Colors of the Sunrise Wrap

 This is a re-do of a shabbos day covering I put together.  Somehow, it was just a bit better the day of, but I like the re-do, too.  It was a rainy, dark day, and I was feeling tired by it.  Then I put together an outfit that was all blacks and browns- so I decided I needed something really bright and cheerful on my head.  This is the result.  And since today is cold, if sunny, it felt like a good time to put up something warm and colorful.

One pashmina, two narrow scarves (too narrow to use on their own), and two yards of lace ribbon.

The first time I did it, it stayed nicely.  Then I accidentally mussed it up, and it kept slipping for the rest of the day.  Hence- this is a reconstruction.

A Favorite Shabbat Style

We're at least in theory (note the likely weather- there's supposed to be quite a bit of snow overnight) heading out for a shabbos at a shul out of state, so before I head off (tomorrow), and only one day late for the StyleCrone's Hat Attack, here's a favorite shabbos style of mine.  You've definitely seen it before, but I like the color combination here.  

 I find this style to be a good Shabbos default for me.  It is simple enough to do that I can put it on in a rush on a Friday afternoon, but between some sparkle in the scarves and the height it adds, it feels formal as well. It has layers and color-contrast, but is less persnickety than a wrap with all the tails layered over the head (making it faster, for me, than a full six color swaps, or layers, or whatever you want to call that).

 These scarves are Israeli ones- bought for quite little while I was in Israel, way back when, and with a coarse enough texture that they stay in place really well.  But I've done this with a pretty wide variety of scarves.  In fact, someone at my husband's internship pulpit asked if I always wore my tichels like this...

And here's one taken with a flash.  Who knows which is "more accurate"?

Medieval-esque

Remember my first attempt with wrapping a scarf-braid around my head? I promised to let you know what happened with a braid with more different strands.  Here's the result, with a five-stranded braid, using 5 different scarves (some quite thin, as I didn't want to turn into the braid-head monster):

 The braid is made using the tutorial here, which is very easy to understand and to carry off.

I secured the first end with a hair clip, while I braided, then brought the ends together at the back of my head and used a hair elastic, covered with a scrunchie, to secure the ends.  The tails have a lot of bulk, rather reminiscent of a decorative head-band I saw on a little girl at shul recently- it had lots of ribbons hanging down in the back.




My impression was that it looked sort of like we imagine the Medieval period (rather than like what it was actually like, which I'm less sure of).

It's fun, and it's something you can make in advance, then take off, and slip back on later.  Good perhaps for packing to transform yourself from work clothes to something more festive.

Shabbos Tails

This was a recent Shabbos style- two scarves, one headband.  The fun is that all the "work" is done with one scarf, with one tail wrapped over the head.  The other scarf just weaves in and out of that band, ties behind the ear.  It makes a nice accent on the head, and some bulk below for those of us who sometimes miss having hair hanging down.

 It makes a lot of effect in front, without a lot of layers to have to worry about.  And it adds some height without being overwhelming.

I tend not to like tails hanging down for work days, they tend to say romantic rather than professional to me.  For shabbos or a party, I adore them, and this style definitely provides.

 This is a side view, so you see how the thing came together structurally.

And apparently, neither Haggai nor I noticed that I had a tag sticking up...  Oh well.  You see my flaws as well as my creativity.

A Shabbat Cover

Finally, I snuck in a couple of photos of some Friday night head coverings.  Here they are, all ready to be some inspiration.

 This one isn't anything too unusual, just a twist, with the back of the patterned scarf left loose.

And for another one, from when it was a little cooler out:

 This was just before a Shabbat at my husband's rabbinic internship.  (Hence the bedroom that is so very much not ours, which you don't see much of for a reason.)

 The jacket is a gift from my mother, the scarf, a gift from my mother-in-law.  A lucky match...

More Shabbos Styles

This is three scarves, layered, with the ends hanging down in the back, secured by a hair elastic.  

 And from the back:

This is from Friday night:

 And here's the back:  This is my first attempt to play with "scarf stuffing"- I have a rather bulky scarf underneath the one you see (you can see the very front of it, in the picture above).  I tried putting my bun, and thus the padding, higher up, which is how I often see that look, but I couldn't get it to work quite right, and shabbos was quickly approaching- so back to my usual location it was.  I like the look, although it puts a bunch of weight fairly low down on my head.

Where do you put your bun/ponytail/etc under a scarf?  Low down, mid-range, up high?

