As a child, I used to listen to oldies radio. In the late 1990s, the ’60s & ’70s became trendy again. I loved the Cowsills’ “I Love the Flower Girl,” a bubbly, sweet ode about a girl wearing “flowers everywhere” in her hair. I thought of this song when I saw the floral headbands and hair pins by Sandy Liang.
What flowers will we see in the spring? Groundbreaking. Nothing cheers us up more than a bright bouquet of flowers or a flower tucked in our updo. Designers and street style icons have us wishing to play in a field full of flowers, or at least pretending we are. The addition of a flower to your braids or ponytail adds a touch of fun and whimsy, even for the most structured of high-fashion looks. It’s like a breath after a long, dark winter. Are blossoms the next bow? Although it’s still too early to tell if these little blossoms will replace bows as the most popular accessory in 2024, the trend seems to be gaining traction.
Sandy Laing
The Trend
The floral hair accessory was bound to return in the future. The flower crowns from the Tumblr days are not what we’re talking about (at least, not yet), but a strategically placed floral pin or scrunchie in a flower shape, or even incorporated into whichever hairstyle you choose, rather than dominating your head.
Two pre-existing trends influenced the flower accessory trend. In spring 2023, satiny rosettes were used to decorate jacket lapels and gowns, paint nails and create velvety petal-soft products. Carrie Bradshaw would be proud. We then moved on to the bow-ment 2023 where everyone channeled Samantha Parkington and wore uber-girly, ruffled ribbons.
Emi Jay
This flower hair accessory is the perfect combination of rosettes and bows. The flowers were bound to migrate into the hair. Fashion fans are all about strategically placed flower details.
How to Get the Look
Wearing a flower accessory can be a lot of fun because you have so many styling options. You can place a small cluster of flowers above each ear or tuck in a large, red flower for romance and drama. With a pretty daisy or rose, a high-ponytail will make you feel like spring. You can even braid roses like French influencer Paola Locationelli did at a Louis Vuitton fashion show in 2023. Flowers can be used with any style of hair: loose, updos or half-updos. Braids are also a great option.
Scrunchies and clips make it easy to add flowers in your hair. Lele Sadoughi’s floral claw clip is as easy to use as it gets, and just as beautiful and realistic as a real flower from Martha Stewart’s garden. Wrap a cheeky, oversized flower scrunchie at the base of a ponytail or bun to elevate it.
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Try the flower that is synonymous with Chanel: the camellia. Etsy has become a hotbed of creativity (or should we say greenhouse?) For realistic-looking scrunchies and flower pins. Sandy Liang’s floral scrunchies, corsage-bows and hybrids are the perfect blend of coquette and cottagecore. Emi Jay’s tropical flower collection is a great option if you prefer bright, colorful blooms that scream “vacation”. Be careful not to go overboard with frills or white looks. They can look bridal.
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You can also buy some flowers at your local bodega if you’re looking to be more literal. Harry Josh, a celebrity hairstylist, is a big fan of using real flowers over plastic alternatives. They look better and are easier to fix in your hair since there’s not a tough plastic stem. He says he used a white camellia to beautify Karlie Kloss’s hair at the Met Gala. It was beautiful. Josh suggests using bobby pins crisscrossed to hold a flower in place. “Ideally, by the ear or at the back of your hair.” You can backcomb the hair section where the bloom will be placed for a bit of grip. It’s time to stop, smell the roses or better yet wear them.