Malaysian Men Style Faux Pas #2: Not using a boutonniere properly

These days I've witnessed on a local entertainment programme some Malaysian artistes using a boutonniere on their jacket lapel. I've also seen a few photos of that famous bearded fella in suits wearing one too. However they are wearing it a tad bit improperly.

A boutonniere is used like a lapel pin. It is a floral decoration worn by men, typically a single flower or bud and are  usually reserved for special occasions for which formal wear is standard, such as at proms, homecomings, dinners, funerals, and weddings. Being easier to use, without the fear of the flower withering, a lapel pin is worn more often than flowers on business suits.

You would wear a boutonniere through the suit jacket lapel buttonhole on the left lapel. The flower or boutonniere should be fully inserted into the buttonhole which would secure it tightly and flat against the lapel so that there is no movement. The stem of the boutonniere is held in place with a loop at the back of the lapel. 

However, these days, most jackets have the lapel without the loop which would normally sit on the reverse of the lapel, beneath the buttonhole. You could pin the boutonnière onto the jacket lapel, although this may be considered unsightly and continued pinning could eventually damage the cloth or silk facing of your jacket's lapel. 

photo: sereniandshentel.com

But here lies the style faux pas. You should not pin it with the tip of the stem showing on the front like in the pic above. The flower should be the only item shown. Even the famous bearded fella from Malaysia does this a little wrongly and people do follow him. So it's a bad example in some ways. 

Seen below is how you should do it if you want to pin the boutonniere.Note the white 'flower' to the left of the photo (or slightly in the background - the red bit is thread from the lapel stitching...not a boutonniere). Pinch the lapel a little and make sure the end of the stem sits inside the lapel instead of outside of it. This boutonniere is on my very comfortable Massimo Dutti unstructured linen jacket. So forgive the sloppy buttonhole. It is an off the rack piece. But anyway, I am going to stitch a loop for the boutonniere to sit properly so that the jacket does not suffer from pin marks which will eventually wear out the lapel sooner than later. Hey, I'd like my sports coats or blazers to last as long as my shoes okay.

This next photo shows a self made loop on which the stem of the boutonniere can sit comfortably. Made this myself with a needle and thread. As you can see, everything is hidden away and neat. No more holes to wear out the lapel with continuous pinning and removing of the boutonniere. The jacket is another linen Massimo Dutti, but this one has some structure but is also very much unlined (for our tropical climate).

See how clean it looks from the front?