Horticultural homme: From posies to petals, botanical prints are taking root in menswear

For Spring/Summer 2016 menswear has taken on tropical foliage. Lee Holmes reveals the dos and don’ts of floral dressing

Gucci Spring/Summer 16

With lacy tops, pussy bow shirts and satiny souvenir jackets dominating the menswear summer collections, there's been a great deal of talk about the blurring of sartorial lines between men and women. And although this was by no means a case of high heels and pencil skirts for men, there was a definite anti-macho mood to be sure, with designers challenging us to think outside the box.

But will this shift towards genderless clothing, where boys will be girls, catch on? In all honesty, probably not. And so perhaps the the simplest way to acknowledge such a fey trend is to embrace a botanical print instead. Florals, in all their many guises, are no longer just seen as the sole preserve of womenswear; a quick glance at the high street only goes to confirm this with posies, petals and leaf prints vying for your attention.

If you belong to the dandy school of dressing then think big bonny blooms and you'll be in your element here. But if you prefer to make like a wallflower, and blend into the background then keep your prints on the dinky side; this is one of the few occasions where the old adage about size mattering really does count, only this time in reverse. And if its the abundance of colour that terrifies you, then blossoms in manly monochrome should be your floret of choice.

Everybody should abide by one golden rule though; your new found enthusiasm for flower power should always be tempered with moderation otherwise you'll look like a triffid.