Lady Wrap Star – *Yael* !

I am so excited to introduce Yael to you!  I was lucky to get to see her during my recent whirlwind trip to Israel, and during our time together, so many beautiful thoughts about hair covering spilled from her mouth that I had to whip out my video recorder.  There is so much to say about this woman, so instead of telling you all about her, I will instead let her speak for herself:

I know, eh?  Our first Lady Wrap Star on video!

Can you believe that Yael’s married name is Sunshine?  How perfect is that!  Here are some photos of her with her husband:

Yael is incredibly vibrant, warm, and honest.  I’m sure y’all want to ask questions and hear more from her, so please tell us what you think in the comments section and Yael will do her best to respond!

Our Latest Lady Wrap Star – Tiona!

When Tiona sent in her gorgeous photo with a sweet note for the “Wrapunzel Ladies do the Zig-Zag Criss Cross” post, I was immediately captivated by her smile and wrapping skills.   Turns out that her beautiful wraps only give a hint to the person she is on the inside!  Here she is as a Lady Wrap Star!  Read on…

wrapunzel wrap star tiona andrea grinberg

Hi Tiona! Can you tell us a little about yourself? What are you all about, some likes/dislikes, how do you choose to spend your time?
Yes. Hi my name is Tiona Reed, I am a mother of four blessings and married to my wonderful husband Roderick Reed. I run my own bakery and absolutely love baking and decorating cakes. There is a fulfillment there when I see the smile on someones face because Ive added to their life memories. I spend all of my time raising my children in the most positive way I know how. I have also started the process of volunteering at the local hospitals cancer center to teach women how to cover their heads in a way to still remain confident. Personal experience has taught me that if a woman still remains confident and positive about the way she looks, her recovery is quickened or her last days are brighter. My husband is currently serving in Afghanistan so all of this is a great responsibility at the present time but I have strong and loving mishpucha helping me through.

How long have you been covering your hair? Can you tell us a bit about why you cover your hair and the process leading to this life decision?
I have not been covering my hair for very long, but I find the journey very rewarding. Becoming more modest had been my conviction for quite some time so when I decided to hold myself accountable and learn what it meant to be modest and cover my hair, I felt like I had accomplished something that would bring more clarity to my life focus. There were a lot of distractions regarding how I looked, in particular my hair. I use to be a hair model when I lived in Atlanta and that seemed to be the focus of my life. Funny story, when I met my husband, I actually missed a hair show I was suppose to be in because I was with him!! Anyways, I later felt there was too much focus on my hair and not enough on what was important, which is self and others. I slowly but surely began to wrap my hair and I have seen how it has transformed my life and the life of the people around me!

What is your favourite way to cover? Favourite colour and why?
My favorite way to cover are snoods!! I am a busy mom, so a snood is fast and easy!! Sometimes I dress it up and put layers underneath, but throw on and go fits my lifestyle. I like to save all the other fun wraps and scarves for Shabbos. Then I get to experiment and play with colors and textures. Just another way I set the day apart. My favorite color would have to be blue. All shades of blue just make me happy. It has a calming affect to me. It’s also a great canvas to add different textures and patterns to.

Do people ever ask you about your hair coverings? What do you say to them? A memorable hair wrapping experience you would like to share?
I don’t really get asked much about my hair coverings as much as I get complimented. There is always a look of curiosity, but not much in the way of conversation, other then a thank you response. My most memorable hair wrapping experience would have to be when I was in Israel and some of the ladies asked me to cover their heads when we were expected to be in areas where it was required. It was such an honor that they were standing, waiting their turns to be wrapped and they absolutely loved it! Some to this day have continued to wrap their hair even upon returning home.

Any scarf wrapping tips you would like to share with the Wrapunzel ladies? What are you grateful today?
Oh my, tips from me!! I would love to learn more tips from everyone else. The only thing I can think to contribute is to always walk away from the mirror feeling inspired and confident. This light is important for others who need the encouragement to cover their hair and still feel empowered. I am grateful for my family and the opportunities that have been placed before me. My life has truly been blessed and I only pray that I have been that same blessing to others.

Thank you for this opportunity!!

And thank YOU Tiona!  Thanks for reading everyone – let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

Skirt = Headwrap?! Believe it!

So… you all know Rivka Malka Perlman, right?

If you haven’t heard of her, run (don’t walk!) to her website right now.  This woman is one of my greatest inspirations, and I am proud to say, now also a close friend.

ANYWAY – she recently gave me a stunning teal wrap skirt, and I had been itching to wear it, so I decided to save it for a special occasion.  Last Shabbat seemed like the perfect opportunity.

But then the weather was FREEZING!  Much too cold to wear such a fluttery skirt.  I thought the skirt may have to stay in my closet and wait until the spring.

But Shabbat is a time of miracles, so I had an idea and did what any proud head scarf wrapper would do; I turned it into a tichel!

Bada boom!
Bada boom!

And it subsequently became one of the most beautiful tichels I have ever tied!
andrea grinberg wrapunzel skirt tichel

I know.  And all this was done without damaging the skirt – so it can be worn both ways.

