After our latest newsletter for Wrapunzel the store was released (Do you receive our weekly Gazette? Click HERE to sign up!), I decided to write a bit more on the blog about the subject of party wraps. Be sure to keep reading until the end, where I describe the process of choosing a very special tichel for a very special event. Enjoy, ladies!
-Rachel
Let’s be real for a moment- it’s only mid-November and I’m already talking about party season? Well… yes… but with good reason! It’s in early November each year that I attend an annual black tie event with my husband (THE black tie event of the year for us, in fact) and the preparation for this always involves careful planning of both my outfits and the scarves that I choose to go with them. Needless to say, party wraps have DEFINITELY been on my mind lately and I love dreaming up ways of making them match distinct styles of dress.
Previous years and events of this caliber have seen me wearing all sorts of intricate multi-scarf looks. Double turbans, Waterfall Twists, a Tiple Zig-Zag or two… My mind always seems to equate fancy events with extra fancy wraps and it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that just a single scarf could look and feel equally as beautiful. It didn’t garner thoughts of feeling underdressed, as I had feared and there are many ways of making this work, no matter what style of dress you choose!
Many of us wind up at fancy affairs during the month of December, so with our calendars filling up and party season creeping ever-so-closer, why not start thinking about styling options now? Whether it’s celebrating the holidays, New Years Eve, or even just seasonally with friends (There are those with birthdays during this time of year, too!), let’s take a look at matching wraps to your party/fancy/formal dress wear, while letting just one scarf be the focus – complicated multi-scarf styles optional, which is perfect for wrappers of ALL skill levels.
Your Signature Party Style
Dressing up for parties is fun and can allow us the chance to don many different garments that we wouldn’t normally look at for weekday wear. The same can be said for tichels! Once you know the theme or dress code for the occasion and have found a way to amp-up your personal style- now what? Well, it’s time to choose the perfect scarf and style of wrapping, of course!
*Remember that watching tutorials and practicing wrapping styles well before the event is always a good idea- There’s nothing worse than getting dressed and finding yourself tangled in scarves, attempting to wrap in a way you discovered just minutes before! Being prepared will help eliminate stress and give you more time to concentrate on other pre-party preparations.
Here’s a few ideas to get your started:
Feminine Elegance
Is your signature party look influenced by a feminine wardrobe? Romantic blouses and skirts, soft pastels, ruffles, laces and silks are commonly found in this woman’s closet. It can be classic and understated or include bold statement pieces, both of which pair perfectly with quite a few wrapping styles!
One of the most obvious choices of wraps for this look would be lace and there certainly are plenty of easy ways to wear it. Lace triangular–shaped scarves come in a multitude of colors and are quite possibly the easiest-to-tie tichel of them all. Their sheerness also means that you can easily incorporate another colored base-scarf underneath it, for a multitude of different effects. This is not necessary, though, as there are plenty of women who simply wrap them over a black or white volumizer and call it a day, making them a quick and easy way to wrap for formal occasions.
The Ultimate Wedding Tichel (shown here) is new to my wardrobe, but has quickly become my all time favorite feminine scarf. For women who aren’t into lace (like myself), it is an excellent choice! I love how it utilizes sequins without being over the top and its beautiful silky fringe is a level of formality not found in many other tichels. The combination of sheerness, sequines and embroidery lends itself perfectly to a top made of satin or silk (see photo), which will create a party look that’s feminine, yet understated.
Suggested Tutorials:
Shira Tails (shown here)
Lovely Lace & Perfect Loop (2 scarves, but SO worth it!)
Easy Fancy Lace Tutorial
Silky Oblong Tichel Tutorial
Turbanista Extraordinaire
Turbans can be stunningly glamorous and look amazing at parties of all types! The women who wear them might favor trendy minimalistic outfits or big bold prints, but one thing’s for certain- a turbanista exudes CONFIDENCE where she goes!
The most comfortable scarf I’ve ever found for turban-tying is jersey, but it can sometimes be tricky to dress up for parties, particularly when worn solo. One way to do so is by opting for a glittery version, which is such an easy way to fancify your favorite turban ‘do. Adding a glitzy pin will also take your beloved turban to the next level.
