BROOCHES & Pins. Why Don't We Wear Them?

[iLander]

Or maybe you do.

I haven't worn a brooch or a pin since the '80's.

Why don't we wear them more?

How do we go about bringing them back into style?

Are they in style, just not anywhere near me?

 

[monarch64]

A great brooch or pin never goes out of style. I have an antique Lea Stein tortoiseshell cat pin that was given to me several years ago that I wear frequently. I've attached it to dresses, my denim jacket, hats, etc. Now, something like a Swarovski holiday pin or a stick pin that goes on a lapel...not really my style.

 

[Rhea]

My manager wears a brooch nearly everyday. Usually it's a very nice silver and enamel Art Nouveau style piece.

I've never wore one. I'm usually in jeans and a t-shirt. I think that a lapel is required to wear a brooch and I don't often wear shirts with a lapel or collar.

 

[Jennifer W]

In style, fashionable, on trend etc - who cares? I mean really, who in their right mind would care about fashion to the point of leaving a gorgeous diamond brooch in the box? Ok, not me. Sooooo not me. The only thing that stops me wearing my diamond brooch every single day is that somewhat tragically, I don't seem to have a diamond brooch. Bah. I WANT one, though.

I would rock a diamond brooch. If anyone doesn't love theirs, I'm willing to give it a good and loving home...

 

[ame]

Im not allowed stabby/sharp/pointed objects.

 

[TravelingGal]

In style, fashionable, on trend etc - who cares? I mean really, who in their right mind would care about fashion to the point of leaving a gorgeous diamond brooch in the box? Ok, not me. Sooooo not me. The only thing that stops me wearing my diamond brooch every single day is that somewhat tragically, I don't seem to have a diamond brooch. Bah. I WANT one, though.

I would rock a diamond brooch. If anyone doesn't love theirs, I'm willing to give it a good and loving home...

I tried wearing the one I had. I looked pretty dumb.

 

[VRBeauty]

I think a lot of it has to do with the clothes we wear. Lapels & more structured clothes are great for pins and brooches. Jersey knits and less structured clothing sometimes can't support pins. I have quite a few holiday pins that I wear a lot in December, and a few others that rarely see the light of day now that I'm not wearing suit jackets anymore!

ETA I have two nice vintage snowflake scatter pins. Would love to have a whole collection of them to play around with during the holidays!

 

[Lotus99]

I think a lot of it has to do with the clothes we wear. Lapels & more structured clothes are great for pins and brooches. Jersey knits and less structured clothing sometimes can't support pins. I have quite a few holiday pins that I wear a lot in December, and a few others that rarely see the light of day now that I'm not wearing suit jackets anymore!

ETA I have two nice vintage snowflake scatter pins. Would love to have a whole collection of them to play around with during the holidays!

Exactly -- the clothes don't suit them.

If I lived somewhere where I wore a winter coat, I might wear one. But I don't.

My mom wears pins frequently, but she wears a lot of blouses, coats and jackets.

I do like the trend I've seen on the red carpet of wearing larger brooches on the waist of a dress.

 

[4ever]

My boss pins her diamond brooches to her nice coats and just leaves them on there because she doesn't wear them on anything else. Then whenever she wears a coat (which is not frequently, it's not usually cold enough here) it has a complementary sparkly brooch on it.

I'd like a nice diamond brooch- I've been wearing a vintage costume brooch on my pearl ropes. I double over each of two ropes and loop the brooch over the 4 strands - it look great and keeps my ropes from sliding and strangling me.

I've also notices more people wearing the slightly smaller and more symmetrical brooches as statement pendants for special occasions.

 

[diamondringlover]

I dont wear them because I never dress up!! The only one I do use is the one I got from Brian Gavin and I wear it on my coat....

 

[Jennifer W]

In style, fashionable, on trend etc - who cares? I mean really, who in their right mind would care about fashion to the point of leaving a gorgeous diamond brooch in the box? Ok, not me. Sooooo not me. The only thing that stops me wearing my diamond brooch every single day is that somewhat tragically, I don't seem to have a diamond brooch. Bah. I WANT one, though.

