The coquette Christmas tree replaces ornaments with bows. Instead of hanging baubles and adding a few ribbons, you tie fabric bows directly onto the branches — dozens of them, at varying depths — and let the tails do the work that tinsel used to. The look is soft, romantic and almost entirely textile, and it is the easiest trend of the last few years to execute well, because bows are forgiving in a way glass ornaments are not.
Here is how many you need, where to put them, and how to stop it tipping into fussiness.
What makes a tree read as coquette
Three things, and the first is the one people miss.
Density. A coquette tree is not a normal tree with six bows on it. The bows have to be the dominant element — enough that your eye reads fabric before it reads foliage. Under-committing is the single most common failure.
Tails. A flat bow stuck to a branch looks like a gift tag. The movement comes from long tails hanging down between the branches, which is why a bow made as a full bow with two long tails behaves so differently from a stiff decorative one.
A soft palette with one anchor. Cream, pink, red and green gingham, with one deeper colour — burgundy or forest velvet — to stop it floating away. Taileroom's gingham bows come in nine colours including pink, candy and beige, which covers the soft end of this comfortably.
How many bows do you actually need?
More than you think. Work from tree height rather than guessing.
| Tree height | Bows for a full coquette look | Minimum for a lighter version |
|---|---|---|
| 4–5 ft | 18–24 | 12 |
| 6–7 ft | 30–40 | 20 |
| 7–9 ft | 45–60 | 30 |
At $20 each that is a real investment, which is why most people build the look over two or three seasons. That works perfectly well — a tree with twenty bows this year and twenty more next year looks collected rather than bought, and the colours stay consistent as long as you note which ones you used.
Sizing: mix three, not one
A tree covered in identically sized bows reads as wallpaper. Taileroom's bows come in 5.5, 6.5, 9 and 12 inch sizes, and a good coquette tree uses at least three of them:
- 12 inch — one, at the very top, as the tree topper. This is the anchor.
- 9 inch — five or six, spaced around the outer branches at roughly a third and two thirds of the tree's height. These are the ones people see from across the room.
- 6.5 inch — the bulk of them, distributed everywhere.
- 5.5 inch — tucked deep into the tree, half-hidden, so there is something to find when you look closer.
Tying them on, in five steps
- Lights first, always. Warm white, wound deep into the tree rather than draped on the surface. Fabric bows catch light beautifully but only if the light is behind them.
- Place the topper bow. The 12-inch bow goes on before anything else, because it sets the colour the rest of the tree has to agree with.
- Work in a spiral, not in rings. Start at the top and work down and around. Rings of decoration are the thing that makes a tree look like a display stand.
- Vary the depth. Some bows on the branch tips, some set back two or three inches into the tree. A tree decorated only on its surface looks flat, and this is the step that fixes it.
- Add the deep colour last. Stand back, find the pale patches, and put your burgundy or forest velvet bows there. Deep colours are your correction tool.
Keeping it from tipping into fussy
The line between romantic and overdone is mostly about restraint everywhere else:
- Skip the garland. Bows plus beads plus tinsel is too much. The bows are the garland.
- One or two patterns at most. Gingham and plain velvet is a reliable pairing. Gingham plus stripe plus floral is not.
- Keep the baubles out, or keep them plain. If you want ornaments as well, let them be matte and simple — soft fabric shapes rather than anything shiny and faceted.
- Warm white lights only. Coloured lights fight a soft palette.
The personalization option
Taileroom's bows are embroidered with a name or initial in script along one tail, with a Text or Text + Icon option. On a coquette tree you do not want forty readable names — but a handful is lovely, one per member of the household, placed at eye level where people will actually find them.
The rest can stay plain. Mixing a few personalized bows into a larger set of plain ones is the version of this that still looks like decoration rather than a labelling exercise.
Frequently asked questions
How many bows do I need for a Christmas tree?
For a full coquette look, roughly 30 to 40 on a 6 to 7 foot tree. Twenty will read as a tree with bows on it rather than a bow tree, which is a perfectly good lighter version.
What size bow should I use on a tree?
Mix them. One 12-inch at the top, five or six 9-inch on the outer branches, and the rest 6.5 and 5.5 inch distributed through the tree at different depths.
Can I use a bow instead of a star on top?
Yes — a 12-inch bow makes a good topper, and Taileroom makes tree topper bows specifically, in both gingham and velvet. Let the tails fall down over the upper branches rather than sitting the bow flat.
What colours work for a coquette tree?
Soft reds, pinks, creams and beiges, anchored by one deeper colour. The gingham range runs to nine colours including pink, candy and beige, and the velvet range covers green, red, navy and burgundy for the anchor.
Do the bows go on before or after the lights?
After. Lights first, wound deep into the tree, so the bows are lit from behind rather than casting shadows on the branches.
Build your bow tree
For the bulk of a coquette tree, the Personalized Embroidered Gingham Christmas Bow with Scalloped Trim comes in all four sizes and nine colours, with the scalloped edge adding the softness the look depends on.
For the anchor colours, the Personalized Embroidered Velvet Christmas Bow covers green, red, navy and burgundy, and the Custom Embroidered Velvet Christmas Tree Topper Bow handles the top of the tree.
Related reading
More from the Taileroom Christmas series: gingham and plaid cottage tree ideas and wreath sashes versus bows.
See the full range in the Taileroom Christmas collection.