Maybe Rivka Malka and I should start marketing skirts as tichels!  Who wants a tutorial??

Wrapunzel Ladies do the “Zig-Zag Criss-Cross”!

Wow!  Hello stunning colour combinations!  Check out all the different looks you can get from this wrap – all created by the ladies of Wrapunzel!  Great technique, girls!!  (Click on the photos to see them up close!)

(Yep, I stuck myself in there as well because I wanted to join the party!)
I have to mention that over Shabbat I met a woman for the first time lo and behold she was rocking the zig-zag criss-cross!  What a treat and a bit of a surreal too!  I am so proud of you all!  Thank you everyone for your submissions and keep up the awesome work!  (And yes, you can still send in photos and I will add them to this post.)  Yay wrapping sisterhood solidarity!

Goin’ Colour Crazy!

I have been experimenting lately with combining many textures and colours with lots of layers and twists.  It’s the kind of fun that I highly recommend trying out!

Here it is in magenta, navy and tan:andrea grinberg wrapunzel

And in candy colours and stripes:
andrea grinberg wrapunzel

And in pastel salmon, blue and white!
andrea grinberg wrapunzel

I am loving this look, and find that it really stays put all day (of course, you have to be wearing the proper equipment underneath).  What do you think of it?

Do the Criss-cross!

I often get asked, “Do you ever get bored?  Do you ever run out of new ways to tie your scarves?”  The answer is, gratefully, “nope!”  Even if I  owned 10 scarves (believe me, I have quite a few more than that!), there would still be an infinite amount of tying options.

So here is a new style that I came up with yesterday!  It is surprisingly easy.  Who wants a tutorial?

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And here is another variation on the criss-cross that I have tried, with only one scarf:
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Dark Warmth

Sheer, jewel-toned knitted cotton, and patterned, dark green silk.  What a beautiful combination!

andrea grinberg wrapunzel


In terms of what I wore with it, my 13 year old self would be scandalized!  When I was a teenager, I had very strict ideas about what matched (don’t ask me where I got these rules from).  Dark shirt grey with black pants?  Never!  Complimentary colours together in one outfit?  Never!  Needless to say, my grey skirt, dark teal shirt and warm jean jacket would have never been allowed out of the house!

But times have changed!  Here is the dark yet warm yet neutral outfit that I paired with the wrap!  (Excuse my “Zoolander” face – I haven’t figured out the timer on my camera yet!)
andrea grinberg wrapunzel outfit

Function meets Fashion!

It’s always a challenge to find hair wraps and clothing that allow me to live life with freedom of movement, while remaining dignified and elegant.  Believe me ladies, I know how hard it is!

Here is my latest helmet-friendly cycling wrap (aka no volume at back):

And the outfit that went with it!  (Bicycling, office, cello, and home friendly!)
andrea grinberg wrapunzel

For those of you celebrating, I wish you an elevating, clarifying, connected, inspirational, cathartic, and all around incredible Yom Kippur.  Kol tuv!

Black Gets Colourful!

I must say, that as much as I love wearing lots of colour, I do enjoy my basic blacks!  The ease and elegance of it is simply unmatched.  That being said, I wanted to wear black today and be colourful as well!  Here’s is a post about how I went about being colourful and wearing black too!

First, a beautiful jewel multi-toned scarf with a sparkly black accent sash:

Paired with the right accessories:
andrea grinberg wrapunzel

And a lovely outfit contrasted with a black top and belt:
andrea grinberg wrapunzel

I enjoyed what I wore today very much.  The colour was joyful, the silhouette was feminine yet comfortable, and the black was pulled together.  Shana tova!

Now tell us, what are some new combinations/experiments you have tried lately, and how did it go?

Hot Day Wear!

It’s hoootttt outside!  Many ladies often ask me, “aren’t you boiling in your long skirts, sleeves, and head wrap?”  The answer is, “Yep, it’s hot, but I am much cooler than someone wearing short shorts and a tank top!”

How can this be?

The answer is simple: look at the Bedouins and those that lived outside in extremely hot weather.  They all wore light colours, long, draped fabrics, and had their heads covered.  Light fabrics reflect the sun away from your body much better than skin does!  Skin fries under the sun; not only does this create health problems, but it also raises one’s body temperature like nothing else.  A long, breezy skirt is much cooler than constricting shorts.  Same with fluttery sleeves!  As for the hair covering, I find that when I wear light fabrics on my head, I sweat much less than when I wore my hair down (sticky!) and got my scalp burned.

So here is my hot day hair wrap and outfit!  The shirt is light, loose cotton.  The skirt is a wrap skirt from Jerusalem, and the scarves are cotton/silk 🙂

wrapunzel andrea grinberg

Princess Wrap Tutorial

 

Here is how to do the much-coveted princess wrap!  As you can see by watching the video, this wrap is very easy to do, provided that you have a large enough scarf to begin with (really, my “scarf” is just a piece of cloth).  Instead of the lace, you can just use any other long scarf, but the lace makes it look much more royal.  Enjoy!