Contrary to common belief and myth, artificial or faux flowers can be totally realistic-looking and lovely. Case in point:
I used to think faux flowers were cheesy looking. But then I acquired a large quantity of faux flowers from the annual Macy’s Flower show in San Francisco and it changed my perspective.
Quick side note: In my other business — Mannequin Madness — I recycle mannequins and store fixtures for retail stores. When I recycled mannequins for Macy’s a few years ago they asked me if I wanted the flowers in addition to the mannequins they used in the flower show. Some of the mannequins arrived with the faux flowers and foliage still attached to their bodies.
That is when I realized just how realistic looking faux flowers could be. This inspired me to start offering headdress making classes with the Macy’s flowers displayed on mannequins heads we had recycled from a cosmetology school. Faux flowers are so much easier for our students to use in designing their own headdresses.
The key to making faux flowers look real it to buy fabric versus plastic flowers. You can find fabric flowers in a variety of price points and range in quality. On the low end there is the Dollar Tree and on the high end there is M&S Schmalberg a company that provides specialty custom fabric flower projects for couture fashion designers, milliners and costume designers.
Here are five reasons we recommend faux flowers for the flower crowns.
1 Durability– You can wear your headdress over and over again when it is made with faux flowers. So, if you are creating a flower crown to wear at your wedding, bat mitzvah or quinceañera, you will have a keepsake that you can wear for other occasions to remind you of your special day.
2 All Seasons: You want a calla lily in December or a poinsettia in June? It doesn’t matter that your favorite flower is out of season. It is available year ’round when it is faux.
3 Variety You can get the exact color flower you want; no need to settle for lavender if you want purple. And the exact size, whether you want a bud, full bloom or super sized.
4 Budget Friendly While high-end faux flowers are not cheap, they are still less expensive than fresh ones, especially if you want exotic flowers.
5 Pest Free If you are wearing your flower crown outdoors, you don’t have to worry about the flowers wilting or attracting bugs. Plus, you can make it several weeks ahead of time of your event so you have plenty of time to choose the hairstyle and jewelry you want to complement your look.
Bonus: Faux flower crowns can be embellished with things you can’t do as easily with fresh flowers such as faux butterflies, birds, ribbons, feathers and things that sparkle.
So, whether you go simple elegance or over the top, faux flowers are the perfect creative material for your floral crown headdress.
All the headdresses featured in this post were made our students who learned how to make them at our headdress workshop classes.
