Shopping Clothing

Green-fingered enthusiasts throughout the Midlands – fromflorists in Derby and florists in Leicester to other parts of the region – are combining their passion for flowers with their passion for fashion to create some unique items of clothing.

More and more emphasis at the biggest trade shows in the flower industry nowadays seems to be being placed on conjuring up all manner of weird and wonderful masterpieces out of an array of different flowers, with the current focus firmly on bringing a bit of the glitz and glamour of the cat walk to flower competitions like the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.

The Interflora duo of Charlotte Baker and Vicky Rymell were two florists to really catch the eye at Tatton Park. The duo, who work together at Hubbards Florist in Coventry, scooped first prize in the birthday shop window contest after impressing the judges with a birthday hat containing flashes of purple, blue and yellow.

A delighted Baker told the Coventry Telegraph: “It was brilliant to win. We chose the theme because we like all the colours and we only had a few months to prepare.”

She added: “I love competing because it gives me a real buzz as well as the chance to really develop my skills and experience.”

When it comes to being resourceful with flowers Lichfield and the surrounding towns and cities in Staffordshire and Warwickshire appear to be leading the way as Sharon and Carol, from Jacqueline the Florist in Southam, have also created quite a stir with fashion-related floral creations.

They made a dress out of real flowers after being inspired by the work of an Italian designer and the end product was absolutely stunning. The duo paired up chrysanthemums and roses to great effect, with the splashes of red and white really standing out against a green backdrop at the top of the outfit, while it was all white from the midriff downwards.

“We were looking for a new challenge and wanted something amazing to put in our window,” admitted Sharon.

“We loved creating this dress and had a lot of people come in and admire it.”

Following on from the success of what is believed to be their first foray into floral fashion, Sharon and Carol are currently plotting how best to mark the festive season with another plant-tastic creation.

Sharon hinted: “We were looking for a new challenge and wanted something amazing to put in our window. We loved creating this dress and had a lot of people come in and admire it.”