Wear your crystal-encrusted poppy with pride! X-Factor judges lead the way with designer emblems

By RYAN KISIEL

Pretty poppy: From left Frankie Sandford, Una Healy, Mollie King, Rochelle Wiseman and Vanessa White of The Saturdays have been sporting the crystal emblems


It's not a fashion accessory exactly. But if you feel that paper and plastic is a little bit last year, there is plenty of scope to update your poppy before Remembrance Day.

Celebrities including Simon Cowell have already been spotted showing their support for this year’s Poppy Appeal, wearing designer emblems that are studded with crystals.

And those who want to follow suit can spend with a clear conscience, safe in the knowledge that the profits are going to the Royal British Legion.

Cowell had a crocheted emblem on his lapel as he judged The X Factor on Saturday.
The £84.99 flower was made by jewellery designer Kleshna, whose enamel and crystal versions have been worn by the presenters of daytime television show Loose Women and pop band The Saturdays.

But if neither of those is quite your style, the designer has other poppy products including a tie pin and a bracelet that might suit you instead.

The Royal British Legion, which runs the appeal, said: ‘Shows like The X Factor are shown to millions of people and it is bound to raise awareness and encourage people to wear a poppy.’


Glittering for a good cause: Dannii Minogue and Simon Cowell show off their crystal poppies to support this year's Poppy Appeal


Referring to the poppies worn by TV personalities, spokesman Robert Lee added: ‘On the internet there’s already been a huge demand for them and we’ve been inundated with calls from people wanting to know where to get them from.

‘As long as the proceeds go to the Poppy Appeal then we are very liberal about what people wear.

‘We own the rights to the poppy image so you can almost be certain that the proceeds of a sale go to us anyway. We had a few of the brooches but they have sold out very quickly because everyone wants them.’

The charity, which raises money by selling poppies through its army of volunteers, has also brought out its own jewellery range.

Brooches are for sale for £17.04 and lapel pins celebrating the 65th anniversary of the D-Day Landings and VE Day are also on offer.

There are also iron-on badges and limited-edition sparkly brooches priced at £9.99.
The poppy emblem was adopted shortly after the First World War, based on the well-known poem In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae. The flowers were seen to bloom on the broken ground of the battlefields of Flanders after the war.

The millions of poppies we wear each year are produced by around 50 people, many of whom are ex-servicemen, from the Legion’s factory in Richmond, South-West London.


How do you wear your poppy? This year has seen a range of brooches go on sale


Since 1933 there has also been a white poppy emblem, used by the Peace Pledge Union. Anti-war activists wear it as an alternative to the traditional red.
Kleshna’s handmade range of poppy jewellery raised more than £5,000 for the Royal British Legion last year.

Strictly Come Dancing performer Kristina Rihanoff, 31, who partnered musician Goldie in this year’s competition, has already ordered one of the poppy bracelets.

Kleshna’s work has featured at London Fashion Week and her customers include Cheryl Cole, Dame Judi Dench, Kylie Minogue, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Victoria Beckham.
For more information, visit poppyshop.org.uk or kleshna.com.

source: dailymail