Brooches

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Please feel free to merge this thread if there's another one the same - I did have a search, but I never seem to get any proper results!

So, last time I was at my Grandma's house, she gave me some brooches that were hers and my Great-Grandma's. They're beautiful, but I've not had them for AGES and still haven't worn them... I just never quite know how!

I thought we might have a thread with ideas for wearing brooches - pictures strongly encouraged!

Inspire me, ladies!

Fräulein Berlin
xxx

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I wear a lot of blazers and I put my brooch on it. I don't put them on my silk blouses of course because they are too heavy. As long as the material is sturdy like cotton, wool or velvet, it can accommodate a brooch.

 

[AuroraFisherman]

I love brooches but I feel them hard to wear sometimes too!

I bellive the trick is to arrande a pair or more tight together. My favourite combo is a pair of furbrooches (mink and white fox I belive them to be) they are simmilar in shape and size and then I sometimes add an extra with big sparkeling stones or perls (I can try to take some pitchures if you are intrested) I mostly put them on my jackets.

I'm intrested in how everybody else like to wear them, I love this kind of inspiration

 

[brookenormajean]

I adore brooches, and I know what you mean about finding them hard to wear sometimes... I have a collection of rhinestone brooches from the 40's and 50's and I find they work a little more with evening wear, though if the mood strikes me I'm not afraid to wear them in the day. If you are not finding any inspiration with them, they are always great for dressing up a plain clutch or purse. I also think they can look lovely on a dress that has a sash or fabric belt around the waist, placing it either to the side or in the middle depending on the dress...

 

[Juliet]

I love brooches!
I usually pin my lighter scarfs with one - it's the by far most comfortable method for me to wear a scarf around my throat
I also use them to liven up a neckline on a dress/top/sweater. Or when I'd like to keep it toned down, but still polished - earrings+matching brooch pinned a bit to the side, no necklace

P.S. - I remember seeing someone wearing brooches as hair decorations and pinning them on fascinators.

 

[bombshell_librarian]

@ Juliet--I've seen that look, too, with the brooches on the fascinators! I'm boring and wear mine on lapels of jackets. I do wear Christmas brooches on my coat. A lot of mine were part of a jewelry inheritence from various dead relatives (both grandmothers, a couple of aunts). Oooo, just thought of an idea I don't think anyone mentioned yet! BROOCHES on CLOCHES! If you've got a cloche with a relatively plain band or no band and it's just sort of plain and blah and dull, you could always take a brooch (or 2 li'l ones) and pin them on the side! OOOOOOOO, I just thought--I have a truly hideous brooch I got from my great-grandmother! I MUST take a piccie! It really is hideous and I wear it as often as I can just to see what kinds of reactions I'll get. I love it because it catches people off-guard and if I'm having a bad day, that brooch always fixes it!

 

[AdrianLvsRocky]

I always wear mine on coats, jackets and plain tops. I've considered wearing them in my hair too but I'm not sure how?

I have some lovely old brooches from my Nan and also some more modern brooches. You can get some excellent vintagey brooches here:

http://www.acornandwill.co.uk/

 

[Cricket]

Pending on the attachments of the brooch, I either wear mine on a sweater, jacket, heavier fabric blouse and even hanging off a chain necklace.

On cheaper ones that I am not worried about damaging, I attach a clip and wear a few in my hair. Pulling hair up along my ear or behind a roll or two toward the back of my head works well for me.

I wish I had took a picture yesterday, but with an emerald sweater, I attached a similar colored flower brooch behind two victory rolls on the right side of my head. The brooch was extremely heavy and tended to drop more that I wanted it to so I took some extra bobby pins and pinned the base of the brooch onto my head. I know it may sound dreadful, but it was comfortable and looked nice and I received a few compliments.

 

[bombshell_librarian]

I always wear mine on coats, jackets and plain tops. I've considered wearing them in my hair too but I'm not sure how?

I have some lovely old brooches from my Nan and also some more modern brooches. You can get some excellent vintagey brooches here:

http://www.acornandwill.co.uk/

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Delightfully sweet, sweetly delightful linkage! Thanks for enabling! This is wonderful!

