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!

We all know that wearing a tichel can attract a lot of attention. It may be modest, but it is different, and we often find that people show an interest in our behavior or values just based on the way we dress! So with all of that focus on us, what are some ways we can display our values positively?

Let’s start with words. We know not to gossip or slander, but what about positive speech?

Check out this amazing and inspiring conversation we had about the art of the compliment!

When I got engaged, Wrapunzel was just a little (although fabulous) blog. There was no store yet, but my relationship with Andrea led me to a lot of exposure to great wrapping technique. I loved the scarves she wore, and I watched her videos in the days leading up to my wedding. After my marriage, and especially as Wrapunzel grew, I explored almost every type of wrap I was exposed to. I collected scarves in every color, pattern and texture under the sun. I tried every tutorial and video. And I got good, really good, at wrapping.

practicing wrapping in the pre-wedding days

Eventually, though, I realized that ‘having it all’ wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. More and more, I would have the disappointing experience of finding a scarf that I LOVED in the store, or in the photo on a model… but once I had it, it just didn’t work on me. Or I would find this amazing style that a fan had made a tutorial for. It looked absolutely royal on her, so how come it just looked awkward when I tried it? Even more confusingly, by this point, I knew it wasn’t due to bad technique. I was doing everything right, so why did it feel wrong?

On the flip side, I had discovered several colors, scarves, and wrapping techniques that were absolutely 100% dependable. When I wore these, I felt like “me.” They were easy, comfortable, elegant and happy. On the days when I tried those tutorials and scarves that just frustrated me, I would end up after hours of trying going back to these, that I came to think of as my ‘classics.’

one of the first true personal ‘classics’ I found – a layered Shira Tails wrap. I LOVED wearing this!

I recently started reading a book called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” by Marie Kondo, with my husband. It’s about getting your house into order. The author’s central idea is that we create the best environment for ourselves when we select only the belongings that bring us joy, and release ourselves of the obligation and responsibility to keep everything else. It’s a brave and difficult thing to do (especially with the amount of purposeless clutter most of us accumulate), but this little idea has been creeping its way into other parts of my life and even into my tichel wardrobe.

My closet. And actually, there’s a third railing since this photo was taken. Option overload!!!

When I come across something new, I am still going to try it. A tutorial, or scarf that I think I might like – it’s worth a try, and I don’t want to miss what might become a new ‘classic’! But if I try it and it doesn’t work, I’m going to decide that it’s a great wrap, but just not for me. And that’s actually something to celebrate: I learned a lesson about what works and what doesn’t! A valuable piece of information!

It’s not a bad thing that not everything is my style. In fact, I would much rather be surrounded by a smaller amount of scarves, all of which I love. I don’t need to own every scarf type, wear every color, or do every wrapping style. I am releasing myself of the obligation to have it all, and to keep trying wrap styles that don’t make me feel good. I’m giving all those unused scarves to other homes, where they will be loved and appreciated. I am giving up, and it feels so good! Will you join me in giving up what’s holding you back?

Love,
Naomi Rose

So after the insanely viral response to this photo we posted yesterday…

… we decided to take it a step further and make a super detailed informational video all about how to wear the no-slip headband, oomphtastic scrunchy, and the three wrapunzel tichel shapers!  We enlisted in the help of 16 year old Elisheva, and since she doesn’t (yet) cover her hair, this allowed us to show you how to wear ’em from step A – aka morning bedhead!  In this tutorial, we show the difference that a high/low bun of hair makes, shaper placement techniques, and different ways to tie the scarf to “shape the shaper”.  We hope that this gives you the tools and freedom to experiment and really find the perfect shaper technique for you!  Enjoy!

We’ve received an overwhelming amount of requests to hear from Samantha, our historical clothing expert lady wrap star!  So here is her first tutorial!  We can’t wait to try it out!

It’s funny, I sometimes won’t wear my favourite outfits because I’m always looking to try new things, but over the past few weeks I’ve needed some comfort, so I put on colors that I knew would make me smile in cuts of clothing that I knew were flattering… loved this!

I’ve been avoiding necklaces during the day because of grabby little baby hands, but you can use your imagination and put a nice dark gold necklace on me in both these outfits!  😉

Teal and light brown shimmeries… the best!

And my new favourite clip with an awesome skirt!  It was seriously raining outside but I was dancing!

It’s a good reminder to go back to your favourites, right?  Have you ever had an experience like this?  We’d love to hear about it!