Meet Susan from New York City, who finds herself happily wrapping in “Corporate America!”  Wrapunzel is honored to have her reveal her wrapping journey in a three-part Blogpost – Part One:  Beginner’s Luck!, Part Two:  Storage and Structure, and Part Three:  Corporate Me!

It’s Susan’s greatest pleasure to bring you her incredible tips and tricks – read on to see what might work for YOU!

Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon...

Part One:  Beginner’s Luck!

Good day and thanks for stopping by.  I have been wrapping my head full-time since May of 2017.  I wrap daily in conservative, Corporate America.

Once I decided to wrap, I began my efforts with various YouTube searches for ways to cover one’s head if bald (my hair was falling out from what was eventually diagnosed as Alopecia). I was fairly ignorant as to why or how many women of various cultures were inclined to wrap.  During my initial searches on YouTube, I thought about getting a wig, but my physician advised me to avoid any potential irritation to my scalp which could potentially make things more challenging, at least at that time. 

To do my due diligence, I did try some of the many varied suggestions shared on YouTube, and learned that I could cover my head using old t-shirts and leggings, as well as by many other curious methods. After trying some of those, I found Wrapunzel (on YouTube) and have been a faithful Wrapunzelista ever since.  Wrapunzel stocks many gorgeous scarfs (for cold & warm weather), and also various accessory products to enhance one’s wrap.  They post an abundance of wrap tutorial videos on the Wrapunzel web site and also on YouTube, which is where I found this amazing company.  In these tutorial videos, Wrapunzel shows many ways how to begin wrapping, as well as how to improve and expand one’s wrapping technique.  

They also have conversations which help to support the emotional impacts of wrapping, such as how it makes all women feel beautiful, how it makes each woman’s uniqueness shine, how to handle questions you may get when you start wrapping, and many other interesting topics. These topics, plus others, were helpful to me as I started my wrapping journey.

After beginning my wrapping relationship with Wrapunzel, I felt really encouraged in decision I’d made to headwrap. It felt “natural” to me for the way I live my life.  From my perspective, the most important factor was to maintain an executive-level presentation in my company, as we interact with clients and other professionals outside of our company on a daily basis.  At the time, I was not aware of anyone else within my company who was wrapping.

Since I began wrapping, many have expressed interest in possibly starting to wrap themselves! I was often stopped at Grand Central Station with inquiries.  I began keeping Wrapunzel business cards with my monthly commuter ticket, so I had them at the ready when an inquiry was made. My personal corporate “uniform” consists of suit ensemble pieces and generally include a combination of either a suit, skirt, pants or dress with a jacket and sweater or cardigan.  Of course, I pair these with the classic ‘corporate’ pump, or with pants, often an ankle boot.  I match my headwrap to either the color of the skirt/pant/dress/suit, or to the blouse or tank I pair with them.

My goal in sharing my personal experience here is that it might prove useful to other women who also wish to wrap in a conservative, corporate, professional environment. Initially, I took what I learned from Wrapunzel and just figured it all out as I went along. 

In the beginning of wrapping, especially if you’re the only one doing it, it can feel unsettling.  Soon, however, you will realize that you are still you, and you can still execute all the aspects of your job while wearing a wrap.  I found that, as you become more at ease with being wrapped, those around you also become more at ease with it. Your wrapping will then stand out less and everyone will acclimate accordingly.  

At the start, some people in my office environment felt uneasy to express their curiosity and concern that health issues might be the reason for my wrapping.  I attempted to be at ease and make them comfortable to ask me anything, which then made their fearfulness turn into curiosity.  They became less concerned and this opened the conversations as to what or how I’d wrapped that day, with comments similar to “I really like your outfit today!” and “Wow, it matches!” 

If a particular day in the office is deemed especially conservative or stressful, then I am inclined to wrap conservatively with that in mind.  I might choose a turban style or simple wrap with classic tail(s).  If a more relaxed day, I might be a tad bit more creative in my wrapping.  My bottom line for my office ‘look’ is that I must always feel free to walk confidently into a conference room and engage accordingly.

Over time, wrapping my head has simply become a part of my “presentation” to my daily work experience.  Wrapping did not change my work ethic, my anticipated intelligence or my ability to conquer any project.  Many would compliment me on a scarf color or pattern, a particular “match” or style making me feel like the “Queen of Sheba” in their kind observations.  People would happily comment the likes of, “Blue is a good color for you!,” “ Well done!,” “Did you do THAT wrap yourself?,” “How do you always match your head wrap to your clothes?, ”I like what you have on top!” and such  (I then graciously shared that it was called a “wrap/headwrap”. The gentleman then responded that he didn’t know what it was called, but he liked it.)

Initially, I started simple in my approach to wrapping in choosing only one scarf and using simple wraps matching one color of my ensemble.  Later, I tried various kinds of scarves and combinations as I became more experienced and then more confident (thanks to Wrapunzel tutorial videos).  My ‘look(s)’ each day then became a topic of conversations, observations and expressions of curiosity. As long as I was comfortable with my wrapping, people had interest and would interact accordingly, also feeling comfortable with the topic.  Mostly, people would ask me, “Did you do that yourself?” and “How do you consistently match the scarf to your outfit?”

I respond with the answer “Wrapunzel.” Yes, I did wrap it myself. Wrapunzel taught me how to wrap and encouraged me to find my own style in wrapping. I purchased 99% of my scarves and wrapping accessories at Wrapunzel, and the rest were recycled from scarves that I used to wear around the lapel of my suit. Wrapunzel varies their stock seasonally, according to climate. They have numerous sales through the year. 

In starting my headscarf collection, I chose scarves that I considered would specifically match my work attire. The remaining items I might catch at a street fair in NYC and, occasionally, something will catch my eye at a store. Once I began wrapping full time, there were some items in my closet that I simply did not wear, until Wrapunzel stocked a scarf which I felt would match THAT particular color ensemble for work.  My office wardrobe ensemble was confined to that which also had a matching headscarf.  And so, I just waited.  Eventually, I did build a wrapping wardrobe that pretty much covers all of my office ensembles (across the seasons).  For myself, my wardrobe is sorted via color tonality, as are my scarves. 

Note:  I wish to thank my friend and co-worker, Eleanor Healey, who was dedicated in helping me to capture visual images to submit to Wrapunzel in support of this article.  As a grandmother of 2, she’s developed a good eye!