For high school homecoming, mum's the word: Southern tradition takes off in Texas in a big way
Homecoming mum phenomenon in Texas is bigger than ever
By Brittany Kasko | Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/high-s...y?intcmp=tw_fnc


Homecoming season is here — and for many young people in parts of the South, that means homecoming mum season is here, too.

Now, however, mums — which started off as simple corsages, essentially — have become bigger than ever.

And it's why photos of teenage girls wearing large decorative flowers continue to flood the internet year after year.

LAKE VIEW HS CONTINUES TEXAS TRADITION WITH HOMECOMING MUMS CREATED IN-HOUSE

Here’s the story behind the "homecoming mum" phenomenon.

Homecoming mums are said to have hit the scene in the 1930s in the South — sharing a longstanding tradition in states like Texas.
A group of seniors at Frisco High School in Frisco, Texas, show off their homecoming mums at the homecoming football game in their town.

A group of seniors at Frisco High School in Frisco, Texas, show off their homecoming mums at the homecoming football game in their town. (Hunter Rutledge)

Kisha Clark, the founder of Mums Inc., spoke with Fox News Digital about the phenomenon and how it began.

"If you go all the way back to where it began, [these] were actually live flowers that evolved over time to a silk flower," the Texas mum maker said.

This flower, normally given to a girl by her homecoming date, was a symbol that she had a date to the homecoming football game and school dance.

Over the years and even decades, these small live flowers turned into huge, over-the-top decorative pieces.

Clark has been making mums for 20 years, using 1,700 square ft. in her Little Elm, Texas, home as a workspace.
Clark uses 1,700 square feet of her Texas home for a workspace to make homecoming mums each year. Over time, she said clients began wanting a more customized product.

Ten years ago, she started Mums Inc., an organization of mum makers across the country who share trends, tips and supplies.

A mum, at the time, would have a decorative ribbon, the homecoming dates’ names, the high school name, etc. and one fake mum flower positioned at the top.

"Somebody somewhere added a feather boa. I’m not even sure who that was … Now I can’t make the boa situation end."

Clark said she began to see a shift in the types of mums people were ordering.

Clients wanted their mums to be much larger than before.

"We started to see a shift in design where people wanted a more custom product," she said.
Bigger is apparently better these days when it comes to mums. The size of mums have increased each year, said the founder of Mums Inc.

Clark said that cutting machines were new around the same time, which changed the game for mum makers. -- excerpt, rest at link above --