Meet Zehava C., at bonafide Wrapunzelista! We love with her wraps and always wondered how she organized her tichels. Well… here it is – WOW! This is basically every Wrapunzel woman’s fantasy land! Thank you Zehava for the fantastic storage inspiration!
Wow! Who else wants to take a shopping trip in Zehava’s closet? (*raises hand!)
I am so moved by this beautiful article written about my story and the Wrapunzelution! This is from a paper in Lakewood NJ (Lakewood Shopper). Thank you Fradl for putting that which is so hard to talk about into words!
Here is the link to the online pdf: http://www.flipdocs.com/showbook.aspx?ID=10006519_399847&P=84
(Click on the first photo to see the gallery and read the article, you may want to zoom in on your screen.)
It’s long been talked about that headbands can add a beautiful layer to your headwrap with minimal bulk and almost zero effort… but I’ve never tried putting on 6 headbands at a time before! Can you believe I’m only wearing one scarf in the photo below? LOVE the result!
On the Wrapunzel Store site, we call these babies “The Headband Secret”! They’re perfect stretchy cotton and they don’t budge once in place!
Here’s the tutorial!
Since posting the photo of the tichel I wore for a concert, I’ve been subtly (and not so subtly) urged to post a video of the recital it was from! Well, the videos are finally up! If you have the time, definitely read my husband’s writing on the piece – it’s incredible. Obviously listening to all four movements (the whole piece) in a row is best, but if you must choose one, please listen to the 3rd movement because it has the most awesome cello solo ever! (And it’s a love song.)
First Movement:
Second Movement:
Third and Fourth Movements:
I went to a beautiful wedding yesterday; the daughter of an incredible family we are close with got married! It truly was an occasion. Of course I made sure to take some photos of outfit and tichel inspiration! First I want to show you this dress that I got from eshakti.com… a lady on the Wrapunzel facebook page recommended it and I was very impressed! (Nope, I’m not getting anything from them for making this post – just want to share the awesomeness!) A lot of their dresses can be customized to all kinds of modesty standards, and they really value their individual customers – a truly special website! I’m going to share this post with them to encourage more dresses that a customizable for different tzniut (modesty) standards, so everyone please leave a comment on this post telling them that this would be a good idea!!
Here is the dress! (With the % discount they had featured and $25 first timers discount it came out to a whooping $30 with all the customization!)
And here is the inspirational Rivka Malka! We are loving this dress she has… she got it in Israel. We really want to just make it in every single colour… maybe in the future this dream will come true! Both of our outfits were just made to move in, and if any of you have ever been to an orthodox Jewish wedding you’ll know that crazy dancing is essential! We always make sure that our outfits and tichels can withstand lots of this!
And of course, some close ups of our tichels! I’m wearing two “THE Shimmery” scarves – the gold one that you’ll all recognize from my collection that I’ve had for years, and a new navy one – they all WILL be available on the new store site!! You can imagine how ecstatic I was when we found them for you! And Rivka Malka is rocking the leopard print with a sparkly headband and sash! Awesome!
What do you wear to weddings? We want to hear from you! And please also leave a comment here telling eshakti.com that we would love more modest dresses from them!
Love, Andrea
Hi Everyone! My husband and I are making a cross country move this week after house sitting (and living out of boxes) for the last two months. This is why I haven’t been able to create new videos, and you may have seen some repetitive daily wraps… my recording space is non-existent and most of my scarves are packed away! That being said, I have been thinking a lot about your requests, ideas, and suggestions… and have great hopes for where Wrapunzel can go once we settle into our new place!
Here are some of my ideas and goals, based on your comments and requests:
– Clothing matching and style suggestions. I am planning on doing posts showing how I match outfits to scarves… I am very excited to do this! Even though I am by no means a fashionista, I have realized that perhaps the fact that I am a working woman who needs to find (very) affordable clothing AND wrap amazing scarves around my head makes it even more important that I share what I know.
– More giveaways! I am stunned by how successful our two giveaways have been, and how they have brought this community closer together. I am hoping to do many more!
– Personalized attention. I am hoping to do one on one consultations, troubleshooting, and personalized scarf selecting for ladies that are interested. I am also looking forward to doing many more scarf wrapping workshops, which is a great chance to get hands on experience!
– Measurements. I will get a measuring tape and share with you the dimensions of the ideal head wrapping scarves. This is a promise 😛
– A chance for you to buy head coverings. I seem to have a magnetism/gift for finding beautiful and affordable scarves and matching them with accessories. And I shouldn’t be the only person benefitting from this. A huge chunk of women seem to stumble on this site, think that I am selling these creations and are disappointed to find out that I am not. I will figure out a way to make this happen for you… looking forward to this!
