Poppies are not a fashion accessory!

Over the past week the poppies have been appearing on TV. It's something that unites the country to all think about the people that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

But one thing has bugged me recently, the fact that now it seems acceptable to use the poppies as some kind of fashion accessory.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1325714/X-Factor-judges-wear-crystal-encrusted-Remembrance-Day-poppies-pride.html
I couldn't find an image of this years X-Factor but basically a couple of them were wearing the poppies in their hair. NO! This is completely wrong. In my mind everyone should wear the same poppy (the simple paper one) and we should all wear it in the same sort of place. The X-Factor poppies were "studded with crystals", surely this is a bit wrong. Everyone from the queen to a man in a pie-factory should wear the same poppy in respect. Now I am not normally this conservative but I think that with the poppy-appeal this is something that is brilliantly simple and yet it works so well.

Also another news story popped up... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-told-not-to-wear-poppies-by-fifa-6257942.html

This is the story that FIFA won't allow poppies to be on the England football teams kit for the game this Saturday. Their reason, "allowing it could lead to constant requests from the other 207 member countries to commemorate various anniversaries with changes to their official kit". So what? This is just another case of FIFA being completely above-themselves.

Anyway basically, the same poppy for everyone, not a fashion accessory and FIFA should stop being idiots... do you agree?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

neurodude

1

I think using a poppy as a fashion accessory is more than a bit tasteless, but FIFA aren't being idiots; they're right, allowing teams to edit their kit in order to commemorate anniversaries would be a pretty dodgy precedent. It's really not a very big deal if some footballers don't wear a commemorative pin on their sports uniforms for gods sake.

Reply 2

sc8880

2

Just watching Loose Women now and they all have different fashion varieties of poppy on, all shiny and covered in sequins. I was just thinking exactly the same.

Reply 3

callum9999

16

So you have pretty strict criteria about when it is and when it isn't ok to wear a poppy, what it looks like and where you should wear it, but you think it's important for footballers to wear them for an hour and a half during a game in which no-one is interested in remembering the war (for the duration of the match)?

Reply 4

Square

13

been saying this for years.

the queen usually wears a plain one, or a cluster of plain ones. I think if the queen only wears plain ones surely all these other women can do so also.

Reply 5

xoxAngel_Kxox

21

I see some glittery poppies being sold specifically as accessories, and none of the money goes to charity. However some more fashionable ones do donate profits to charity. I can accept poppies however people choose to wear them, as long as the charity did benefit. Also they still serve the purpose, shows we're thinking about the cause, and gets people talking about it (like we are now).

Reply 6

hypercaine.

4

I dont really care, im all for poppies and I think anyone wearing one is good, so long as some of £84.99 goes towards the appeal its perfectly fine by me.

Reply 7

bigdave

OP

9

Original post by hypercaine.

I dont really care, im all for poppies and I think anyone wearing one is good, so long as some of £84.99 goes towards the appeal its perfectly fine by me.

Surely all of the £84.99 should go to charity? No one should be making a profit from charity.

Reply 8

Admor1994

Poppies have become a fashion accessory because of celebrities being forced to wear them on television. I believe that if everyone was given a choice then fashion would be less of an issue and would be more of a sign of respect rather than something you have to do.

Reply 9

somethingbeautiful

18

Original post by sc8880

Just watching Loose Women now and they all have different fashion varieties of poppy on, all shiny and covered in sequins. I was just thinking exactly the same.

I just thought the same thing whilst watching it. I don't know where they buy them from but surely some peolpe buy them and wear them every year so they aren't actually contributing to the poppy appeal each time they wear it (unless it's quite expensive to buy and the money goes to the poppy appeal). I do agree that everyone should just wear the paper one.

Reply 10

AshleighxJayne

1

Original post by bigdave

Over the past week the poppies have been appearing on TV. It's something that unites the country to all think about the people that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

But one thing has bugged me recently, the fact that now it seems acceptable to use the poppies as some kind of fashion accessory.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1325714/X-Factor-judges-wear-crystal-encrusted-Remembrance-Day-poppies-pride.html
I couldn't find an image of this years X-Factor but basically a couple of them were wearing the poppies in their hair. NO! This is completely wrong. In my mind everyone should wear the same poppy (the simple paper one) and we should all wear it in the same sort of place. The X-Factor poppies were "studded with crystals", surely this is a bit wrong. Everyone from the queen to a man in a pie-factory should wear the same poppy in respect. Now I am not normally this conservative but I think that with the poppy-appeal this is something that is brilliantly simple and yet it works so well.

