Silk Flowers

You're on the balcony of your grandparents' house when you see your long-time crush who lives next door. You can't help yourself and you want to know if he loves you. You picked a rose from one of the flower pots in the balcony and you started pulling one of the petals. It was then that you realized, you've been fooled by the silk flower in your hand.

With its similarity to real flowers, some people who look at silk flowers often think of them as real until they touch them. Silk flowers are artificial flowers originally created with the use of silk fabrics. Today, however, new materials such as polyester, latex and polyresin are used.

The Chinese were said to be the first to use silk fabrics to make clothing as well as artificial silk flowers. The art of creating silk floral replicas was then brought to Italy and eventually to France. By the 14th century, French silk flowers were the top of the craft. By late 18th century, the French were exporting silk flowers to England.

The Parisian Flower Company, which had offices in both the United States and France, was one of the first companies to supply silk flowers to dressmakers and room decorators. By 1920, florists began to add silk flowers to their products when some natural flowers were in short supply.

From the 1920s to the 1930s, the trend toward wreaths and decoration ornaments using false fruits and vegetables in the Italian della Robbia style became popular. However, it waned in the 1940s and was replaced by celluloid. Flowers made of celluloid from Japan were eventually banned from importation after several disastrous fires.

Today, most silk flowers, silk plants and silk trees are imported primarily from China and Thailand.