I would rock a diamond brooch. If anyone doesn't love theirs, I'm willing to give it a good and loving home...

I tried wearing the one I had. I looked pretty dumb.

Dumb, but sparkly! I'd wear it for you, I would. I would.

I wear coats for about 9 months of the year, so I have plenty of lapels...

 

[Tanzigrrl]

I wear a brooch that I had custom made for me. It's sterling silver with 2.90 ctw blue topaz (from a 1980s bracelet I recycled) and .60 ctw diamonds from my grandma's ring (also recycled). I think it's lovely on my long black wool coat.

 

[lyra]

I wear them. I don't care what other people think, or whether they are trendy or not. I mostly wear them on my coats/jackets, not really on my clothes unless it is a heavier sweater. My grandma wore brooches, and I have 2 of hers, one goldtone and one sterling silver. In the late 70's stick pins were all the rage and I wore those too. You can wear them on scarves in the winter. I'm a fan, frankly.

 

[Black Jade]

I wear brooches all the time.
I put them on scarves.
I have one that I put in my hair.
I put them on blouses and jackets of course.
Most of mine are faux but good faux, like art deco pieces I find in thrift shops. I also have a couple with freshwater pearls that I bought in China. I wore one of those today. These brooches look like clusters of grapes. One has black freshwaters in it (dyed of course but very pretty) and one has white. I often wear them as a pair.
I see no reason not to wear a nice accessory because it is 'out of style'.
I wear dress clips too--how out of style is that? But they are gorgeous.
and, oh yes-- I buy those big clip earrings that used to be in style in the 50's and 60's and use them as clips or brooches on my clothes too.
Many of them are very pretty. You can also clip those on necklaces and have mix and match pendants.
My dear old dad taught me that accessories are what make an outfit (my mom is not into clothes) and it really does expand your wardrobe to have rather plain dresses but lots of belts, scarves, necklaces and yes--brooches to play around with.

 

[lulu]

They really do work best with structured clothing like suits. When I worked I typically wore suits and almost always wore a broach. I still love them, but I just don't dress up much anymore.

 

[PintoBean]

Im not allowed stabby/sharp/pointed objects.

Oh Ame!

My mom likes wearing plain tops - usually black, and she jazzes things up with a brooch. I think they look real good on her.

Me, I hate poking holes in my tops. I don't know why - it bothers me. I do, however, LOVE pins and brooches on denim or canvas-ish jackets! Maybe it's from growing up in the '80s and people sticking bon jovi and other hair band type pins all over their jackets... this remnant memory that drives me to stick pins in my plain outerwear?

just got a sudden flood of memories - haha... how did I ever forget that in the late 90s, I had a darker khaki field coat with Tori Amos pins all over the front? Gotta run and tell Fi how cool I thought I was!

Now, I prefer crystal animal pins - love a little bling! I have a blingy frog that is so ready to leap onto my khaki coat!

 

[mrs taylor]

I've only ever worn them in my hair, but I do love them that way!

 

[ZahraLeyla]

I wear them almost every day, but most of mine are costume jewellery. I'm of the 'the bigger and sparklier, the better' school of thought when it comes to brooches. Big, chunky necklaces and pendants don't suit my body, so brooches are my way of getting around that. Plus, I've never been accused of being too subtle when it comes to my choice of attire.

Re: poking holes in tops, I wear a lot of very delicate fabrics and the best way to stop brooches tearing through them is to add a tiny square of felt underneath to better support the pin. Works a treat.

Butler & Wilson makes some of my favourite costume jewellery brooches, but I would absolutely love something from JAR or Dior Fine Jewellery. Sadly, that is but a dream.

 

[texaskj]

I wore a bunch in the 80's. And I've got some light blue crystal ones that look like snowflakes that were my great grandmother's. I put them on a winter coat sometimes, but winter doesn't last very long down here.
(P.S., iLander, I don't want to thread jack here, but I broke down and got a set of Fiestaware three weeks ago and I LOVE it. And the funny thing is SO does too. He's mentioned it numerous times.)

 

[movie zombie]

i wear a vest in the winter and i have a brooch that never comes off it except when its being cleaned. i wear that vest everytime i leave the house. and everytime that brooch receives finds people asking me about it and loving it.

