Remember the back-to-school shopping scramble?  Maybe you’re in the midst of it right now.  My family used to go to Kmart and buy every folder, package of looseleaf paper, and pencil case in sight.  Then my grandmother would take us to get new shoes.  Do you remember when you only owned two pairs of shoes?  When you only needed two pairs of shoes?  And picking your outfit for the first day of school was nearly as huge a drama as what to take for lunch?

I didn’t have a school uniform, but most people I know did.  They ranged from a simple black skirt and white shirt to some seriously hideous plaid pleated things.  It would have been nice not to have to worry about looking trendy, but I would have looked awful in most uniforms anyway, so I’m not sure if it would have been worth it to have one.

But for those of you who do have to wear the same thing every day – or whose kids do – here’s a list of ways to jazz up even the dreariest school uniform without being called to the principal’s office for infractions every other day.

• Socks and tights are pretty obvious, because they’re cheap and come in so many crazy colors and styles.  Did you know that legwarmers are back in style though?   (more…)

You’re going out for the night.  To a wedding, a party, the theater.  You’ve got the perfect dress, awesome shoes, and a new pair of earrings.  But what about your hair?

Sure, you can always just blow it out, straighten it, flip the ends up a little.  Let your curls down for once.  But when the sun beats down during the outdoor ceremony, will you wish you had put it up off your neck?  Will you yearn for the bride’s elegant updo? Or when the dancing starts will you suddenly discover just how sticky your lipstick is – because your hair keeps blowing onto your mouth?  Maybe you’ll realize that a plain black dress (hee hee) looks awesome – but also kind of boring.

There’s an answer to all of these questions.  Elegant hair accessories are easy to find, easy to coordinate with your outfit, and just might make you more comfortable – plus, you’ll look even more put-together than you already do.  Here are some ideas for dressing up your do for special occasions.

• Headbands are probably one of the simplest ways to get fancy – they come in shimmering, bejeweled, velvet, feathered, and dozens of other exciting styles.  If you wear a headband-fall, try one of our satin or studded wraps! (more…)

A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant alleged Wednesday the theme park would not allow her to appear in front of customers while wearing her head scarf.

Imane Boudlal, 26, appeared outside the resort’s Grand Californian Hotel after filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

She said when she wore the hijab to work Sunday, her supervisors told her to remove it, work where customers couldn’t see her, or go home.

Boudlal, who wore the scarf in observance of Ramadan, chose to go home but reported to work for the next two days and was told the same thing. (more…)

In my last post, I discussed the most important things to know about having very long hair.  This time, I’d like to talk about the flip side of that situation; what to do when your hair is cut short, and you’re waiting for it to grow out again.

Everyone has been through this at some point; you told the hairdresser to take off just an inch and a half to even it out, but when she finally whips the cape off your shoulders, it looks like half a foot is gone and you can’t get it into a ponytail anymore.  Or you chopped bangs, only to find out after the fact that they looked really stupid. And then you spent a couple of months desperately trying to hide the disaster until it grew out enough for you to pretend that it never really happened.

Whatever.  We’ve all been there, and we’ll all be there again at some point.  But next time it happens, you’ll be prepared!

• If your hair was very long and is now significantly shorter, you probably won’t need as much shampoo as you’re used to.   (more…)

This is the beginning of a two-part series about what to do with hair that is being grown out – whether you’re letting it get extra-long, or you’re waiting for it to not be too short.  Feel free to share your own tips or experiences by commenting!

Between my younger sister and my best friend, I believe they have donated a total of seven feet of hair to Locks of Love and similar organizations that make custom wigs for children suffering from medical hair loss.  They’ve both grown their hair to incredible lengths several times over.  So when I decided to do this blog post about how to care for extremely long hair, I went to them first.  Here are their tips – plus a few others that I discovered along the way – about dealing with crazy-long hair.  The better care you take, the more show-stopping you’ll look, so pay attention!

• Braids are your best friend.  They’re the best way to keep your hair neat, and they really show off spectacular length to the best advantage. (more…)

Have you ever looked out the window after a long day at work, only to discover that while you were tapping away at the keyboard, a mighty storm is blowing pedestrians up and down the street?  I’ve been caught in sudden wind or rain too many times to count, and had to run screaming into the nearest drugstore for supplies.

Years ago, I got in the habit of keeping a ponytail holder in every purse and toiletry bag and backpack that I own – and in a few coat pockets as well – to protect against the eventuality that I would need to walk up the street with the wind at my back, trying to blow my hair into a Cousin It style over my face.  I try never to leave the house without emergency hair accessories! (more…)

Weddings are an excellent time to discover what’s new in the world of accessories.  And I don’t just mean people-watching.  Everyone has realized the day of an event that they left their necklace at home, or they took the wrong shoes, or the bride’s veil has been eaten by her puppy.  Stuff like that.  And when you’re rushing to the mall to fill in a last-minute gap in your wardrobe, you don’t take the time to shop around; you grab what’s on display at the front of the first store you go into and run.

My cousin got married this week, and my mother had a new black (!) dress that needed some blinging up.   (more…)

Let’s face it.  There are times when your hair gets dirty, and you don’t have the time or ability to get it clean. You’re camping, and the nearest shower is on the other side of the mountain.  Your kids are sick and the plumber is coming by to fix the stopped-up bathtub drain.  A bird dropped one on your head on the way to work…

What do you do?

