The Modern Female vs. The Brooch

9 December 2008

There was a time when I considered a brooch to be an entirely useless piece of jewelry despite however pretty it was. I couldn’t see myself as a girl who wore brooches – after all, wasn’t that from, and for, an older generation? This naive thinking doesn’t work well when you have to consider that great fashion ideas come from previous generations. Reality check 101: Stella McCartney didn’t INVENT ribbed knitting – although she makes wonderful use of it for us gals today. My Grandmother wore brooches in the 1920’s, but they were first used back in The Bronze Age. So, allow me to make a terribly cheesy pun and brooch the subject of brooches.

Why a brooch? Perhaps the best aspect of a brooch is that there isn’t one standard way to wear them (much like a scarf – don’t you feel a bit like a creative genius as you decide a new way to fashion one?). A brooch can be worn on a sweater one day, then on a hat or a belt. You can play it safe and classic, being very traditional with them. Or do something funky by buying two of the same and affixing them to a pair of shoes. In fact, I believe Christian Louboutin did that for his wife.

Something I’ve done is use brooches as pendants for necklaces. However you decide to wear them, do wear them! Brooke Shields wore a Bagdley Mischka dress for the 2008 Emmy Awards and she affixed a brooch to it, drawing attention to her flattering waistline.

The variety of selection for brooches is near the number of photos there are on line of Brooke Shields, seriously. Whether you are a gemstone kinda gal, or someone who prefers simple gold – there’s a brooch out there that will seem made just for you. And if one day you become a famous celebutante you can have that actually done. They’ll be called ‘The (your name here) brooch’ and everyone will covet them the way the infamous Hermes Kelly bag (see: Grace Kelly) is desired.

Brooch suggestions:

Onyx Starburst Brooch – Nordstrom