We saw this recent photo on the Wrapunzel Fangroup and LOVED it… and so did everyone else! Carmen is a true wrap star. Not only did she come up with this amazing side-bow style, but she also has her own YouTube Channel and Facebook page full of beautiful wrapping videos! It’s called Earth Crowns – don’t miss it!

In the meantime, shared with permission, here is her tutorial on the Golden Crown, which is the style in the photo above. ENJOY!!

And here’s Naomi Rose trying it on for size. New formal wrap favorite! Thank you, Carmen for sharing this with us!!

**Hint: To get a tail over your shoulder, as in Naomi Rose’s photos, just use the second shimmery end (the one NOT in the bow). Bring it over your head behind the bow (just like in the video), and then instead of tucking it in, secure it by your ear with a pin, letting the fringes hang down.

 

a Yom Kippur wrap – solid white 2 in 1 with a white Dreamy Lace over it

 

Yom Kippur is a tricky day for me. If you’re curious about what this holiday means and what kind of energy it has, you should definitely check out Andrea’s amazing videos from last year and this year, which are full of inspiration and detail and provide some great food for thought. These are Jewish ideas, but really they’re about personal growth, relevant to everyone. And in a world where we’re constantly bombarded by materialism, gossip, and advertising, where we’re constantly being told that fame and money are the only real definitions of success… personal growth has never been harder.

I didn’t grow up religious and the idea of a season of judgement at the beginning of each year, where G-d reviews everyone’s actions, never sat well with me. It wasn’t that I thought I should be able to get away with doing whatever I wanted, it was just the idea of G-d as this Santa-Claus-like entity dealing out promotions or tragedies like presents or coal into a kid’s stocking. What kind of a concept was that?

I understand where my frustration was coming from, but of course I was getting a lot of things wrong. I have a bit more perspective now about what’s going on at this time of year, and how I can relate to it in a way that makes sense.

simple white clothing for services

As little kids, we never hesitate to ask for a “do-over” when we try something and it goes wrong the first time. If we fall off the bike, we don’t assume we’ll never learn how to ride it. We just cry about it, wash off the scrapes, and then eventually get back on. As adults, sometimes we lose this sense of confidence and control over our actions. We become more passive. If we try something and fail, we start to think that maybe it’s not for us. If we have a rough time in a relationship, it doesn’t take long before we consider breaking up. If we don’t get the job we were hoping for, we start to think we might not have what it takes to make it in that field.

This passivity is a creeping disease. We put ourselves in danger of never finding out our true potential in life, of never becoming the person that we want to be.

The purpose of Yom Kippur, and the days leading up to it, is to prevent that. The practice that some people have of wearing white for the holiday alludes to this. The white represents a blank slate. A reset button. A “do-over.” It’s not about sitting there waiting for G-d to dole out our fate for next year. That’s the passive version, and it’s completely wrong. This is an active time. It’s a time to figure out the difference between the trajectory we’re currently on, and the trajectory that will actually take us where we want to go in life. It’s about taking tiny little steps, but in a new and better direction. And then when we reach Yom Kippur, we can confidently say: I’m hitting “re-set.” I’m not the same person anymore; I’m a person that’s headed for different and more fulfilling things. I’m accepting responsibility for all the mistakes I made, but deciding not to define myself by those mistakes. I’m going forward, so please send me new challenges that will teach me to be active rather than passive. Send me the learning experiences I will need in order to become the best version of myself.

Sisters in white – an outtake from Wrapunzel’s fall photoshoot

This isn’t about asking for things we want, and then waiting to see what happens. It’s about redefining ourselves, and turning into someone new, someone whose needs are different. And the reward isn’t a promotion, or a new house, or a winning lottery ticket – that’s not the way G-d works. The reward for personal growth is a new set of circumstances: not ones that will make our lives easier, but ones that will give our lives meaning.

May we all have the strength to take that first tiny step on our new trajectory.

 

Love,

Naomi Rose

This year’s Yom Kippur is going to be very different for me.  Here are the life lessons I’m learning here in Israel!  I hope it helps all you that also suffer from FOMO affliction 🙂

Gmar Chatima Tova.

And here is last year’s Yom Kippur video that I referred to:

Does anyone else ever realize that their outfit was inspired by food? Anyone…..? (crickets chirping) Okay, it might just be me, but I loved putting together this casual outfit this morning! I needed a contrasting color for the raspberry pink, and dark chocolate brown was just the perfect choice.

