My husband and I had a family wedding and we had to travel, first to Monsey to spend Shabbat with my parents, then to Baltimore for the wedding. Our sons helped me load luggage into the car and the four of us had no trouble getting to Monsey. But while traveling, I realized that we had forgotten to pack along my bag with mitpachot. The only head covering I had was my Artistic License scarf that I was wearing that day.
As it was, I had picked out a dress for the wedding, but I hadn’t chosen a wrap style. So I had packed a few different mitpachot and I figured that I would try a few wrap styles and see what worked.

But now I was stuck.

However, some of my most creative ideas come when I’m stuck. As soon as I realized that I only had my Artistic License scarf, the wheels began to turn. That scarf went just fine with my Shabbat outfit (navy top and black skirt- both classic neutrals which go with everything) and would go with my teal dress for the wedding (same color family). Now my challenge was to find a wrap style that would a) look appropriate for a wedding b) hold up well during dancing (Jewish celebratory dancing is very lively and aerobic).
After Shabbat, I tried on a few different wrap styles – here are the ones I didn’t choose:

Eventually I chose the rose turban. It reminded me of British “fascinators,” so if I’m ever in the UK and invited to a formal daytime event, I know what to wear. Meanwhile, at this wedding, the rose turban worked. My husband liked it and I got tons of compliments. More importantly, I felt great.

Sometimes, the best ideas come when you think you’re stuck. Don’t give up.

The following was written by Devora Sara Alon, Rabbanit of Kehilat Kol Yisrael Achim, after she hosted a beautiful Wrapunzel event in Great Neck.

 

“I originally became interested in Wrapunzel as simply another tool in the hair-covering toolbox.  I had not known how practically to keep all my hair covered securely in (nor thought that I had the features for)  anything other than a sheitel.

Upon revisiting your site, I was struck by how Wrapunzel is reclaiming beauty.  Society dictates that beauty means being young, skinny, have long flowing hair, etc. yet, we as Jews are supposed to be a light unto the nations. We should not be taking our cues from society at large. We know that aging is actually a gift (after all, Avraham Avinu asked for it), and older people are to be respected and venerated.  We know that our bodies are a vessel for our most essential selves: our neshamot.  We know that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created each woman’s body with intrinsic beauty, so much so, that we cover our bodies lest they detract ourselves and others from recognizing our true essence.  [Andrea’s] analogy of an orchestra really struck a chord with me: each instrument plays its unique part and together we have a symphony. Had we only recognized a single melody, without all the different and unique harmonic lines, our musical traditions would have missed out on a whole world of polyphonic possibility.  As a former amateur singer, (way back in high school) I loved singing in large choirs.  I loved having my voice blend with the other singers.  I vividly recall how on occasion, “diva” singers could completely throw off an entire section or choir simply because a singer was more intent on standing out than allowing her (or his) voice to be part of something bigger.  Yet, it is still each singer’s unique voice that creates the stunning quality heard in choral pieces.

I likewise like to use the analogy of a circle: each point on the circumference is unique, though equidistant from the center.  It is only when we have all the different points on that circumference that the circle is complete. We never, chas v’shalom, ultimately gain from trying to stand out alone at others’ expense.  When we recognize that everyone has intrinsic value and beauty, including ourselves, that is when we can begin to appreciate the artistry of Ribbonu Shel Olam.

When browsing through Wrapunzel’s website, one sees models of every size, color, and age.  Strikingly, every model exudes her unique beauty.  How do they do that?  Is there some special filter being used on the cameras?  No, there is no chicanery occurring.  Each woman is beautiful and in dressing modestly with joy, and her true beauty just radiates!   Thank you for reminding us what we should be realizing all along, for truly being a light unto the nations, and standing well above what society dictates as their  (false) version of what a woman should look like. This has undoubtedly led to unhealthy self-image in countless women and girls throughout the world, but Gd willing with all of our personal efforts towards change we will merit the coming of Moshiach and experience the joy of finally singing our unique melodies together in harmony.”

