Fig.: a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance

Diana, who’s very shy and not at all self-confident, is always afraid that nobody will invite her to dance at parties, so she’d rather stay home than be a wallflower

Diana, che è molto timida e per niente sicura di sé stessa, ha sempre paura che alle feste nessuno la inviti a ballare, perciò preferisce stare a casa piuttosto che fare tappezzeria

Julia used to be such a wallflower in college, just because she didn’t like to dance in front of people. Look at her now: she’s a successful disco dancer and guys are lining up to ask her to dance

Fino all’università Giulia ha sempre fatto tappezzeria alle feste, solo perché non le piaceva ballare in pubblico. Guardala adesso: è una cubista molto apprezzata e i ragazzi fanno la fila per invitarla a ballare

A wallflower is a real type of flower which grows against walls or in cracks and gaps in stone walls. In a figurative sense, in the 19th century it came to describe a woman who literally stood along a wall without a dance partner, simply observing others, rather than mingling