Antique Dealers Association: How to wear a brooch
Brooches — the little works of art sculpted by a jeweler with precious stones and metals — can take any shape, as long as a jeweler is creative and imaginative enough.
However, they fall under that dreadfully confusing category, much like a scarf, of “How do I wear this?” The array of beautiful brooches out there will make you want to know how to wear one confidently; but how? Here’s how, with a little help from our grandmothers and one of our favorite celebrity fashionistas.
Traditionally, brooches were made to fasten items of clothing together. Slowly, they migrated up to our grandmother’s shoulders where they have remained there ever since. Is this our only option, though? Is a brooch only used for pinning together an awkward-sized shawl or for the scarves our Mimis insist on giving us that are no longer in style? Thankfully, no. There are more options, and better yet, they are currently trending.
The first option for your brooch is your hair. This is actually perfect because, with a brooch handy, you can use as much hardware as it takes to get your hair in place and then pin the brooch right over top. Seamless how your hair fell so conveniently! Also, if you’re wearing a stylish hat, pin a brooch to your hatband for extra glamour.
Now, you may want to wear brooches on the shoulder area of your dresses as your grandmother did, but sometimes your shoulder isn’t readily available one time. Move it down to your sleeve for a better and infinitely more interesting look. Also, you can move it down to your hip area, including if you’re rocking a two-piece with pants or skirt.
If you’re still not feeling confident then you can draw inspiration from the queen of fashion herself, Carrie Bradshaw, aka Sarah Jessica Parker, from the hit series “Sex in the City.” This woman paid for a Vogue magazine instead of dinner; she screams fashion! She can be seen wearing large brooches on the front of her dresses, coats and even functionally; pinning a cravat to her vest at an otherwise impossible angle. Whether you draw on her for inspiration or are bold enough to take on her style, rocking a brooch will surely promote boldness and confidence when stepping out into the workplace from now on.