The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath

Amazingly, only saw The Godfather (1972, Francis Ford Coppola) recently, and was taken by Connie’s headdress, which looks to be a bunch of baby’s breath, in the lavish opening wedding scene. Baby’s Breath, or Gypsophila, (/dʒɪpˈsɒfɪlə/) is a genus of flowering plants in the carnation family, Caryophyllaceae. The name Gypsophila comes from the fact that the flower thrives on soil that is high in gypsum, a mineral that makes the soil too thick and heavy for many other types of plants.

Long dismissed as the rather common and inexpensive filler flower that was quickly removed from bouquets of red roses given by well-intentioned lovers on Valentine’s Day in the early ’90’s, the profuse small blossoms have made a spectacular comeback. While the bright white variety is the best known, there are pink and faintly yellow types as well. Today, these misty flowers are sometimes tinted to create deeper hues and arranged into fantastical displays at weddings, from spherical shapes to grand archways, to dramatic fluffy clouds suspended above table settings. They can be used to create floral monograms, woven together to create swooping garlands down long dinner tables or to create romantic pathways down the aisle on your wedding day, or strewn artfully in long wavy tresses. Here are a few of our favourite ways to create sculptural art or enhance anything and everything using these elegant tiny blossoms…

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The trend began with Rodarte‘s Spring 2018 Collection, with sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy’s first show ever in Paris, after the two designers decided to skip NYFW show a couture collection in Paris instead. Taking place at 123 Boulevard du Port Royale on Sunday, July 1, 2017, models paraded down the cloisters of an ancient Parisian Abbey, gliding out into a beautiful French garden. The designers worked with florist Joseph Free and hairstylist Odile Gilbert to create extravagant flower crowns with swathes of white gypsophilia. The tiny flowers were also tucked into flowing hair, into golden bows at the wrists, and trailing down arms as exquisite live flower shawls. And when the show was over, it would be Rodarte‘s first standing ovation in 12 years.

Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@rodarte
Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@rodarte
Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@rodarte

“But mostly there was baby’s breath—yes, real baby’s breath—which traditionally plays the role of the crowd when red roses star in prom corsages and bodega bouquets. Models’ hair was covered in it, as were a few of the loveliest dresses, and many of the girls walked the runways dragging massive bouquets of the white fluff behind them.”Vogue

Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@rodarte
Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@rodarte
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Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath
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Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath@styleirooni
Style File: The Surprising Return of Baby’s Breath
Photography by Michael and Anna Costa via Style Me Pretty
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Steel Cut Flower Co. via Pinterest
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