The Language of Flowers

Spring/Summer Window – The Language of Flowers

The inspiration for this years Spring/Summer window was a small unassuming book that I had been given for Christmas, ‘The Language of Flowers’…

I had already established that I wanted to use all the wonderful flowers that symbolise Spring and give us hope that winter is finally drawing to a close, but I hadn’t found a strong theme or idea to draw it together.

The book ‘The Language of Flowers’ is a carefully drawn up list of many flowers and their meanings. On looking further into this idea I discovered the world of ‘Floriography’.  Floriography began its life in the Victorian era and refers to the use of flowers as a means of communication. Feelings and emotions that otherwise could not be spoken due to social etiquette, were expressed by the giving of flowers and small bouquets called Tussie Mussies.

It was a silent language that allowed people to send coded messages to each other where the use of the spoken word was not acceptable. Today we still use red roses to symbolise passionate love but many of the other meanings have been lost.  In a world where we constantly broadcast our thoughts and feelings through the updating of a status or a quick tweet, the idea of a way of expressing ourselves so subtly and elegantly struck me as wonderful.  I therefore have tried to make this the backdrop of all the beautiful shoes in the shop. The flowers are presented with specimen labels complete with their meaning and I have tried to use furniture that has at least been inspired by the Victorian era. I have learnt a lot about the flowers and will think twice before sending someone a bunch of yellow carnations in future!!