramatic edition of the style, combing her platinum blonde locks into two high pigtails fastened with bobbins or even a band of hair. She retired the pigtails as she got older and began to experiment with more classic cuts, like bob hairstyles and messy buns, but she's not afraid to whip them out every now and again for old time's sake. 

Emma most recently resurrected the nostalgic trend during her guest appearance on the upcoming third season of Ru Paul's Drag Race UK—much to the excitement of the BBC reality show's fans. The Mama You Got This author paid tribute to her younger self whilst also maintaining her current style, rocking a pair of sleek high pigtails and letting the remaining hair tumble down in blonde curls. With so much love for all things Baby Spice, it's no surprise fans went wild for the throwback look. 

While you'd be forgiven for thinking Emma's pigtails are just a fun style, there's actually a very practical reason behind their origin. Like many women, the 2 Become 1 singer has struggled with thinning hair throughout her life. She found that the pigtails disguised this, helping to make her mane appear fuller. 

"I've got very thin hair and it's all about volumizing the hair for me," she revealed to Femail. "Sometimes I probably back-combed a bit too much but I think the bigger the better."

This isn't the first time Emma has embraced her younger style. The mother-of-two remains fond of her Spice Girls fashion to this day, even donning a Baby Spice-inspired dress for her secret wedding to her partner of 20 years Jade Jones earlier this year.