YES! Yes, they do!!

Wrapunzel recently had an email from a woman who was feeling discouraged. “I am a grandmother, and I would really love to see some older women wear a tichel. I‘m starting to feel like the only 61-year-old woman who wraps,” she wrote. Well, we knew she wasn’t alone, but we we really wanted her to FEEL it! So we reached out to the wider Wrapunzel community to ask wrapping women over 60 to contribute photos and quotes to send to her. We were so inspired by the results that we had to share them with you!!

 

Annette: “Hello, I am 65 years old (last Sunday) and love wearing Wrapunzel wraps. I feel more beautiful in a wrap and cosy in the cold weather. I don’t often wear make-up so a beautiful wrap I think makes my face look better… and the bonus is that I don’t have to fiddle around every day trying to get my hair to do the right thing.”

 

 

 

 

 

Susie: “I’m 61, too! Wrapping makes me feel settled in my age, rooted. Dignified. (Even in tie-dye!) Beautiful in a way that has nothing to do with our culture’s obsession with youthful perfection—which doesn’t exist, anyway. Wrap on!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jocelyn: “I’ll be on Medicare in a couple months which makes me 64 right now. I don’t do the big fancy wraps but I wrap almost every day (other days I wear hats).”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LC: “I’m 66 and love wrapping.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tzipporah: “I’m also 61 – here’s a very casual shot from the cottage last summer. Wrapping is not the norm in my community for women of any age – sheitels, sheitels, sheitels (wigs) !!! I was wrapped at the largest local kosher grocery and there was a “woman of a certain age” (i.e. mine) who kept looking at me. I thought – uh oh – she doesn’t approve or whatever. Five minutes later, she approached me, told me how gorgeous my wrap was and confided that she wraps too, but only when in Israel. That she really admired me for wrapping in oh so conservative Toronto! For me, a great example of how we can absolutely never judge what’s going on inside someone else’s mind!”

 

 

 

 

 

Maya: “67 years old here!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy: “Hi, I’m a 64 year old woman and wrap everyday. There are so many beautiful women here inside and out. My advise to woman of any age is ‘wrap your pretty little head!'”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mindy: “I’m 62 plus years old. I began wrapping every day a little over a year ago in order to fulfill the mitzvah. It was a decision that took time until I was ready to fully commit myself. Until I began wrapping and joined this group I hated having my photo taken and my family insisted that future generations would think that I disappeared at age 39.

[Don’t] be discouraged and please don’t believe that everyone in the Wrapunzel Fangroup, or who wraps her hair is chronologically young and fabulous…though many of us ARE young at heart. G-d created all of us and loves us all.”

 

 

 

 

 

Loraleigh: “Here I am, 61! This was in the fall of last year; I recently had a birthday and still wrap.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shush: “Making apple butter last October. I’m 62.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judith: “I started wrapping around 65 yrs old.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonnie: “I reached my 64th year last Friday. I don’t wrap full time but I love the flexibility.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evelyn: “60 and counting.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nurit: “I’m 63 and I have given up wigs in favor of tichels. I live in a community where wigs are more the norm, but tichels have made me feel more like my genuine self. Age has nothing to do with it – you can be as flamboyant or as sedate as you want in terms of colors and styles. Don’t pass up this opportunity to give yourself new possibilities – and make sure to share the results with the rest of us! We’re all here for each other!”

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you ladies for sharing your beautiful pictures and inspiring words of wisdom!!! Are you an older woman who wraps, or do you have an inspiring woman in your life who does? Tell us about it in the comments! We’d love to hear more from you!

I am happy to finally introduce you to Danielle!   She is such an inspiring person – an “Aishet Chayil” (woman of valor) in all ways.  She has true grace and really exudes the balance of looking beautiful, treating her family and herself like royalty (because they are!) yet being humble, modest, and giving.  I’ve learned so much from her over the years by just looking at her beautiful tichel creations, and I’m so glad that we all get a chance to read what she has to say as well!  Without further ado, meet Danielle!

