Floral legacy - Boutonnière by Herr von Welt, Berlin

Call me nostalgic, I was fascinated by a book which I recently found at a corner of a bookstore, written by a Italian female writer as well as TV news anchorwoman, Ms. Lorenza Foschini, titled ‘Proust’s overcoat’. It is a true story about an affluent Frenchman who was fascinated by the objects belongs to a legendary French novelist and critic, Marcel Proust. In the book, there’s a part that described the attire of Marcel which was very specifically, it said ‘….he wore poorly knotted cravats under a turned-down collar, or large silk shirtfront from Charvet in cream pink whose exact tint he spent a long time tracking down. He was slender enough to indulge in a double-breasted waistcoat, and sported a rose or an orchid in the buttonhole of his frock coat….’ Sometimes it’s relatively hard to imagine the life of a struggling novelist dated back then, but apparently, Marcel did have a tasteful side, in particular, the little detail on putting a rose or an orchid in the buttonhole of his frock coat. Nowadays, wearing a real flower on the buttonhole of your jacket’s lapel is getting pretty rare unless for a very special occasion (such as wedding etc.), and it’s a pretty romantic and sensual detail for a man to do so (except for dandies), but, wearing a boutonnière, on contrary, is quite a stylish option for lifting up the overall attire of a gentlemen a bit in a more lively, fun, and sometimes creative way.

(copyright: Deutsche Kunstblume Sebnitz)

Coming across the delicately made boutonnière collection by Berliner mens accessory house, Herr von Welt, which specializes refined classic mens accessories, I have no idea that how profound it is for a story of a boutonnière can be! And how the distinguish and rigorous workmanship it was behind. One of the most unique thing about the boutonnière by Herr von Welt, is that the ‘flower’ looks extremely real and natural! As a bit of a history here, the petals of these silk flowers begin their journey in Saxon Switzerland (Germany actually) where they were handmade since 1834, from hand-dyed silk, with petal is first cut, then embossed, and subsequently, laid together with other petals to form the lapel flower. None of these can be further from mass-production, nor using any plastic for such production.

(copyright: Deutsche Kunstblume Sebnitz)

(copyright: Deutsche Kunstblume Sebnitz)

The heydays of artificial flower production, either for boutonnières or the accessory for a ladies hat, are at the heart of Sebnitz, a town in the free state of Saxony, Germany, which has more than 200 workshops until then end of 1920s, and currently, there are only two remain, yet, the good thing is, these workshop still employed the traditional know-how, and persistence of using high quality materials on producing artificial flowers, removing the world of paper and polyester, starch and gelatin are used to affix the silk, taffeta, or silk velvet, with wire meticulously wrapped in silk threads, and no needles nor clips involved, as the result, all these boutonnière are literally a work of art, regardless the size is small, but so delicate and alive.

As mentioned at the beginning, putting a boutonnière on the lapel of your well-tailored jacket is a way of expressing one’s tastefulness, and sometimes, the elegant and romantic side of oneself; during the French Revolution, aristocrats would wear a single lapel flower as a symbol of fearlessness on the way to their execution. When it comes to one’s wedding, be fearless and wear something simple (which in way explains the reason of the existence of a flower on the groom’s lapel). Nowadays, this become a part of a style statement, especially for dandies, or someone who are style-savvy with a bit of playfulness, elegance and creativity.

No matter it’s the red or white carnation, or the timelessly elegant forget-me-not, each of the boutonnière by Herr von Welt is irresistibly charming and beautiful, also, having a profound story behind, in particular the heritage and workmanship. No wonder why even esteemed Berliner tailor, Mr. Maximillian Mogg, also has an eye of their signature white carnation boutonnière.

(copyright: Maximilian Mogg)

So, having a view of these beautiful boutonnière pieces, let us know which one is your favorite?

Image courtesy of Herr von Welt, Berlin

Photographer copyright: Flory Gründig (https://florygruendig.com/)

https://herr-von-welt.de/en/collections/boutonniere-die-knopflochblume