J.CrewAholics

In the posts, “Dulken and Derrick for J.Crew” and “Dulken & Derrick Pins SOLD OUT at J.Crew“, Karen over at My Delightful Obsessions mentioned that she ordered silk flowers directly from Dulken & Derrick. She kindly took photos of the flowers (pictured above) and wrote this great review.

The flowers are stunning and I am definitely considering ordering them directly from Dulken & Derrick. Apparently, the flowers are now sold out at J.Crew. 

Like Karen, you can buy your flower pins directly from Dulken & Derrick on their website.  They have a “J.Crew Inspired” section.

After much anticipation, the J Crew Inspired Silk Flowers I ordered from Dulken & Derrik finally arrived. A notation on their website advised that they were running a little behind on their orders as a result of their recent move. While I expected my order to take a while to arrive, I did not expect them to take over 3 weeks.

My silk flowers arrived packaged in a non-descript box, wrapped in tissue. Unlike items purchased from J Crew, these arrived without plastic packaging or tags of any kind. Nonetheless, the lack of packaging did not seem to have affected the flowers in any way during shipping.

I ordered 3 silk flowers; the Open Round Organza Rose in Charcoal for $35, the Dulken & Derrik Classic Rose in Camel for $38 and the Hand Rolled Poppy in Orange and Yellow for $60. All 3 roses are beautiful and are of exceptional quality. I have purchased decorative silk flowers from places like Michaels, and I can certainly tell that the ones from Michael’s are made for Home Décor while the ones from D & D are delicate and exquisite, made specifically for wearing on garments or in your hair. Two of the three flowers I purchased are a combination of silk and organza. The Hand Rolled Poppy is made completely in Chiffon / Organza and is unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere.

The flowers all come with pins attached. When I contacted D & D to place my order and was told that the flowers came with pins attached, I had imagined that the pins would be glued to the back of the flowers in a “craft-fair” kind of way. Was I ever off! Each flower comes with a stem and the pins (which come with a safety catch) are attached to the stem with flower tape. The stem and the pins are taped neatly and professionally. In short, these flowers are very well made.

The Open Round Organza Rose in Charcoal that I purchased is exactly the same one featured on the inside cover of the J Crew’s October Catalog. It measures 8 inches across in diameter.

The D & D Classic Rose in Camel is very similar to the one found on page 39 of the October catalog. The only difference is that mine is Camel. This Classic Rose measures 8 inches across.

The Hand Rolled Poppy in Orange and Yellow is identical to the one found on page 37 of the J Crew Catalog. The only difference between the one from D & D and J Crew’s is that D & D’s is 2 tone and made completely of chiffon / organza whereas the one in the J Crew catalog is done in silk and organza, and is of a single color. This flower measures 7 inches across. The Rep at D & D told me that the Dual Tone Hand Rolled Poppy I purchased was featured on the cover of Harpers’ Bazaar a couple of years ago.

Of the 3 flowers I purchased, my favorite is the Open Round Organza Rose in Charcoal. I like it best because it’s stunning in both color and design. Charcoal flowers are just so unusual and it certainly makes a statement. My least favorite silk flower is the Hand Rolled Poppy. While it’s very pretty, it just doesn’t do much for me and at $60 a piece, I can definitely put that money to better use elsewhere. I’m torn on the D & D Classic Rose. While I love the size and the design, the color doesn’t do much for me. Had I gotten it in a different color, I think I may have liked it more.

I spent a total of $162.50 on these 3 flowers; approximately $140 for the 3 flowers and another $22.50 for Duties and Taxes to import these into Canada. Personally, I think that it’s a lot of money! However, compared to what J Crew was selling these flowers for, I think I got a good deal. But what’s the benefit of a good deal if I’m don’t love them all? I’m absolutely thrilled about the Open Rose in Charcoal and it’s definitely a keeper. At $35 for a Silk Rose carried by J Crew, this was a steal! I would love to find out how much J Crew actually sold this Silk Rose for. The Hand Rolled Poppy is definitely a return. At $60, it’s simply too expensive for something I’m not absolutely in-love with. I will likely return the D & D Classic Rose as well – only because I’m not crazy about the color. However, there are a couple of other silk flowers that I’ve had my eye on on the D & D site and I am going to ask to exchange 2 of my silk flowers for a couple of different ones.

These D & D Silk Flowers are beautiful and I can see why J Crew had D & D design the silk flowers for them. Their prices are also reasonable for beautifully handcrafted silk flowers. If you are regretting not purchasing the very limited quantity of silk flowers offered by J Crew, I would highly recommend that you check out D & D. While their pictures aren’t as pretty as J Crew’s, their prices and availability beats J Crew’s hands-down.