If you’ll be dressing for the most formal of occasions, even more sparkle might be necessary. A one-scarf turban tied with a tichel that has a sheen throughout is an easy way to achieve this, whether you go for one that is soft and flowy or bold and more structured. Try matching the color of your turban to your shoes and purse, for a perfectly polished, party-ready look!
Suggested Tutorials:
Ultimate Turban (shown here)
Sari Scarf Turban
Rachel’s Turban Tutorial
Comfy Jersey Turban
Boho Chic
Peasant skirts, maxi dresses, flowy fabrics and varying textures, are the cornerstone of this party style. Add some chunky jewelry or accessories and you’ll be good to go! But what about the wrap? Making the choice is easy, once you know how to unify your look:
- If most of your outfit is a print- Try a solid-colored wrap: Pick one of the main colors from the print as your scarf color.
- If most of your outfit is solid- Choose a printed scarf that contains your clothing color within its pattern.
Now, I know that I said that this post would be about letting just one scarf shine, but Naomi Rose’s photo here shows an excellent way to wear two scarves, while keeping just one as the focus. Her formal-looking Shimmery makes a wonderful accent to the patterned scarf, which dresses up the wrap subtly, ensuring that the two won’t be competing for attention. A party-ready look, for sure!
Suggested Tutorials:
Kallah’s Trick (a two-scarf tie, shown here)
Beginner’s Luck
Amped-Up Beginner’s Luck
The Countess Veil
Bold & Beautiful
This one focuses on how to wear boldly printed pieces in a super matchy-matchy way, with the end result being a stunning look, worthy to be worn at all sorts of parties and events!
Both the print and outfit are frequently duotone and focus on both patterns AND texture. Pattern mixing among the scarf and garment can reign supreme, but that’s not to say that solids don’t play a part, as well. I typically start with one eye-catching printed piece (say, either a dress or blouse) and then complete my outfit with one or both of that pattern’s colors throughout.
Andrea’s gold Belle of the Ball (shown here) was a perfect match for her outfit! While the shades don’t have to match perfectly (Notice the variation among reds in said photo.), keeping them within the same family is essential for this look to work. Matching a wrap to a perfectly coordinated party outfit like this will take careful planning to make sure everything is just right, but will also make a BIG impression. The payoff is so, so, SO worth it!
Suggested Tutorials:
Stephanie’s Belle of the Ball Tutorial (two scarves, with one as the focus)
Basic Sari Scarf Wrap
Miriam’s Pashmina Veil
One-Scarf Zig-Zag Criss-Cross
Retro Glam
Here’s where I get to write a bit about how I chose that very special tichel for a very special event! But first, let’s talk a some about how to pair you wraps with an ultra-glamorous, retro-inspired party look.
Vintage fashions and the headscarves that went with them have always been cohesive. From silent film stars to the globe trotters of the 1930s to Barbara Streisand’s 1970s high fashion turbans, we’ve seen complimentary pairings that were perfectly curated to both the outfit and to the wearer. The best part? Throughout history, some of the most glamorous of these looks have involved wearing just a single scarf in a similar color or pattern, complimentary to the outfit itself. Even a simple wrap tied with a glitzy scarf will look truly incredible! (more on that below)
Suggested Tutorials:
Extra Fancy Shimmery Turban (shown here)
Regal Wrap
Turban-style Regal Wrap
Yael’s 1920-style Turban
Zahava’s Chignon
So, it was keeping with all of that in mind that I began to think about what I would be wearing to this very important black tie event, but the decision was, by no means, an easy one. With a fabulous vintage-inspired dressed picked out months in advance, I had a LONG time to think about what to wear on my head, yet it really wasn’t until about a week prior that I started to give it any serious thought.
Despite what I knew about retro turbans and styling, I did find myself considering an exotic multi-scarf style to wear with my gorgeous sequined gown (This, after all, is always an easy way to look formal and there are no “rules” when it comes to wrapping), yet not a single color combination I could think of seemed to jive… not a single two-scarf style seemed to work! I was 99% sure that I wanted to wear The Shimmery, but was not at all sure of much else and was feeling immensely frustrated. A couple days before the big event, my gown had arrived and I was STILL feeling totally blank and without a single shred of inspiration. My frustration was now reaching maddening proportions.
