Boutonnière

A boutonnière is a flower or floral decoration worn by men, typically a single flower or bud. The word comes from the French "boutonnière", from bouton which means "button". [ [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/boutonniere Dictionary.com] ] The British English term for this, "buttonhole", shows a literal translation of the original French. The flower itself is often a carnation, which is most formal white, while red remains a classic alternative. Other colours may also be chosen to better coordinate whatever else is being worn, such as a blue cornflower. [cite book |title=The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style |last=Antongiavanni| first=Nicholas |year=2006 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-089186-2 | pages=p. 163]

Traditionally, a boutonnière was worn pushed through the buttonhole of a lapel, but on many recently made coats and jackets, the lapel is made without a stem loop, which sits on the reverse of the lapel beneath the buttonhole. Sometimes, the lapel buttonhole is not even pierced through, or is in the 'keyhole' shape, as opposed to the traditional straight cut. [cite web|first=Thomas| last=Mahon|title=What if you only have £200?. Section 3| url=http://www.englishcut.com/archives/000101.html English Cut| work=English Cut| accessdate=2007-09-25 | date=2005-07-28] These problems makes it problematic on cheap suits to use the buttonhole for its intended purpose of holding the boutonnière, so it is sometimes seen pinned onto a jacket lapel, a practice considered unsightly by many.cite web | last = Boehlke | first = Will | title = What's in your lapel? | work = A Suitable Wardrobe | date = 2007-01-07 | url = http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/2007/01/whats-in-your-lapel.html | accessdate = 2008-09-24]

While worn frequently in the past, boutonnières are now usually reserved for special occasions for which formalwear is standard, such as at proms, homecomings, funerals , and weddings. (Women who wear jackets on these occasions also often may wear 'buttonholes', but more typically a woman would wear a corsage.)

It is an American prom custom for the female to purchase the boutonniere for her male date and for it to match her dress and corsage. A bridegroom will almost always wear a boutonnière on his left lapel.Fact|date=September 2008

It is a British practice to place, after a wedding, the flowers from a buttonhole (together perhaps with other wedding flowers), on the grave of a recently deceased member of one of the families concerned.Fact|date=December 2007

References