Bright floral prints are splashed over new sportswear

KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
If you were a flower, what would you be? Hibiscus is the right answer if you're an ardent fashion devotee.
In a summer season flooded with so many blooming plant prints, we're likely to have allergic reactions -- it's one of the favorites. The iconic flower is splashed all over sportswear pieces, including Banana Republic's skirts and dresses. It decorates swimsuits, including a pink bikini from Venus Swimwear. The flower is even decorating Fiji water bottles.
It's often seen in red and pink, which are copied in lipstick colors. But it also grows in blues and purples which are readily reproduced in clothing.
The hibiscus is considered tropical. It originated in Asia and the South Pacific and is the state flower of Hawaii and Malaysia, but people grow the plant in Minnesota and Ontario in pots, according to the American Society of Hibiscus Web site, www.americanhibiscus.org.
If you can't afford the clothes, adopt a plant.