Search the web for ‘wearing flowers in your hair’ and you will find countless articles on style tips and some even informing you which side of your head is the ‘right’ side to wear them. But these articles are missing one of the crucial points of wearing flowers. A point which any child will tell you without hesitation. That wearing flowers is nice. It provides a really easy way to feel closer to nature and thus has a beautifully childlike pleasure in it. It is basically an opportunity to carry around a piece of the wood or garden with you. Stroke it, smell it and carry it with you. The act of wearing flowers is also disappointingly gendered. Flowers are considered to belong to the feminine realm. From artists such as Georgia O’keefe that paint flowers symbolising feminine sexuality to floral patterns being used exclusively on women’s clothes, flowers and women go together. As a consequence, men often seem to miss out on this simple pleasure. Which is a real shame, I feel, when there aren’t so many opportunities to be blissfully wild these days.
In Rome, I found an avenue of gorgeous trees which had dropped some of their flowers. I picked one up and wore it proudly for the rest of the day.
So this month, I encourage everyone (men too) to send me your own photos of your wildest flower moments and I will publish them!
Comments