Flower Power

Floral prints, motifs and designs are always in fashion, and never more so than when used as the fabric for a summer dress. From the naturalistic to the painterly, from the graphic to the abstract- floral prints may have itsy, ditsy, floral dolly prints or big blousy cabbage rose blooms. The floral print originates from the east and Asia; traders brought fabrics with ornate floral designs to Europe where they sold for very high prices. To have been able to wear these fabrics was a status symbol. Over time European manufacturers began to copy these fabrics to suit European tastes at a cheaper price. Some of the first ‘Western’ fabrics with floral designs were seen in the late Middle Ages; Italian merchants traded frequently with Ottoman textile manufacturers and brought sumptuous woven velvets to Europe. Eventually, Italians weavers figured out how to reproduce these velvets, and began to manufacture luxurious textiles with organic motifs like pomegranates and vines. These early floral motifs, however, were quite ornate, heavy and stylized. Floral fabrics lost favor after the 1830s, but became a fashionable fabric to wear again after a century of plain materials. Floral prints were revived again during the 1950s.They promised couture inspired shapes echoing back to glamorous times.

Along with floral prints came floral accessories. Fresh or fake flowers are great to wear in your hair or pinned to revamp an old cocktail dress. It’s no wonder that we wear flowers to decorate our clothes; they are symbolic of femininity, and they show the beauty of the natural world.

(Scans from: Getty: Decades of Fashion, The Style Book, I Love Your Style, Vintage Vogue and Teen Magazine, Hippie, Mini Mod Sixties Book, TFS; www.ciaovogue.com )