Gentlemen’s Fashion Trends : Floral Prints

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Floral shirt by label “Being Human” on Snapdeal

Floral: The dilemma of what ought to be!

Floral for winter? Sounded equally strange to me, while I set my computer to write this article. And then Miranda Priestley (The Anna Wintour Avatar of Devil Wears Prada) fed me an inspiration with “floral for spring? Ground breaking” quote. I guess nothing could be more ground breaking than taking floral for winter! As much as men lusted over floral for its perceived femininity and conspicuous nature, there has always been quite a debate on ‘how good floral is on men’?

The floral revolution in men’s prêt à porter is the perfect case in point. With its permanent presence in wardrobe of women of any age, it didn’t take long enough for floral prints to make huge entry in men’s wear. Ever wondered how do these floral prints work on men? Quite debatable.

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Floral Bomber at shopstyle.com

Digging into history

Floral originally used to be a uniform and had a bad press image for decades. Floral for men was an invention of Japanese and Chinese who migrated to America in 1930s. There were prints called “bloom prints” which were inspired by the Japanese screen-print techniques. These prints were fad and were bad taste as explained by many experts. But they soon made a glorious come back in the mid 30’s.

The last few springs have witnessed an exquisite and eye catching style with contemporary details, bringing in a whole new era of bold patterns and colourful combinations. Floral has become a delicate and effortless way to inject a healthy dose of inspiration to men’s wardrobe.

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Salman Khan in Floral print shirt (Source : filmygori.net)

Micro Print Floral

Micro print floral is an augmented version of bloom prints, and has been a convenient way to set the trend for those who want to take a subtle approach. Micro prints are available in wide range patterns that are easier to put on. Fashion Labels like Liberty of London, Top man, Prada, Reiss and ASOS provide a huge range of micro prints which go well with bespoke jacket or simple denim and leather moccasin combination.

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Abhishek Bachchan in Floral Shirt (Source : filmygori.net)

Floral on Dress-down (Sweaters and T-shirts)

T-shirts and sweatshirts are most convenient and least offensive way to incorporate floral into wardrobe. Options available are abstract design, loud major print or embroidered detailing. Urban Outfitters and Zara’s trendy and eye catching prints are best choice for casual wear.

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Image source: Zara India Official Website

Image Source : shopstyle.de

Image Source : shopstyle.de

Floral on Bomber jacket

Bomber jacket is an ever green trend owing to industry’s insatiable urges for sport-luxe (Sportswear coming from luxury labels) apparel. Floral print on sport-luxe was innovative concept and gave an entirely new definition to floral prints. Balenciaga and Raf Simons for Mr Porter gave a whole new era to floral for bomber jacket.

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Tuxedo with floral thread work by Designer Narendra Kumar (Source : Narendra Kumar Official Website)

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Image source : mymzone.com

Final Words

Floral have come a long way hailing from 1930s and there’d always be a debate on how much floral there should be for men. Like all other trends, floral may show swings and much of it will depend on what inspires today’s designers for their collections. But as long as you know how to flaunt the Casanova side of yours, nothing more than your personal tastes and preferences matter!

Chirag Parmar
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