Also another news story popped up... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-told-not-to-wear-poppies-by-fifa-6257942.html

This is the story that FIFA won't allow poppies to be on the England football teams kit for the game this Saturday. Their reason, "allowing it could lead to constant requests from the other 207 member countries to commemorate various anniversaries with changes to their official kit". So what? This is just another case of FIFA being completely above-themselves.

Anyway basically, the same poppy for everyone, not a fashion accessory and FIFA should stop being idiots... do you agree?

I do agree it is tasteless BUT at least they are wearing one. Everybody knows what they support hence why we wear one. However it is most certainly not your job to decide how it should be worn.

Reply 11

paniking_and_not_revising

21

What I find more annoying is people who wear poppies and think they're angels because of it and when you ask them exactly why they're wearing it, they don't actually know why.

Reply 12

Tokyoround

16

If you go on the actual charity website, you'll see they sell all sorts of different commemorative memorabilia from cuff links and tie bars to those plastic bracelets things and hair pins. I think this "new breed" of fancy poppies is an attempt to stay "fresh" and appeal to the younger audience. I'm all for keeping the classic, simple design (i've only ever worn the basic poppy) but it might not be to everyones' taste and not everyone understands the meaning.

Reply 13

alexmagpie

15

The article states that the proceeds still go to the British Legion, so I don't have a problem with it really. It's a bit superficial, but better than wearing none at all. I don't think they're really being used as a fashion accessory, more that they're diversifying the image of the poppy to encourage more people (particularly younger people) to wear one. As long as the meaning stays constant, I think it's fine.

Reply 14

callum9999

16

Original post by bigdave

Surely all of the £84.99 should go to charity? No one should be making a profit from charity.

Well you'd hope that, but this is the real world. There are huge companies set up just out of working for charities - all those people you see in the high street trying to get you to sign up for monthly donations being a big one.

Reply 15

alexmagpie

15

Original post by bigdave

Surely all of the £84.99 should go to charity? No one should be making a profit from charity.

The article says the profits do go to charity. You have to take into account the cost of raw materials etc - even for charity, you can't expect people to work at a loss, especially on a mass production scale.

Reply 16

RainbowDoll

10

I don't care to be honest, as long as all of the money goes to charity. I don't think it's the style of the poppy, or where it's worn but the thought that counts.
I have a plain Poppy, but because I change my coat so often (usually wearing 5 or 6 different jackets in a week) I don't like to pin it on my coat because i'm worried the constant removing it then re-attaching it to a different coat will damage the poppy and make it look worn. So I have it on display in my car, some may not agree with where I choose to display my poppy but I think it's the thought that counts and the fact that I have one to show my respects.

Reply 17

Drewski

19

Personally, I'd rather they wear one in any form than none at all.

Who are we to say another person's way of remembering and expressing their support for the charity is wrong? The RBL themselves say they have no objection whatsoever and that if people wish to wear a poppy in keeping with their standard of dress then that's perfectly ok.

I myself wear the small metal poppy pin rather than the paper flower, is this wrong too?

As for FIFA, well, they've got their rules regarding 'political or religious symbology' on shirts, it's just their error and misunderstanding of what the poppy is.

Reply 18

sc8880

2

Original post by alexmagpie

The article states that the proceeds still go to the British Legion, so I don't have a problem with it really. It's a bit superficial, but better than wearing none at all. I don't think they're really being used as a fashion accessory, more that they're diversifying the image of the poppy to encourage more people (particularly younger people) to wear one. As long as the meaning stays constant, I think it's fine.

If you put loose women on right now you'll see it is definitely being used as a fashion accessory. Although I doubt you'd want to :cool:

Reply 19

T.I.

Original post by Square

been saying this for years.

the queen usually wears a plain one, or a cluster of plain ones. I think if the queen only wears plain ones surely all these other women can do so also.

I agree with the overall point (about only wearing plain ones) but I do not see what an unelected sponger has to do with it.

Poppies are not a fashion accessory!

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