….re: “not sticking a pin in lapel” …. to each his own!! … don’t do it. The advice given below holds true and is spot on. Take it slow & have fun experimenting! Peace.

Looks cheap!? Not so! … not in my case! Quite elegant! The flower wasn’t too big. As I said, the flower shop person was experienced in providing the bouquet. The flower didn’t droop, in fact it stayed fresh for about a week! I wore it to special religious event and its appearance was stunning & elegant! The ‘pearl’ was plastic … but you pin it to be hidden, not to show! I don’t consider myself a neophyte dresser, IMHO. I know the “rules” Been at the clothing game, since the age of 12, 13. I have an anniversary next month! I turn 58! …yes, each to one’s ‘stylish & knowledgeable’ own! ;-)). Peace.

Thanks for your nice video on boutonnière. I would like to know if I could wear it also under a coat. Doesn’t a coat damage a three dimensional boutonnière?

I suggest, you just start doing it and let us know how that goes. I’d start with less expensive flowers do you don’t burn too much money. Carnation boutonnieres are often sewn together just from the petals, others glue them together. It’s a lot of work for one flower that will be discarded afterwards. Depending on your hourly rate it may or may not be worth the time, but I encourage you to give it a try.

My question is about making boutonnieres that are intended to be inserted into the button hole and secured with the loop behind the lapel. I don’t intend to stick-pin anything to my lapel.

Hi Raphael, thanks for understanding what I’m getting at :-) Basically, I want to use natural flowers to create the neat look that your artificial flowers have–that is, the flower stems should face forward rather than upward. This does require bending the stem 90 degrees.

I have that book. There’s one section about a London flower shop that prepare boutonnieres the old fashioned way but it doesn’t contain any specific instructions. It does say that the resulting product is a highly artificial construct. Some of the steps involved are hinted at: the flower needs to be trimmed to the right size, the stem ought to be reinforced using wire and wrapped in florist tape. And in one picture it seems that the back of the flower is covered with a piece of cardboard–perhaps to prevent it from soiling the jacket?

I plan to try making some boutonnieres on my own.