By Jill Brooke, FlowerPowerDaily.com

 When The New York Times announced that flower brooches pinned on men’s lapels were becoming a fashion trend, many florists around the country shook their heads and thought, “We saw this coming.”

After all, there has been such an uptick with men becoming more involved with wedding florals and a desire to personalize their boutonnières.

Among recent requests, Carrie Struble, the creative force behind The Flower Diva, in Pineville, N.C., had a father of the groom wanting a boutonnière with his Florida State alma mater painted on a rose – which she hand painted.

“And another client wanted his favorite superhero be part of his boutonnière as well as for all the groomsmen,” she recalls. “All had different superheros. Men are much more interested in flowers and design now.”

We saw it first when men’s style evolved from the beer-soaked Hawaiian floral shirts to other parts of the wardrobe with men

wearing floral motifs of roses, carnations and lilies on ties, even at starchily conservative industries such as Wall Street and accounting firms.

 And in these days of equality, they’re as likely to sport fresh flowers, too, in the manner of a corsage – the term originally referred to the bodice of a dress, where women have pinned small bouquets or nosegays to clothing as far back as Ancient Greece. After a long period of men being afraid to express their personalities, they are becoming more experimental.”

Anthony Chillemi, of Bedford Village Flower Shoppe , in Bedford, N.Y. shares that viewpoint that florals are no longer limited to being a female flourish.

“It’s no longer considered feminine and instead a natural beautiful way to dress things up and make it nicer,” he says. “Even at casual weddings, including mine, the men didn’t wear suits, but we had them wearing boutonnières on their pants pocket.”

Some florists say that this trend may help other men consider dressing up at formal events with a flower flourish in their lapel or pants pocket.

Theresa Colucci, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, of Meadowscent in Gardiner, N.Y., says perhaps a seed is being planted. “I had a guy attending a wedding and wanted a boutonnière to add style,” she says. “Boutonnières are no longer just for the wedding party.”