So its all a ‘bloom’ on my local High St, with the ‘flowers of summer’ bursting forth from all directions on all manner of garments, yes floral is it seems ‘de rigueur’ in my locality (& yours too – this is the High St after all). Now we’re in the ‘height of summer’ this is no surprise, & of course this trend is ‘weather appropriate’ complimenting this rather hot & balmy July, so I thought I’d see if I could find a floral item that would suit me..

Well I can’t say there wasn’t a lot on offer & I was just looking to find an item which had a subtle floral effect..making a nod as it were to this summer trend. I spotted a few blouses but well I must say I found them rather ‘gaudy’ & leaning more to a ‘chuck out your chintz’ look – (a direction one most certainly & decidedly must avoid….) so even though it appeared I was ‘spoilt for choice’ I could not find anything I liked..(very disappointing I must say…).

It was either too much ‘power in the flower’ or the floral print had much more of a ‘youthful bloom’ in design, which would render me a ‘wilting’ lily look instead of looking like I’m in the ‘first burst of spring’…(well I can dream can’t I?) I even found this look at my local museum in a bold purple print 1960’s dress & in a 1940’s dress at a vintage market stall. Floral is of course not new, it is a cyclical theme that goes way back in fashion history…the Elizabethan’s, the Georgian’s & the Victorian’s wore it to name but a few.. So from an historical point of view I offer you a quick look how this floral theme looked in the 1970’s via of course Golden Hands. The appeal of flowers in fashion is irresistible, their beauty, colour & shape, the way they easily translate into patterns means they will never go away… all that remains for me is to find a look where ‘I’m coming up roses’ instead of ‘drowning in chintz’…as I try to find my way through this ‘flowery fashion field’ of a ‘flower power’ frenzy…happy summer!