Скачать или смотреть USA: WASHINGTON: VALENTINE'S DAY - AMERICAN STYLE

(14 Feb 1996) English/Nat

Valentine's day is the most romantic holiday of the year and throughout the U-S, shoppers are cramming stores that specialise in love.

Flowers and chocolates are typical gifts for fuelling romance, but there's more than one way of expressing your passion.

It's Valentine's Day and business is blooming for stores that specialise in love and romance.

The shops are crammed with people doing some last-minute Valentine shopping.

Americans bought 84 and a half (m) million roses in February 1995.

This year, they are expected to buy even more - some 89 (m) million.

Red roses - the symbol of romantic love - are consistently the biggest seller for Valentine's Day.

About 81 percent of roses given on Wednesday will be red.

These Washington florists have so much business that they can hardly handle it.

The phones keep ringing but they've stopped answering them.

SOUNDBITE:
"Just everybody wants them tomorrow and we're overbooked so we've stopped delivering already."
SUPER CAPTION: Jeff Abdow, Owner Friendship Flower Shop

They expect to make over one thousand deliveries this Valentine's Day, in addition to filling several hundred walk-in orders.

Two-thirds of the orders are for roses of all colours.

Meanwhile, plans are being made for the evening and it seems that romance is in the air.

SOUNDBITE:
"Well I think dinner, you know, steak and lobster type dinner, a glass of wine, then maybe after dinner drinks down by the harbour, nice overlooking the water, then see what happens from there."
SUPER CAPTION: Adam Wyle

Some people aren't looking for the classic Valentine gift, even in the most traditional shop.

SOUNDBITE:
"Something different. Something that will make her say 'whoa'."
SUPER CAPTION: Candy shop customer

Heart-shaped candies and chocolates are among the more popular items sold during this romantic holiday, but aren't the only hot commodity.

SOUNDBITE:
"No unusual requests. We've had some unusual products. We've been selling chocolate body paint and chocolate handcuffs and that seems to have been the big seller with certain groups".
SUPER CAPTION: Barbara Shoemaker, Manager Candy Express

Did someone say handcuffs?

Specialising in love products that range from the sublime to the submissive, shoppers at trendy Georgetown's Dream Dresser Boutique can choose from a wide array of gifts.

SOUNDBITE:
"It's actually starting to look like it's bigger than Christmas was to us. Christmas is like a really big holiday and we get a lot of money through Christmas, but Valentine's seems to be a lot more popular."
SUPER CAPTION: Miriam, Salesperson

SOUNDBITE:
"I guess the latex, one thing that people have been looking for that's more exotic. I mean all year long people don't really shop for latex, but for Valentine's Day a lot of people have been asking for it."
SUPER CAPTION: Jamaica, Salesperson

But with roses at 60 dollars a dozen, you may want to stretch your Valentine's budget.

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