– Video tutorials. You ladies love watching them, and I love making them. You can look forward to watching my do many more tichel ties… and as requested, I will show you more side and back views!
– More lady wrap stars from around the world!
So… this is what I have been thinking about and looking forward to! I would like to open up the comments section of this post to hear what you think about these ideas, and if you have other suggestions. By the end of August I should able to get most of these ideas off the ground. Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks in advance!
Love, Andrea
You may remember that I bike to work pretty much every day. Doing this has been a challenge to my scarf wrapping ways, because a helmet does not work well with a volumizer! Here are some solutions and advice that I have come up with so far:
1) Get to work early and do your scarf in the restroom. Often I opt for this solution, and just arrive at work early with scarves/volumizer ready in my bag and do myself up in the restroom (which is also essential if face rinse/makeup touch-up/shirt change is needed). This was always the most obvious option for me, especially in colder months when I need to bike with a hat/warm headband. However, it is time consuming and can be awkward when you are biking to multiple locations and/or walking out of your workplace with friends (“excuse me while I duck into the restroom to change my scarf!”)
2) Go casual. This option works very well, especially with a colourful cotton scarf, glasses, and earrings. It was my go-to option in this post:
It works well… but as you all know, I couldn’t bear wearing single square scarves all the time!
3) Do the braid. This seems like the easiest solution, and it keeps my wrap from being too boring. Only issue is the braid sometimes getting stuck under my bag while biking, but so far so good!
4) Or do a bow! One of the simplest options I have found is after taking down my elabourate tichel that I wear at work, I just tie the loose ends of the base scarf in a bow and ride on! It actually looks pretty good with the helmet off as well.
To all you bikers out there, how do you bike with a tichel? Any pointers/ideas?
It is my greatest pleasure to feature a visionary woman and seller of stunning hair coverings. Many of you have already heard of Judith Levy, the founder of Judith de Paris. I have been hoping to interview her and share her ideas and stories ever since this site was founded. And, even better, she wants to do a giveaway exclusively for Wrapunzel members! Giveaway details at the bottom of this article, but now, here is Judith’s story, as well as some special interview questions:
Judith de Paris – The Story
My name is really Judith and I am actually from Paris 😉 I moved to the USA three years ago when I got remarried. I live in Silver Spring MD where my husband leads the Sephardic minyan hosted by YISE.
I have always been in love with words, and therefore I am an editor. I work with the French edition of Artscroll for more than ten years, proof reading the guemara and the chumash. I also translate from English and Hebrew to French.
Before I got remarried two and a half years ago, my husband to be asked me if I would consider switching my beautiful, long trendy sheitel for a kisuy (as they say in Hebrew) according to the Sephardic halachic rulings.
“No way, Jay!” In France, women switch from tichel to sheitel because they don’t want to be mistaken as Arab women!
Plus, this scarves look like nothing. No style, no character, nothing. My smart fiancé accepted my decision and I went to the chupa with my long sheitel.
After a few months in Silver spring, my husband hesitantly asked me what I thought would be a good answer to give to those people in his minyan who didn’t really understand why the rabbi’s wife wears a sheitel when he himself keeps telling them that Sephardic women should cover their hair with a kisuy. My answer was immediate but in some way I didn’t really measure the consequences of these few words: I told him to tell them that I am going to try.
For my husband it was carved in the stone and he took it for granted: from now on his wife will wear a tichel. I actually did it every day but not when we were going out to weddings or any kind of events. Then, we had an important wedding in the community and I was really eager to please my husband and give him due respect by showing to everybody out there that I was sensible and receptive to my husband opinions and advices. (For me nothing was more precious than to succeed where I had once failed : my marriage. I was therefore ready to go out of my way for that. My Moroccan background also taught me that the honor you give to your husband is the cornerstone of the home you try to build.) I looked for a nice kisuy and found a casquette, very Parisian style. Perfect for me.
Then came the great news, my son got engaged and was to be married in England in July. My first concern was not my dress but my hair covering. Along with my stepdaughters, we toured the whole Baltimore to find THE hair piece. We found either old fashioned (mother in law kind of hats 😉 ) or plain scarves. Since we couldn’t find the perfect one, I bought around ten different scarves matching my dress even a piece of expensive lace (that was used later for my stepdaughter’s wedding outfit). But deep inside of me, I knew that I was not totally ready to wear this “thing” for my son’s wedding. These “things” are an insult to an elegant evening dress !
