Red Poppy Remembrance Day Boutonnière Flower

Show You Remember with a Red Poppy

The Red Field Poppy has become the symbol of remembrance around the world and to this day. People wear Field Poppies on their lapels, especially in England and throughout the Commonwealth, on Remembrance Day, November 11, and the week before and after. In the U.S. Poppies are worn on Veteran's Day, November 11, and Memorial Day, May 25.

Unfortunately, most people wear cheap plastic flowers that have no aesthetic value but are simply worn as a symbol of remembrance. Hence, Fort Belvedere has created high-quality Remembrance Poppies that look like real Poppies from Flanders Field.

How the Poppy Came to Represent Remembrance

How did the poppy become the symbol of remembrance and people suffering from the aftermath of wars? Flanders in Belgium was a battlefield during WWI and when the Canadian soldier John McCrae wrote a poem following the death of a friend in May 1915, the red Flanders poppies inspired him to these lines:

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing gly
Scarce heard amid the guns below."

It took until November 9th, 1918, just two days before Armistice was declared, for the American Moina Michael to help popuarlize the concept of red poppies for remembrance. That day, she read this "In Flanders Field Poppy" poem in a magazine and felt so deeply touched that she made a pledge to always wear a red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance. Since she was on duty at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries' headquarters in New York, she used some poppies for decoration.

Questions?

If you have questions or need help with choosing a boutonniere for yourself or a loved one, please let us know, we are happy to help.

SKU: 4054956008319

Boutonnieres Crafted from the Finest Materials

The incredibly lifelike appearance of our boutonnieres depends upon sourcing only the finest raw materials for each flower. All of our flowers begin as bolts of pristine, fine white natural fabrics: whether cotton, silk, or another substance, the material is selected based on what most closely resembles the natural texture of the flower that inspired us. The thickness is also chosen to mirror the petal width of the desired flowers.

One out of over 100,000 metal dyes is then used to cut out the shape of the flower from the fabric. Each dye-cut piece is then individually and painstakingly painted by hand by a skilled German artisan. Only Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, takes comparable care in crafting such beautiful creations.

The cuts are then shaped and given volume on special metal molds. Additional details are added as needed and the flower is then attached to its wire stem. The result? A boutonniere as beautiful as the real thing but that will never wilt.

The Benefits of a Handmade Boutonniere

While a fresh, genuine boutonniere is lovely to see, few florists today can cut them correctly, and even properly prepared real boutonnieres will inevitably wilt. To change this, Fort Belvedere developed a growing collection of boutonnieres that are finely crafted by hand to appear genuine and authentic, but will never wilt and will always look as vibrant as if they were freshly cut flowers!

Care

• To prevent damage to its delicate petals, do not crush, flatten, or roughly handle your boutonniere.
• Avoid placing anything on top of your boutonniere that could flatten, crush, or press on the petals or the shape of the flower.
• When wearing your boutonniere, do not incessantly bend or twist the wire stem. This contributes to excessive wear and can cause the wire and stem to break apart.

Storage

• For safe storage, we recommend keeping your boutonniere in the Fort Belvedere gift box it came in, which have been specially designed to keep your boutonniere safe.

How to Put on a Boutonniere

1. Locate the lapel buttonhole on your jacket. Be aware that it may be loosely sewn shut. If your jacket has a purely decorative lapel buttonhole, you will need to have it made functional by an alterations tailor.
2. Insert the wire stem of the boutonniere through the lapel buttonhole. Secure it to the back of the lapel with a keeper loop or a safety pin.
3. Adjust your boutonniere from the front to ensure it sits evenly and elegantly in your lapel buttonhole.

Learn how to add a keeper loop to the lapel of your jacket!