Need styling Tips for Unfortunate Haircut

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   Hi all,

I'm new here, and am crusin' to hopefully get some tips and advice on how to deal with this unfortunate new haircut. My naturally thick, wavy, gorgeous mane has been skewered and I need some direction as to where to go from here.

It actually is the culmination of a series of FOUR haircuts in TWO months. I've had great success with the long shag but little success finding one good stylist to see consistently. My hair gets very bulky and heavy every few months, and no one seems to understand what I want when I ask to have the bulk removed, the length left as much as possible, and the shaggy long layers restored to their tousled glory. When I tell a hairdresser I don't even own a blowdryer (why would I when my hair is so gorgeous all on its own?) it's like I have committed a freakish crime. Try as I may to communicate verbally and visually, I never get quite what I want.

The first two hairdressers in this series of haircuts didn't take out enough or really listen to me, then I tried to fix it myself, and then I had to go get my butchery fixed by yet another hairdresser. I know I know, never cut your own hair if you don't really know what you're doing. I was just so overcome with frustration from the first two disappointing cuts, having had pictures and very clear instruction on what I'd wanted, and after shelling out $50+ a pop, I thought I'd be better off taking care of it myself. BOY WAS I WRONG. The last stylist did the best she could to salvage what I had left, but I ended up with what looks like a cross between 

and

A good look for some younger, more "scene" types, but not for me. I work in an office as a receptionist, so I can't exactly dye it some crazy color or spike it up with hair wax to make it look like I did it on purpose. And anyway, that really isn't my style. I'm a very natural, feminine type of girl. 

On me, this cut looks butch and mullet-like. My natural wave causes the shortest layers in the back - which are above the tops of my ears - to poof. As the layers continue down to the extreme V-shaped length, ending around the bottoms of my shoulderblades, I can't help but feel like a female version of Billy Ray Cyrus circa Achey Breaky Heart. Trying to twist my pitiful little tail into a bun with a spider clip (my usual bad hairday go-to) is awkward at best, as the resulting bun is so itty bitty and the shorter top layers won't go into it at all. A ponytail, even a high one, is similarly strange -- and I don't usually go for the ponytail look anyway....

I'm on my way to stock up on a wardrobe of wide headbands and cute clips, but I'm sure after a week or two of that I will start to feel like a one trick fashion pony and will long for some alternative ways to style this mess while it grows out. That's where I'm hoping some of you fine people can help me out! I'm spoiled by my easy tousle-and-go style and am a complete novice when it comes to styling tools and products. Help me pretty please!