Come July, I packed all my scarves, all the matching accessories and my beautiful sheitel that I intended to give to one of my sisters. The wedding was full of emotion and some tension too because of the situation of the chatan’s parents. My first child was getting married and it was the first “family” reunion with my ex in-laws since my second marriage a year ago. The stress was at its peak and my trembling hands were not able to tie this mitpachat, the way I wanted it to look. I got dressed, tried to tie the tichel and kept failing. I asked the make up lady who was taking care of my daughters at that time if she had ever took care of a sheitel which had been sitting for months in a drawer and travelled to England in a random bag in the bottom of my suitcase. She tried her best, the result was acceptable. That was my last experience wearing a sheitel.
From England we flew to Israel where my daughter got engaged and where I met my first volumizer (and my first son in law). I wore it for the first time for her engagement party without a wig grip under it (I didn’t know such a thing existed!) I promise you, you don’t want to see the pictures that were taken at the end of the evening…
Since my husband was sick during most of our vacation, I didn’t really have a chance to visit the plethora of mitpachot stores that are available in Jerusalem.
For my daughter’s wedding, I had two months and lots of energy to find a kisuy. I didn’t even try to find something in the USA. I just surfed the web to find the most elegant stores in Israel as I had decided to do my shopping when I will get there. I met Rinati Lakel on the web but visited her store two days before the wedding. I was wonderfully welcomed by an awesome hostess who took the time to exchange my volumizer ( I had bought the higher one which was not necessary since I am 6ft) and to pick with me the exact color and the exact head jewel I needed. We spent quite a long time in the store tying and retying till I felt comfortable enough. During the pre wedding shopping, we got to know a fair amount of mitpachot stores where we got a few mitpachot for my daughter and myself. When I came back home, I felt so fortunate to be able to go to shul with a neatly tied kisuy.
I felt like I was accomplishing a real kiddush Hashem.
Somehow, I started to feel like I should share my “discovery” with the ladies of our community. I told my husband that somebody should really think about bringing those hair pieces from Israel and help American married women to cover their hair with elegance.
“Why couldn’t you do it?”
“Me ? business ? Are you kidding me ? Everybody knows that I a much more comfortable with letters than with numbers. Nope, that’s not for me.”
That should have been the end of my idea but I couldn’t let go. Each time I went to shul, I noticed that the ladies around could really use some help with their hair covering. Most of them were very young and for a Parisian like me it was heartbreaking to see them with these scarves (either too flat or too bulky, nobody knew of a volumizer then and used a lot of smart artifacts in lieu of volume under the scarves). So I jumped and here I was again at my computer scrutinizing the web for the best designers. Eventually, I started with Sarah from Sarah creations who suggested me to order a few padded caps. I reluctantly ordered five of them (after all I had my own one and I knew for a fact that it slipped all the way down the head ten minutes after I have tied your mitpachat). She was right. The demand was immediately immense. As for today, we sold almost 300 of them around the country. When I understood that, I asked Rinati Lakel, who registered the boubou aka volumizer as a patent pending creation, to give me exclusivity on the volumizer for the USA. I got the American mentality pretty fast : I have created this business for a mitsva and to help women but I kept in mind that all that work had to become an income for our extended family and allow my husband to learn while being free of financial concerns.
It’s been a year now and we are still not there… God willing, it will become a full time job soon!
Wow, what an incredible story! Here are photos of the lastest summer styles from Judith:
My dear friend, Judith, from Judith de Paris, sent me a volumizer to try out and give my feedback. It is a long, stuffed, velvet tube, that you wrap around your bun like a snake. I was quite intrigued, and the results were certainly interesting! The snake didn’t create that uniform, round volumizer look that I’m used to, and it created a LOT of volume! For me, it almost felt like too much, but I’m sure it’s a look that I will want once in a while. The snake also took a while to wrap, which was more time-consuming and requiring or wrapping skills than the regular volumizer that you just slip on.
The first time I wore it was over Shabbat day. These photos were taken late in the evening, and the wrap stayed put for the whole day! I found this surprising because it really looked like there was a lot of weight at the back of my head, but it did not budge! I even took a two hour nap during the day! I wore the snake with my bun a little lower than usual, so the volume was lower down. What do you think?
The second time I wore it was yesterday, and I wore my bun a little higher. I really liked the effect that was created, but again, it was much more volume than I am used to. Do you think there is such a thing as too much volume? Do you have any suggestions for ways to wear such a large volumizer? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
I am really starting to look forward to opening my mail box. There are so many artistic ladies on this site! My friend, Stephanie, who is a Lady Wrap Star (see her post here) is also starting to make her own scarf wrapping accessories! They are gorgeous, and work very well because they are specifically made for those of us that cover with scarves. I am loving this pretty gift of a yellow flower clip/headband – I can’t seem to stop wearing it!
