Monday, July 29, 2013

AWOL But Back Soon, and A Link

Work's been very busy, and I really haven't had time or energy for blogging lately.  This busy patch should be over in another week or week and a half.  So expect me back somewhere in the next couple of weeks.

But to tide you over until then, here's a link to an impressive video that will show you how to use a scarf to copy Princess Leah's hair-do, because it was just too good not to share.  As the demonstrator says, though, don't wear it if you need to listen carefully to something, all that fabric over the ears makes it hard to hear.

Maybe I'll give it a try sometime.  We'll see...

Monday, July 1, 2013

Being a Wedding Guest, and a Little on Cultural Sensitivity

 A few weeks ago, we went to my husband's cousin's wedding.  This is a pretty wedding-full summer for us: 5 in total, plus one we missed.  This was the second of the bunch.
 Pinning a necklace over the front of my covering is still my default for turning a covering into something wedding-worthy.

I'm always tempted to use something with a drop or a bangle in the front, evoking a tikka/bindi (Indian forehead decorations, which seem to evolve out of religious decorations/caste markers, but seem to be part of secular fashion as well). But as as pale an Ashkenazi as I am, it feels culturally inappropriate- something akin to orientalism.  So while I tried out a necklace with more oomph, and also a bunch of bits that dangled onto my forehead, I decided against.  I didn't take a picture- but even if I did, I might well be uncomfortable putting it online.  What do you think?
 This pin from my grandmother (she was getting rid of it- it's missing one or two of its rhinestones) has become pretty much my favorite pin for adding some sparkle to my scarves.
This scarf is quite long, so even with my tails both wrapped over my head and tied again in back, I had some tails left over.  The scarf is from the dollar store, and is somewhat stretchy.  It's also just a smidge see-through, and I suppose some folks might feel more comfortable with it wrapped around twice, but it didn't seem so transparent as to bother me.

How do you cover for attending a wedding, or other formal event?  Where are the cultural boundaries in what you will or won't wear?