Well, in that last example, you run to the bathroom and scrub with hand soap and a handful of paper towels.  But if that’s not an option, here are some other ways to deal with dirty hair that won’t leave you looking like a hobo.

1. Baby powder works wonders on greasy hair – just sprinkle it on your roots, rub it in, and brush it out.   (more…)

No matter how many hair coverings and accessories you have, you always need more.  A new color, a new style, something on sale, something because you’re hungry and trying to avoid the Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer.  I can come up with any excuse for needing a new accessory, even though my tichel drawer is overflowing and I keep knocking over my hat and headband box and making a mess in my closet.  So I got it in my head recently to count up how many tichels, headbands, etc., I have.  And here are my results!

• 5 pre-tieds (more…)

Does it drive anyone else crazy to see people dressed all in black? Especially in the summer or at a wedding? I know it’s chic and slimming and whatever, but it’s also boring and depressing and hot!

Color psychology is the study of the effect that color has on mood, emotion, and even behavior. It’s sort of an alternative field of study used mostly by marketing and advertising departments and interior designers. According to experts, black does evoke style, power, and mystery – but it is also associated with death, formality, fear, evil, sadness, anger, and remorse. Too much black is overwhelming!Since today is the first day of summer, I feel obliged to point out that black absorbs heat more than any other color – and to better spot bugs, it is recommended that you wear light-colored clothing. Just something to keep in mind!

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Anyone who covers as a rule ends up with a couple of funny stories to tell about the time they ran out of the house without a hat on, or the time a kid pulled it off in front of the rabbi, or something like that.  Just a couple of days ago, my friend’s boyfriend came over while she was babysitting for my daughter.  When I got home from work, I was schmoozing with them as I took off my shoes and went into my room to take off my sheitel (wig).  Someone said something I wanted to respond to, so I ran out of my room – then I realized a minute or two later that my hair was showing, and ran back for a tichel.

We’ve got some really good haircovering-fail anecdotes on our website that were collected a while back.  Here are some of the most exciting of the bunch – and feel free to comment below with your own!

Story #1 Michal, R

“It’s hot in Texas much of the year, so I may not cover during the day if it’s just me and my two young kids at home. I always have a beret ready by the door, just in case someone comes by unexpectedly. Last week, I kept getting after my kids for moving furniture around to climb up to my spray bottle of water (for disciplining the cat and, okay, the kids, too) and my spray bottle of vinegar & water (for cleaning).  A package arrived so I took my beret off the table with the spray bottles and slipped it on to get the mail. (more…)

Sometimes it seems as though covering up and keeping cool are mutually exclusive.  When summer hits and most people seem to be out in as little as possible, it just seems logical that whatever you’re covering up will have to be hot in comparison.  But that’s not true!  You don’t need to bare it all in order to be comfortable when the temperature rises.  Heck, people in the hottest places are often the most covered up, because clothing provides sun protection.

So for those of you who are already feeling the heat – or those who are planning their summer wardrobes! – here’s a list of things to look out for to help you make the most comfortable choices at this time of year.  Some of these apply to the rest of your clothing, too.

1. Lightweight – hair coverings should be made in thin, airy fabrics, like our printed and striped lurex tichels. (more…)

I’d like to preface this post by letting you all know that I took my own advice.  Yesterday, I put on a black and white outfit, and was going to use a long hot pink scarf for a headband.  But on a whim I tied it around my waist and decided it looked much cooler that way – and it broke up the monotony of the black and white.  *Curtsies*

When you think of certain people, you automatically picture them with a hat on.  Or when someone mentions a certain hat style, you automatically picture a certain person.  Just like Superman and his cape, the man and the costume become inextricably intertwined.

I was going to leave fictional characters like The Man in the Yellow Hat, or Sherlock Holmes and his deerstalker, off this list, but I came across the term “alice band” and decided it was too cute to leave out.  So, here’s a short list of people and the headgear that made them great –or the headgear that they made great.

1. Nefertiti and her “cap crown” – the name of this Egyptian queen immediately calls to mind the famous 3000-year-old limestone bust of her wearing a tall, blue headdress – she’s famous for the beautiful face under it as well. (more…)

We all miss the alarm sometimes and wake up with ten minutes to get dressed and out the door.  When you’re in a desperate rush, you usually have to abbreviate your
routine, which can lead to a blah appearance for the rest of the day.  But just because your hair is wet or your makeup is half done or your shoes are mismatched
doesn’t mean that you can’t look good.  Here are some quick ways to add a little zest to your outfit, even on your busiest mornings.

1. Pick your shoes/bag/belt/hair covering in noticeably different color than the rest of your outfit – like a lime green headband with a denim skirt and black shirt.
2. (more…)

This post will be the first in an ongoing series about hair coverings around the world and throughout history.  If there are any styles you’re particularly curious about, let me know!  I randomly decided to start with snoods, because they go pretty far back.

Basically, a snood is a loose bag that covers some or all of the hair; they can be both functional (ever seen a chef wearing a hairnet?) and decorative.  The style goes back to medieval Europe, although they became really popular around the 1500’s.

The first snoods were made of hand-knotted lace and pinned or tied on; they were a pretty, practical way to cover some or all of a person’s hair.  Wealthy people decorated theirs with beads or even precious stones.  The term “caul” referred to snoods made of solid cloth like linen or silk, rather than net.  Crocheting became popular in the 1600’s.  Sometimes snoods were worn with other pieces of headgear, such as hats.

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