I hope that one day I can start being crafty like some of the ladies on here… but for now, I can just get excited about opening my mail box! Here is the flower headband/clip on a different wrap:
Stephanie is also making hair clip holders (basically, a pretty ribbon – or two – attached to a loop that can be hung on your wall) and sent me one. It holds my flower clips beautifully and is very practical for storage. You can see it on the left side of this photo. (On the right is how I store my pins.) Yay no more crushed flowers!
I am not sure, but I do think she is selling her creations and since everything is made by hand, will do special requests. I will let her clarify that! Thank you Stephanie!
(and FYI – she did not ask me to make this post… but how could I not? ❤ )
There is something important that I would like to say, probably the most important thing I have said on Wrapunzel since creating the site:
“Thank you.”
Yes, you! Over the last few days, I have received an overwhelming amount of love and response from this community. It has been much more than usual, and is the reason why I am going through my days with a perma-smile! These messages, comments, and emails have given me so much strength and encouragement. It is amazing how much love and blessing I can feel through your words, and I thank you for giving so much of your love to me and the others on here! It has made me reaffirm how much a site like this is needed in the world, and I am so grateful to have been given the tools to run it. I am also glad to announce that over the past two days, Wrapunzel has achieved the highest number of daily site visits since its creation… wow! Thank you so much to those of you who have been sharing the site. I would have never guessed that hair covering could help build so many bridges and create so much love!
On Saturday night, I has the opportunity to teach a hair wrapping class to the largest group of women that I have taught! The particular one was for a group of Sephardi women, and it was a wonderful experience. I made new friends, learned a lot, and am looking forward to doing many more events like this in the future. If you have any ideas of places that could use hair wrapping classes, I would appreciate the connection. I especially want to reach out to health centers in order to offer classes to ladies who are dealing with hair loss… I know that feeling beautiful during rough times can do wonders for self esteem and healing.
Anyway, I digress. This post is about gratefulness and yesterday I received the most exquisite gift; Batsheva, our “Lady Wrap Star” from the Golan sent me a package in the mail. I opened it and after her beautiful note made me tear up, I discovered that it contained beautiful jewellery and hair covering accessories that she had made by hand! I had no idea that she was such an artist, but now that I look back at her photos, I should have guessed! She apparently used to sell them but does not do so anymore… but I’m thinking we should encourage her to start up again because these are gorgeous (she did not ask me to make this post, but I got her permission – her creations are just too beautiful not to share)! I am especially inspired by her “Tichel Tiara” (the one in a spiral – it’s not a necklace), that is adjustable and will not cause pulling like the other headbands I use. Can’t wait to wear it! Here is what she sent me:
So, I want to wear them all at once, but since I realistically can only wear one pin with earrings and a necklace, here is today’s wrap!
Ever wondered how to get that perfect bun and amount of volume at the back of your headwrap? Here is the secret solution! (Well, not so secret anymore.)
Actually, I gave you a grand total of 7 solutions in this video!
Here are the links to some of the places I mentioned in this video (fyi – these resources are not sponsored… just ones that I have used and/or know!)
The volumizer can be found through Judith de Paris. And on facebook. Judith is a lovely woman. You can talk to her personally if you need advice on what size to get etc. – or just ask me for help!
The hijab hump bonnet can be found on ebay through this seller. It comes from Malaysia so you need to have some patience when waiting for it, but there was a lovely handwritten note included. I’m thinking of buying a cotton one from them as well.
My post on how to make it look like you have a huge bun using a long scarf is here.
The volumizer that can be made out of a loofah has a couple of diy tutorials on youtube. Here is one that someone sent to me.
And this is what the hair donut I was describing looks like:
A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a lovely woman’s scarf “shop” on etsy.com. For those of you that don’t know, Etsy is a site that allows artistic people to sell their handmade creations via the internet. I love this concept, because it allows you to buy beautiful creations directly from the creator. Most of the prices are very reasonable, but even if some things cost a few dollars more, I will gladly pay that to support small businesses and be able to forge a relationship with the person that makes the products. For me, that relationship is so important and something that my generation is often lacking. Anyway, I messaged the woman, talked a bit, picked a scarf, and just received it in the mail! It’s beautiful, colourful, and light. I love the paneling and that it’s the perfect size to wrap around my head. Anyway, her name is Norma, and you should check out her creations here.
Here is the scarf I ordered:
The first wrap that I did, I used a purple israeli scarf to bring out the purple hues in the green one:
The second wrap (which I’m wearing today) is my father’s influence. He spoke to me recently, telling me about a woman that he saw on the subway wearing a really cool headwrap. He tried to describe it as best he could, telling me that the ends were hanging down on both sides like hair, and this is my attempt at recreating what he told me!
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