History of Brooches
Adding pizzazz to everything from lapels to handbags, the brooch is a favorite accessory of fashionistas everywhere. Thought to have originated in the Early
Bronze Age, and fashioned of wood and bone and later bronze embedded with gemstones, it was during the 9th and 10th centuries that brooches started being mass produced to serve the purpose of clothing fasteners. Early societies like the Scandinavian Vikings, Greek, Irish, Romans and others utilized brooches in their traditional dress. Women wore decorative and often elaborately designed brooches made of amber and glass beads to fasten their dresses, and prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion, men wore cloaks and mantels and brooches were used to secure them.The Victorian Era seen an explosion of brooch design with insects, birds, and flowers becoming wildly popular as well as cameos and Celtic knots. The brooch had finally come of age as a powerful fashion statement, and it remains still today. Not for shrinking violets, the most inspiring contemporary costume pieces are big, bold, and colorful, sparkling with rhinestones and crystal or dripping in faux pearls and gemstones. Vintage styles are particularly popular right now. Originals from the Victorian and Edwardian eras are a great investment for your collection and you can never have enough faux vintage pieces.
Ways to Wear Brooches
Where once women wore brooches to keep their dresses closed at the waist or shoulder, today we wear brooches in a multitude of creative ways. In addition
to wearing brooches in a traditional way pinned to our jacket lapels, they look equally snazzy on a turtleneck sweater. Reminiscent of its functional past, brooches still serve to fasten and hold together a myriad of scarf and shawl configurations for the woman of style. We can also convert brooches into pendants to string onto necklaces with an inexpensive little gadget called the ‘pendant converter’. We can jazz up our French twists, ponytails, and long sleek hairstyles by attaching our brooches and pins to hair combs, elastics, and headbands. I love brooches strategically pinned to a satin belt, my dressy fedora, or straw sun hat. Bridal wear applications are endless, not only showing up tucked into the bride’s hair, but also at the shoulders, waists, and bodice of the gown or to gather up chiffon at the back. A dazzling brooch can be pinned on to the base of a bouquet, or on the bride’s purse.
For every day, brooches give that special ‘wow’ factor to the ‘v’ in the neckline of your crisp white or black shirt or dress. They also may be pinned
onto fabric or leather bracelets and chokers. Years ago, as hostess for a fancy fundraising gala for The Friends of the Animals, I wore a gorgeous smiling cat’s face brooch pinned onto a wide black leather choker. It had rhinestone eyes and a jaunty little rhinestone bowtie that swayed back and forth as I moved. This chic cat brooch and the unusual way I wore it was the perfect finishing touch to my formal black suit and brought a smile of delight to everyone’s face. Brooches give expression to our sense of humor, love of nature and animals, and most of all our sense of style. The right brooch has the power to complete our look and whether you’re wearing blue jeans or a little black dress, turn up the volume and add a little magic with a glamorous brooch!WhimZ Girl Brooches
One of my favorite online brooch shopping stops is WhimZ Girl Brooches at www.whimzgirlbrooches.com where
you will find a wide selection of brooches priced from $10 to $50. This brooch heaven is brimful of colorful sparkling delights to enhance your look. There’s angels, butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, frogs, flowers, insects, and animals. There’s rhinestones, pearls, goldtone, silvertone, every color under the sun, Italian mosaic, vintage, and contemporary designs to choose from. There are even those hard to find brooches with matching clip on earrings.I particularly like the fun and easy navigation and clear, well photographed, and zoomable photos at this online shop which conveniently offers color categories as well as style categories for your shopping pleasure. Orders over $50 get you a free gift and orders over $100 are shipped free in the USA.
I’ve sprinkled a sampling from my personal WhimZ Girl Brooches ‘wish list’ throughout this article to give you an idea of the variety of brooch styles available. To browse the whole WhimZ Girl Brooch collection visit www.whimzgirlbrooches.com