In the end, it was my husband who suggested I drop everything I know and start from scratch, reassess all of my usual formal styles and trying something new. Oh, how right he was! You see, once I was able to take a step back and come at it from a different perspective, I realized that the reason my intricate wraps weren’t working was because they were competing far too much with my dress- an easy solution, but one that I wasn’t able to “see” previously. Simple had worked for fashionistas of the past and it was going to work for me, too!
The next question was, bright and bold or a classic monochromatic look? While the answer wasn’t immediately clear, I did get a chance to experiment some and try a few scarves on during a photoshoot the day before our event, which was immensely helpful. No matter which one I would ultimately choose, I could go into it knowing how each could be wrapped, lifting part of the indecisiveness off my shoulders and making getting ready before the event a breeze. I had narrowed it down to: The Shimmery in red (Tied in a Turban-style Regal Wrap), The Shimmery in purple (Tied in Shira Tails), Belle of the Ball (Tied on the side with a hair elastic.) and The Shimmery in pewter (Tied in an Extra Fancy Turban with a feather fascinator.).
@drewcarrying photography
Fast forward to 24 hours later to when the night of our event was imminent, and we were about to walk out the door. The very last thing I had to do was to put on my tichel and it was then that I gave the pile of possible contenders one final look, before deciding to leave the decision up to my wonderful and loving husband. One glance was all it took- he knew exactly which one he would choose!
What followed was an awesome evening where I felt like a million bucks and couldn’t have been happier to arrive in my one simple scarf. A little time, a little preparation, a little frustration and a little stepping back, all led to discovering my signature party look (for this event, anyway.) and I hope you all can enjoy the adventure of discovering yours, as well!
I’d love to write more about matching headscarves to the clothes that we wear! Got any requests? Let me know in the comments below. -Rachel
“I make my home in a riparian canyon in the wilderness of southern New Mexico where my family cares for a botanical sanctuary. Our cabin is perched atop a mesa that overlooks the San Francisco River. The colors of the cliffs, woodlands, and wildflowers are dramatically colorful, and certainly inspire many of my daily scarf choices! The flaming orange of the Globemallow flowers, the turquoise skies, and the earthy greens of the Pines all show up quite regularly in my wardrobe.
More recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family, ancestry, and how many traditions have been lost or eroded over the years. And about what I’m passing down to my daughter (and only child) who just turned sixteen this past month…. so I guess I’m very deeply pondering and reconsidering aspects of my religious/spiritual and cultural/social perspective in ways that have led me to feel that covering my hair is an important part of how I interface with people, the natural world, and G-d, if that makes sense.
My family has been splintered by religious and mental health issues, and I find that wrapping helps me maintain some connection to my maternal lineage. I first learned wrapping from my mother, and she gave me my first scarves. Now I’m teaching my teenage daughter to wrap and this year her birthday presents were mostly scarves, so this feels like a joyful way of passing on beauty and meaning.
For many years of my life, I dressed, quite literally, in camouflage colors. Whether that was the green shades of the forest or the black uniform of urban centers, I tried hard not to stand out. I’m strange enough that this has always been something of a fail for me, but choosing to wrap was also a choice to embrace who I am and to stop apologizing for it. Choosing to wrap in shades of brilliant color took this yet a step further. At first, I had to make a concerted effort to hold my head up high when I stepped into public instead of pulling into myself in wary self-consciousness. It’s grown easier with each day of wrapping, and I now actually find myself looking forward to smiling back at people when they look my way.
Part of why I only wrapped off and on before was because I didn’t know there were wonderful things like 
It’s become a morning ritual for me to check in with the 
First, we have Stephanie in her Wrapunzel tutorial debut (Remember her from our most recent Lady Wrap Star 
At the other end of the spectrum, we have the triumphant return of Jasmin and her stunningly glamorous shimmery wrap! This seemingly effortless (it’s not as complex as it looks, I swear!) and creative style is perfect for the woman who loves intricate-looking wraps without tails (myself included).
“It’s hard to encompass what wrapping means to me in mere words, but it’s fair to say that the community aspect of it has altered my life profoundly. It is a very real sisterhood that provides comfort and support in even the most trying of times under the careful stewardship and guidance of the moderators, who work really hard to make sure it stays relevant and true to its focus of wrapping.
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