That’s a Wrap!

Andrea Herzog, creator of Wrapunzel, talks about head covering, building bridges and living your truth.

By Penina Taylor

Jewish women have been covering their heads with scarves, or some form of scarves, since the dawn of time. And in Africa and the Middle East, the custom has continued unabated until today. But for Jews in America and Europe, scarves were at one point associated with being a “peasant” or worse and so were not the head covering of choice for religious Jews. At the beginning of the 21st century a walk through any significant Orthodox Jewish community in the United States would reveal strictly Observant women wearing wigs, hats, or some combination of the two. Berets and snoods could also be seen, especially among those who were dressed more casually. But in general, scarves were reserved for in the home, if at all.

As more people traveled to Israel, especially young women in their “gap year” at seminary, or newly married young couples spending the first year of their marriage learning in Yeshivah, the fashion of wearing intricately wrapped scarves began to catch on. But unless you had learned from your Israeli cousin or aunt, how to accomplish that beautiful look seemed out of reach for most Jewish women living outside of Israel. Until in 2012, a young Jewish married woman named Andrea (then Grinberg) living in Chicago, noticed how many Orthodox women were frustrated with covering their heads and felt completely burdened by the task. She set out to show the Jewish world that you could cover your head in a fun and inexpensive way that would allow your creativity to shine through and looked beautiful to boot.