 

[baby monster]

Haven't worn them for a while. Mostly because I hate making holes in my blouses and sweaters. I used to wear them on waistband of my skirts. Always got complements as that placement looks unexpectedly great. Don't like wearing them on coats - looks very star trek to me.

 

[anne_h]

I do!

My favorite is a lovely Victorian crescent moon pin, with old mine cut diamonds! It's 18k YG and super sparkly. I usually wear it to work on black sweaters.

I also have a petite Victorian plaited hair mourning brooch, trimmed in seed pearls. Also 18k, I think it might be pink gold. Pearls represent tears, which I find terribly sentimental. It's tiny and so, so sweet. I do wear it occasionally too.

I don't care if some people consider brooches 'old fashioned' or out of style. I buy and wear what I love!

Anne

 

[artdecogirl]

Ilander, That dragonfly is lovely! I would wear that in a heartbeat. I love pins and have a few, mostly I wear them on a wool coat in the winter or if I wear a suit for anything which is not very often, I do have a small flower pin that I wear in my hair or with pearls for occasions, I wore it a while ago for a wedding and I lost count of how many people commented on it, many younger ladies asked where I got the awesome barrette! (it's a vintage 14k & enamel flower with pearl center)

 

[VRBeauty]

I wear a brooch that I had custom made for me. It's sterling silver with 2.90 ctw blue topaz (from a 1980s bracelet I recycled) and .60 ctw diamonds from my grandma's ring (also recycled). I think it's lovely on my long black wool coat.

Beautiful - well done!

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Thanks VRBeauty!

 

[Pandora II]

I have lots and wear them whenever I can. I have more brooches than other kinds of jewellery. My mother also wears them a lot.

Most of mine are antique - either inherited or given by my grandmother. I've bought a few recently that were made by my DH's great-grandfather who was a famous Jugenstil silversmith - sadly very collectable and costing me an arm and a leg!

One of the most beautiful brooches I ever saw - and I want one one day - was a little three-dimensional diamond pave bee which the lady was wearing on her cuff. It was at a trade show and she was one of our clients - I couldn't take my eyes off it and I thought it was such a great way to wear it. It caught the light so well and she got to look at it too!

 

[iLander]

I wear a brooch that I had custom made for me. It's sterling silver with 2.90 ctw blue topaz (from a 1980s bracelet I recycled) and .60 ctw diamonds from my grandma's ring (also recycled). I think it's lovely on my long black wool coat.

Wow! That's gorgeous!

 

[iLander]

I wore a bunch in the 80's. And I've got some light blue crystal ones that look like snowflakes that were my great grandmother's. I put them on a winter coat sometimes, but winter doesn't last very long down here.
(P.S., iLander, I don't want to thread jack here, but I broke down and got a set of Fiestaware three weeks ago and I LOVE it. And the funny thing is SO does too. He's mentioned it numerous times.)

Yeah!! Fiesta is never a thread jack on one of my threads! What color(s) did you get? What pieces? Can't wait to hear all about it!

I think men like it because they like that it's sturdy and they're not afraid of breaking it. Whenever I walk into the house with new stem glasses, DH groans because he knows he'll break them and hear all about it. Actually, I don't even say anything anymore, I just buy them by the case now.

 

[iLander]

So, I think I have solved the mystery; you all have clothing articles, to put brooches on, that I just don't happen to own:

I don't wear coats, or blazers, or scarves, or jackets, or sweaters, or any of that. I live in the south, and don't work in an office, so apparently I've saved a lot of wardrobe $$$.

I AM interested in hearing about how these are worn in the hair, though. How does that work?

I have a 14K and pearl bumble bee pin, a Victorian bird covered in seed pearls, and a french bakelite/sterling pin. So, I'd like to use them, they've been sitting for 10+ years.

Apparently, they are in style, I just didn't realize it.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi iLander, thanks! I think it turned out nicely, too. You should see the pieces from which I extracted my stones. Making them into a brooch really saved them.

Wait, you live in the South and don't need a wool coat? I live in the South, too, and depend on one - at least Dec-Feb.