Jackie O is not above playing politics with its arrangements.
A new flower shop named for the queen bee of U.S. first ladies has opened at 626 College St. and its owners have crafted a series of first-lady wedding bouquets just in time for election season.
Each arrangement is wrapped in fabric and frills that match the ball gowns, belts and brooches worn by first ladies on their husbands' inauguration day.
There's a bouquet for Nancy Reagan (calla lilies wrapped in silver-threaded silk fabric to match her 1981 dress by James Galanos); a bouquet for Hillary Clinton (purple Vanda orchids wrapped with purple silk and a silver buckle, like Ms. Clinton's 1993 outfit); and a bouquet for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (white roses, dahlias and delphinium in white silk with a pearl brooch, inspired by a dress she designed herself).
Most of the wives of Canada's prime ministers failed to inspire Jackie O's owners, Todd Kjargaard, 36, Robert Iacovissi, 39, or its "head designer," Richard Vogel, 29. They pronounced Laureen Harper "bland as oatmeal" and opted for a bouquet of daisies celebrating Margaret Trudeau.
"She was such a flower child," Mr. Kjargaard says. The Trudeau bouquet is sealed with a silver and turquoise brooch matching the jewellery she wore on her wedding day in 1971.
As for this year's White House race, Jackie O's owners deemed only one potential first lady flower-worthy: Michelle Obama. Her arrangement has green gladiolas, green Dendrobium orchids and green Hypericum berry to match the teal dress she wore at the Democratic convention.
"Michelle is the new Jackie," says Mr. Kjargaard.
He's taken to calling her "Michelle O."