 

[Marzena]

I seem to have a great problem with pins and brooches. I adore them, but I still have not found any good way to wear them They always seem ...superfluous.

I have a squarish face with a rather short, wide neck, wide ribcage and generous bust. Wherever I try to place that brooch it looks wrong. If it is small, it just disappers, if it is larger, it adds bulk and accentuates big bust.
Has anybody else had this? did you find a way to make a pin work?
Two things in particular: What size works best? Is it better to position it close to your shoulder's external edge (the classic advice) or, opposite, closer to the centre? Higher or lower?

 

[Lily Powers]

Many of my vintage dresses have fabric belts that fasten via a regular buckle but without grommets and whatever you call that thing on the belt that goes through the grommets (this type of belt always requires re-cinching). I use a brooch to keep the belt fastened - either dead center over the buckle (depending on the buckle size), or at the end of the belt, at my side.

 

[Miss sofia]

Marzena

I think in general a brooch always works if pinned to the shoulder's external edge. Not only is it timlessley elegant, but it will automatically draw the eye toward it and perhaps away from any problem areas, similarly a brooch pinned to the decolletee will draw attention to one's embonpoint. I think you could easily take a lovely, large brooch pinned to the shoulder, especially if you keep the rest of your top half not too fussy. (i.e a simple sweater or blouse for daytime in a plain colour, or a small, unfussy print).

If you are wearing something decollette, well, if you got it, flaunt it!! I sometimes use brooches to pin together tops or dresses which are a little too revealing, it looks cute and also saves one worry ing about falling out of said dress all evening or revealing too much when leaning forward. I don't see why you couldn't go a little decollette with another, large-ish, sparkly brooch for evening pinned in the middle of your decolletage , if you have concerns with your figure, then at least the eye will be wandering to your splendid bosoms and not elsewhere. Plus you can use the brooch as i do to preserve a little modesty!

I wear a brooch everyday, today i wore one on a hat, again, if you pin high up and to the side if that's possible on a hat, it can help with a square face, (like mine), pinned to a headband or scarf is nice too. I also like to wear one pinned to a belt, attached to a handbag, or have even been known to pin one onto a pair of gloves!

I think it is a case of experimenting, but as other ladies have said i don't think you can beat a really great brooch pinned to a winter coat, the flashier the better in my opinion, especially wth this dire weather we are having. A nice gaudy, sparkly, brooch, or whatever you like to wear, certainly livens things up! Plus it looks great on everyone regardless of shape.

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

I have some lovely old brooches from my Nan and also some more modern brooches. You can get some excellent vintagey brooches here:

http://www.acornandwill.co.uk/

Oh I love that link! Her earrings make me think of some of the bakelite earrings I see a few lucky gals wearing but never manage to find a pair of my own.

I tend to wear brooches to make a plain sweater or my cardigans a little more interesting. I have a few Christmas ones that I alternate between on my coat and have been known to put a flashy one on a Santa hat I like to wear. I tend to have the problem of placing them too low on my torso too so I'll have to keep Miss Sofia's advice in mind and aim for the shoulder.

I've lately been trying out scarves to see if I can pull off a flapper look with one in my hair without being too outrageous and I've thought that one pinned to it might look nice, either on the knot (depending on it's placement on the head) or above the brow off center.

 

[W-D Forties]

I love brooches and usually wear them:
On block coloured coats and jackets
On a plain jumper or cardi (helps if you wear a lot of black, like I always seem to!)
Pinned to plain bags (home-made ones usually)
I like to pin one to a plain beret to jazz 'em up

 

[Marzena]

Marzena

l

If you are wearing something decollette, well, if you got it, flaunt it!! I sometimes use brooches to pin together tops or dresses which are a little too revealing, it looks cute and also saves one worry ing about falling out of said dress all evening or revealing too much when leaning forward. I don't see why you couldn't go a little decollette with another, large-ish, sparkly brooch for evening pinned in the middle of your decolletage , if you have concerns with your figure, then at least the eye will be wandering to your splendid bosoms and not elsewhere. Plus you can use the brooch as i do to preserve a little modesty!

.

Now that sounds interesting! Will try, Miss Sofia and thanks!