“Hi Wrapunzel Ladies! Firstly, I want to say what an honour it is to be featured as a Lady Wrap Star.  The Wrapunzel blog and the amazing ladies of the Wrapunzel fangroup have been an endless source  of inspiration for me and I am so grateful to have discovered this amazing wellspring of beauty and creativity.

I live in Johannesburg, South Africa and was raised in a very traditional Jewish home but we weren’t religious at all. When I was 21 years old, we moved to Sydney, Australia where I met so many young people discovering their Jewish roots and moving towards becoming religious Jews. It was there that I experienced a very powerful Shabbos which ignited a spark in me to become more observant.

Australia turned out not to be the best place for us and so we returned to South Africa where I met my husband. When we got engaged, I always knew I would cover my hair. It was never a difficult choice for me, and it was always a mitzvah that I found easy to keep. I bought a sheitel and a few hats and I reckoned that these would be my main mode of covering my hair.

Once I became a mother my sheitel became a nuisance. Little hands were always grabbing at it, I felt like it was constantly in my face, and it drove me crazy! I had wrapped with tichels before, but I had never seen it as an art or a way to become creative. I always just tied the scarf on and wrapped it around my bun.

One day, friends of ours surprised us saying that their connecting flight from Israel to Knysna was delayed and so they would have to spend Shabbos in Johannesburg. They came to us for Shabbos, and I could not take my eyes off my friend’s wrap. It had so much volume, and she looked so incredibly regal. That was when I first discovered volumisers, and I started watching tutorials on hair wrapping and eventually discovering Wrapunzel 10 years after my hair covering journey had begun! I had never even thought to layer scarves together, or add a colourful sash, headbands, pins, buckles, clips. A whole new world was opened to me.

I have had very mixed reactions to my wraps. The African ladies love them and always stop me to tell me how beautiful my “doek” (head covering) is. I’ve even been asked if I was married to a Xhosa man because they had never seen a white lady with a “doek”!

I now live in a religious community where most of the women cover their hair, but most of them cover with sheitels and only a very few will try more elaborate wraps.

Someone once said to me that they used to wear colourful scarves but they decided that it was drawing too much attention to themselves so they took to wearing a sheitel full time. This initially bothered me as I thought that perhaps I was drawing too much attention to myself. But then I remembered a something I came across when I was learning about modest dress. G-d is the King of the universe, and I am his daughter. I should therefore dress in a way that says that I am a princess.

As a result, my head covering has become my crown, and I am proud to wear it as a daughter of the King.”

I firmly believe that every woman needs a “go-to” color combination that will make her feel fabulous no matter what.  My “go-to” is teal and brown.  What’s yours?

Today I’m wearing a teal shiny licious and dark brown lakeshore bliss – my outfit is just a comfy loose top (perfect for nursing), a turquoise pin skirt and boots.  I feel so fantastically comfortable and am really able to move and do everything I need to do!

Can’t wait to hear your go-to color combinations!  Who knows?  Maybe your “go-to” will inspire something new in someone else!

Sending you all lots of love, Wrapunzelistas!
Love, Andrea

Black and blue, red, orange, and pink, black and brown… these are all color combos that I grew up thinking were a “no-no” to wear together.  Well, time has taught me the error in my ways, and currently I LOVE turning these no-nos into YES-YESSES!!  Who says you can’t wear brown and black together?  Not I!   I’m loving it!

I’m wearing a black Shimmery and a brown Lakeshore Bliss!  Perfect for a chilly day!

What are some “no-no” combinations you’ve been brave enough to try?

Love, Andrea

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a few shimmeries in your collection that are starting to get holes from their much-loved constant use!  Thrifty solution: rip them up to make sashes!  I love incorporating these sashes into wraps where a whole shimmery might cause too much bulk!

Here is a tutorial I made about it:

Love this double braid style I’m wearing today!  The different widths create almost a medieval feel.

Would you rip up your shimmeries to try this?  Happy wrapping y’all!

Love, Andrea