I used a Striped Delight in Wild Rose and a dark brown 2in1 to make this wrap. Click here for a tutorial on how it’s tied – it’s the 2-scarf Regal Wrap, probably one of my favorite weekday tichels!

This is pretty standard fare for me, clothes-wise – unless I’m going somewhere fancy, I usually wear comfy skirts and tops in basic colors with one or two little details (like the collar on the t-shirt, or some nice earrings) to keep it from getting too boring.

Do you have favorite color pairings for your outfits or tichels? What inspired you to try them together? Have you ever found inspiration in an unusual or silly place? Share with us in the comments!

Hi everyone!

I’m writing to you from beautiful Jerusalem, where my husband, Shalomy and I are so grateful to be for the Jewish holidays.  This visit is going to be different from any that we’ve had before, as we are staying with my in-laws and with all the celebrations and family visits I am going to have very little time for anything else.  It’s super duper hot here, (actually, not hotter than Baltimore, but AC is a rarity!) so putting more than two 2 in 1s on my head during the day is just not a wise idea.  I’ve also been leaving my ears out!  Here are two styles I’ve worn since getting here (I didn’t manage to get photos on Rosh Hashana).

I did my burgundy and exotic spice 2 in 1 in a criss cross:

And I finally got to try out The Gigi Wrap!  I am totally in love!

I hope you are all doing wonderfully, wherever you are, and may you be blessed with a sweet, happy, and good new year!

Love, Andrea

This morning, Wrapunzelista Gigi Bergman posting the following photos on our Fangroup of an amazing style she created:

We loved it so much that we couldn’t wait to try it ourselves! Gigi generously agreed that we could share her technique in a video – so here it is! Naomi Rose is pretty convinced that it’s the cutest, sassiest, and most chic wrap she’s ever tied and will be wearing it for the rest of the day. Probably tomorrow, too. Enjoy!!!

 

**Note: In Gigi’s photos, she’s wearing a square scarf as the second scarf in the wrap. This works equally well! (You can just tie it kerchief-style and tuck in the ends underneath). She also did the knot on the far side of her head, which is another option to explore. Lots of room for experimentation here!

 

Our tutorial artist, Rachel Stolley Gray, has long been searching for the words that describe what the Wrapunzel community means to her.  Her experience yesterday gave her those words:

“My TOTD is a snood! I got home from the east coast just before midnight last night and am now recovering in bed from a medical procedure done at 7am, so a snood is what it is.

However, today I am reflecting on the events of this past weekend and wanted to make a post here expressing my love for this community and how it has affected my life.

Last Thursday, my family and I left our home in Cleveland, drove across Pennsylvania and arrived in northern NJ for a Bat Mitzvah. The ceremony and events surrounding it were full of great joy, as we got to reunite with my husband’s side of the family and watch one of our little cousins make her very grand entrance into womanhood. At some point, we decided to do a quick overnight visit in NYC to visit friends before returning home, and it was shortly thereafter that I received the devastating news about Kayla Rus. We do not make it to the east coast very often, so I immediately knew that there was no way I’d be able to miss the funeral and showing my support for our dear friend Rachel.

For those of you who could not attend the lavaya (funeral), know that Kayla Rus was truly honored. While I was never able to meet this amazing girl, her essence was captured in such an incredible way and I feel honored to have been a small part. The short life she experienced seemed to be lived to the fullest and the very large level of dedication she had to her faith was truly inspiring. Because of her influence and Rachel’s request for everyone to “storm the gates,” I had begun to welcome in Shabbat and light the candles early- also upping my own level of tznius (modesty)- all in the hope for a miracle and that Kayla Rus would experience a refuah shlema (complete healing).

Rachel, one of your sons spoke about how none of our mitzvot (good deeds) were done in vain and I can attest to that personally. Without your friendship and Kayla Rus’s influence, I likely would not have been taking these extra steps on my own, but can say with total honestly that they are positively contributing to my life and that I plan to continue them in order to be my best self. Thank you for that gift.

All of that brings me to my last point, which is that none of this would have happened, if it weren’t for this incredible Wrapunzel community that we have here, ladies. Seeing other women’s creativity and style is inspiring (and certainly invaluable at the beginning of our head-covering journeys), but there also seems to be a level of support and caring for each other’s well being that some of us don’t find in other aspects of our life- women supporting women, which we’ve done throughout history, but which many of us have lost in recent years. What a gift, that we can all share!

