Boutonnière London - floral buttonholes for men of style

There was a time when no self-respecting gentleman would be seen without a flower in his buttonhole. Now usually confined to weddings, I'd love to see this charming habit revived for daily use. Unfortunately, I'm told by Chris Harrap, founder of Boutonnière London, that few florists now have the skills to wire and prepare a flower for buttonhole use.

Contemplating the absence of floral boutonnières in Savile Row one day, Chris came up with the idea of creating something that would enable us to use the redundant buttonholes in our jacket lapels again for purposes other than Remembrance Day poppies.

Chris takes up the story,

In 2013, after much research, design and dedication, we finally completed our collection of finely crafted porcelain Boutonnieres. Handmade in Italy by a family business of artisans, using Capidomonte porcelain, this fine yet surprisingly strong material allows for intricate detailing of each individual petal. Each flower is then mated to a unique clasp, made [ed. in Sheffield] to our registered design, the shape of which not only ensures a sound grip on the suit without piercing (and therefore potentially damaging the fabric), but also remains hidden beneath the flower itself when in situ and affords ample space for the owner to add personalised engraving on the reverse of the clasp.

Boutonnière - Italian porcelain and Sheffield stainless steel

Chris kindly lent me one for the launch party of Rose Callahan's book, I am Dandy: The Return of the Elegant Gentleman, an event idea for this product. There it was much admired. It is a thing of real delicacy and beauty, as the photos show. Others are fast discovering these beautiful objects and Chris has additionally been working to produce red roses for a major sports team and poppies for Remembrance Day. 

These are objects of great craftsmanship and beauty. To find out more, visit The Boutonnière London website.