The History of Flower Crowns

Flower crowns have surprisingly ancient origins. They were worn by the ancient Greeks, who saw them as symbols of “power, glory, and eternity” and adorned victors with olive leaf garlands. Ancient Romans wore flower crowns to celebrate the arrival of spring during the festival of Floralia. Later, Renaissance painters depicted gods, goddesses, and nymphs wearing flowers on their heads. The Victorian era reinforced floral hair wreaths as symbols of femininity, romanticism, and purity. Women often wore flower crowns for their weddings, a tradition that was started by Queen Victoria herself (she wore a crown of orange blossoms when she wed Prince Albert in 1840). Later, the flower children of the 1970s wore flower crowns in messy hair as a way to express their connection to nature and embody the ideals of peace and love. Today, flower crowns are often worn at modern music festivals and weddings. They also frequently appear on magazine covers, runways, and red carpets and are considered fashion accessories in their own right.