As I cried on Staten Island with my Wrapunzel sisters yesterday, this bond became so very clear, as all of us mothers were truly mourning, right alongside our dear friend Rachel.

This weekend turned out completely differently than I ever expected. Last Thursday, I never would have guessed that I’d be witnessing both a beginning of womanhood, an end of and all of the rituals that go along with those life events. For all intents and purposes, I shouldn’t have been anywhere near NY, but, apparently, there were plans that I was unaware of and my place was to be there for you, Rachel. I want to thank you and everyone in this group for making this community such an amazing place and most importantly, for the inspiration Kayla Rus has given me, a woman from Cleveland, who never even had the privilege of meeting her in person.

Ha-Makom yenahem ethem b’tokh sha’ar aveilei Tzion v’Yerushalayim ( May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem).

And a big thanks to you all, ladies. Every single one of you contributes to this community and makes it such an amazing place. I truly appreciate you all.”

Rachel Stolley Gray

 

Hi Wrapunzelers!

I have been on the road a lot this summer. And while packing for road trips, vacations, and extended trips has been discussed often on the Wrapunzel blog, what-to-wear while traveling hasn’t been as frequently mentioned.

I primarily find myself sitting in a car for 3-6 hours. Unfortunately, due to my current stage of life we tend to also spend every 45 minutes trying to find someone a bathroom. My tichel needs to hold up to some fairly high standards: I want to comfortably sleep in the passenger seat, but I also need to either remain in pristine condition or become presentable in a manner of seconds in order to rush someone into a random restaurant in the middle of no-where’s-ville US.

So, here are some of my tricks and tips.

• Buy one of those plane neck pillows. (Just trust me, you’ll want it in the car!) Then stick it around your neck when you are initially making your ponytail/bun and tying your tichel at home. I know, it looks dorky, but you are just leaving it on for a manner of minutes and then putting it somewhere where you can easily access it in the car. This will guarantee that your bun isn’t located in a position that it winds up squashed at the nape of your neck. During the trip, you can nap just that much more comfortably.
• I love sashes and headbands and gorgeous clips (I’ve never been a pin girl), but I leave them in my luggage during the traveling part of a trip. Pins, clips, and metal headbands are too “pokey” to wear for extended time, and an elastic headband can become viselike if there are too many things at the nape of your neck.
• I prefer to wear two 2 in 1s in a single braid. That particular tie looks nice, holds up to either air conditioning, heating, or rolled down windows, and doesn’t feel “heavy” (a thick tailed pashmina can make you overheat). When I’m in the car relaxing I take my braid and unfasten it so that it’s gently lying on my side.   When I have to leave the car, I quickly lift it up around my scrunchy (or volumizer if you use one – most ladies like to take the volume down a notch in the car) and tuck in the ends. Why don’t I just leave my braid down? Well, going back to “particular stage of life” comment, I tend to find that an unpinned braid acts as a bell pull for my energetic youngest. If this does not apply to you, then feel free to never pin your braid up, but I spend a ridiculous amount of car time helping children in public restrooms. It just doesn’t work for me.

   

• Figure out which is your “napping side”. Most people don’t sleep in the car with their heads sticking straight ahead. The chances are that you lean your head towards your shoulder while sleeping. Figure out what side you tend to lean on, and then tie your tichel so that the braid will drape on the OPPOSITE side.

Happy road trip!

Love,

Tamar Adina

We’re getting so much joy from these jersey panels!  Here’s an easy, elegant way to wrap them!

We’re loving this awesome idea started by Abby Ritter on our Fangroup. Wrapunzelistas are wrapping all over the world… roll call time! Take a picture of yourself in a tichel in one of your favorite places – hometown or elsewhere! Use the hashtags #WhereIWrap and #[your city]Wrapunzelista to share your pictures with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@wrapunzelstore)!

Here’s some from us!

Andrea’s #WhereIWrap: Outside the walls of the gorgeous Old City in Jerusalem! #JerusalemWrapunzelista

Naomi Rose’s #WhereIWrap:  At the amazing Public Market! #RochesterWrapunzelista

Yum, nectarines!

So where do YOU wrap? Can’t wait to see your pictures!!!

Hi Everyone!

We talk a lot here about modesty and how that relates to how we choose to dress!  It’s definitely long overdue that I recorded some of my thoughts on modest dressing.  These are things that I often say, but never actually sat down to put on video!  Enjoy and can’t wait to hear your thoughts!