Double Trouble Shabbat

We managed to get pictures of both my head-do's for shabbat this week, since I somehow managed to still be all "coiffed" at the end of shabbos.  However, those daytime photos come at the end of a day with a Lot of walking in it- we walked to have lunch with friends about 4.5 miles south of us, and then decided that hey, let's walk back too, instead of hanging around until the end of shabbat.  So- be merciful on the little strands of hair that are yearning for outer space, in those photos.

Night:

This was me going rather wild- there's a small scarf tied as a headband underneath it all, which you can barely see in these photos.  Then I put on a long rectangular scarf (blue and silver), and a folded smaller one  (pink and purple) around that.  I took a third scarf (light blue and black) and wrapped it around my bun once.  After that, I made two braids, each with one tail of each of the three scarves.  It was a lot of fun, but might have been a bit too much- I think I'd skip defining the bun, the next time I want to do scarf-braids.  On the other hand, as someone who lived in braided hair for years and years of my youth, it's fun to have some again, once in a while.  This was enough fun that it was totally worth it.

Day:

For daytime, I was more moderate than for Friday night.  I used two rectangular scarves, with one tied regularly, and the other sort of scrunched up, then tied a little behind it.  I twisted the tails together, and wrapped them around my bun. Then I topped it off with a dollar-store scrunchie.  I really liked the effect, and it brought together all the colors from my outfit.  (You can also see the progress of our packing and move in the background.  Sorry it's so chaotic.)

What I Wore: Shabbat Again, Part 1

Friday night:
We were on our own for shabbos dinner, and sometimes it's nice to go easy.  This isn't a style for anyone who covers all their hair, or for anyone with short hair.  But it's a nice, easy variant that covers the head well, and still restrains the hair, without covering it entirely.  While we didn't actually go out this Friday night, I do wear this out, on occasion.

It can also be worn with only one scarf, either using each tail of the scarf as one strand of the braid, or by splitting the hair into two sections, and using the scarf tails as one strand of the braid.  The effects are a little bit more obvious with more differentiated colors of scarves.  Since this week, I went with dark colors, here's a close-up:

And a profile, to show the little headband I added, for a brighter color:

Someday, I should learn some more complex, multi-stranded braids, and try out some of those: it seems like it could be quite pretty.

Stay tuned for Shabbat, part 2: Maya and a hat!

What I Wore: Shabbat With Mom

My mother spent the weekend with us, so this Shabbat's pictures are courtesy of her photography.  So they'll be more artistic than I manage on my own, or even my husband's helpful photography- especially since she just gave me a beautiful hand mirror, and we decided to incorporate it into our little just-before-shabbat photo shoot.
First off, what is fast becoming my classic angle:

 And seen through a mirror (hopefully, not darkly):

 Here's the back view.  This is one rectangular scarf, tied first, containing my bun, with a decorated (by hand) triangular scarf on top.  Then I twisted the ends of the two scarves together, and criss-crossed them over my bun, to create a loose ponytail effect, showing off the extent of the rays of turquoise ribbon I'd sewn onto the scarf.

 Here's a (slightly fuzzy) view of some of what I was wearing with it, and the general gestalt.

And finally, a quick view, through the looking glass, of my photographer.

What I Wore 4: Shabbat

So, I'm a little behind on photos (there are photos from today that you'll see probably tomorrow), but here's what I did for Friday night.  It's a combination of a scarf, an shawl and a small headband, and one of my more creative assemblages...  The scarf is rather too small for full coverage, and I've always wanted to do something with the shawl, and the outfit I was wearing made the combination perfect...

 The shawl isn't tied, just held together with a ponytail holder, over my bun (to give it something to hold it up, and also for the way the lines work).

 Here's a quick glimpse of the outfit it went with...

What I'm Wearing this Shabbos 1: Friday Night

Here's my first "what I wore", head-covering style.

Here's a side-view of the rather complicated arrangement (but fun, and actually pretty easy) that I put together for this Friday night.   It consists of 3 fairly small scarves, one of which has been folded into a headband, and a small headband.  The use of three scarves let me create a subtly shaded braid.  (I have long hair- I'm fond of having something to hold on to and play with...)

 Here's a back view.  This really is a different scarf from what you see in front.

And here is the full interplay on my head- and a little glimpse of the dress that I'm matching my scarves to.

And with that, I'm off.  Good Shabbos!