“Hair tapestries” are basically vacation hair wraps 2.0
When I was nine, I went to Disney World for the first and only time. It was a magical vacation, and I returned home ladened with souvenirs: A commemorative t-shirt, a book full of cartoon celebrity autographs, and, of course, the requisite vacation hair wrap.
In the late ’90s and early ’00s, vacation hair wraps were all the rage. They meant you were worldly — that you’d seen things. Any girl worth her weight in embroidery floss knew they were a must-have to prove you’d had an awesome summer break. For a period of time, there were even how-to books available so you could DIY your own hair wraps at home, for those of us who couldn’t get our hands on the real deal. And now, there’s a new hair trend that takes this nostalgic throwback to the next level.
“Hair tapestries” are the new generation of vacation hair wraps — and we’re still trying to wrap our heads around them. (No pun intended.) Similar to its predecessor, the look is achieved by weaving embroidery floss through your locks; but unlike its predecessor, it takes up a lot more head real estate. The look is achieved by putting an embroidery hoop around a section of hair, and treating it how you would if you were working on a loom. The trend first started making the rounds in the music festival circuit, and has taken social media by storm.
If you’ve ever felt like your hair is your safety blanket (me), hair tapestries probably take those feelings to the next level. Personally, the whole thing vaguely reminds me of how there was always at least one person at Girl Scouts camp who was a wizard at making intricate lanyards (aka hair tapestries) while you were just going for the basic pattern (aka vacation hair wraps). Some of the more intense hair tapestries look like unfinished scarves or super intense friendship bracelets attached to your head. But it’s definitely a cute and creative way to change things up without getting your hair cut or dyed.
Overall, the trend seems pretty high fashion — and therefore, perhaps, less feasible as an everyday look. (If it takes a professional an hour just to straighten my hair, I can only imagine how long a hair tapestry would take.) There’s also the question of maintenance. The original hair wraps got gross pretty fast: I ultimately had to saw mine out of my hair when I couldn’t get it untangled. I can only imagine the potential damage hair tapestries might have — so if you plan to try the look, tread (thread?) with caution.
You can check out more examples of hair tapestries below.
For some how-to hair tapestry tutorials, try these YouTube links.
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(Images via Instagram.)
