the Brooch and the Pin

[Lady Day]

Aside from that horrid bling bling brooch craze a few years ago, the brooch and pin are often second to their more popular cousins the necklace, the watch, and the bracelet.

These accoutrements came in all shapes and sizes and dawned the lapel of many a coat, blouse, or dress. Some had such presence, that they needed no other to pull off a fabulous look. Their accessory status has been reduced to older ladies and the 'tragically unhip'. I say bring them back, display them proudly.

Here are some in my collection. Most are vintage, all I wear. I dont like watches, necklaces, or bracelets.

My oldest and most expencive thrift store find.

One of my most versatile.

My latest consignment score.

My favorite. I enherited it from my Mama.

LD

 

[Lady Day]

part two

The largest one I own.

The second largest one I own.

Are there brooch and pin weares among the rest of the lounge?

LD

 

[CanadaDoll]

I love the colours on your peacock brooch Lady Day! Very cute


I have a couple, but they usually end up in my hair rather than on my lapels and I'm coveting form afar a particularly stunning floral one made of semi precious gemstones at work but the 300$ price tag is much too high for me right now

 

[Lady Day]

Some end up in my hair as well CD. Also they look wicked cute on the side of a cap

LD

 

[CanadaDoll]

*gasp* Squee! Oh you just gave me an idea to try! You wonderful thing you

 

[jonniangel]

Tragically unhip one raising my hand here.

I love brooches and almost always wear one when I dress for work. I get a lot of comments and I love wearing something that nobody else is. I have more of a novelty collection rather than vintage but vintage is my next step.

 

[timorous me]

kind of a new collection for me, so it's rather small... i'm allergic to metal, so I can't wear much jewelery, and I figured brooches would be a nice alternative...

Here's what I've collected so far:

And on a not-so vintage note, I started making felt flower pins like I see on craft sites for ten or fifteen bucks a piece... I made a couple of them over the course of a weekend, and within a week, my friends had stolen them all. Oh well, I guess that's a compliment!

 

[Brooksie]

I have been collecting vintage brooches since I was about 9 years old, I have about 40 vintage brooches and about 10 non vintage ones from the 80's. Most of my vintage ones came from my Grandma.

Look on the back of your brooches and see if they have a name on them... these are the most valuble. I have a book that lists the most valuble costume and fine jewelry names.

Brooksie

 

[Babydoll]

I have a bunch of pins I got from both Grandma and Grannie as well as some from Mom. The one I'm wearing today I just convinced Mom to let it come and live at my house. It belonged to either Grandma or Great Aunt Eileen (they were sisters, both loved the blingy stuff - so up my alley!)

I call it my Princess Pin:

The middle five peaks on the crown are (l-r) ruby, emerald, aquamarine, amethyst, and pink in color. There are pearls between each of the peaks, and the rest is irridescent stones. I have a feeling it used to be part of some secret ritual (Rebekkahs or the like), but sadly I'm not sure what it was for.

I'll have to take photos of the rest of my pins. I have tons! And I keep them in a butterfly shaped glass dish from Grannie. She teared up when she came to visit and saw all of her sparklies on display in her dish.

 

[Babydoll]

Here's my pin for the day:

Silver twin cherries. Found it at a thrift store for $2!

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

fftopic: Hiya Babydoll! Nice to see you stopping by. We haven't seen you for a while. I hope all is well with you and your hubby!

LadyDay your collection is great. The peacock is my favorite, it's exquisite looking!
Brooches are a relatively new thing for me as well. I love them and have been trying to start a small collection of them. Here's some that I got off of the bay over the past 6 months or so.

Bakelite Marine Pin

Daisies and Roses earrings and pin

Celluloid roses pin and earrings, marked Japan

Plastic Daisy pin and bracelet

Strawberry and Ladybug pin

Bakelite Valentine Heart pin

Silver and Enamel flower basket brooch, I love the colors in this one

Gold Tone Heart Locket pin

Enamel flower brooch

I did get the 1939 Worlds Fair Pin, it's so cool but I need to gently clean it. It has some dust built up in the crevices. I'll have to take a picture of it, the seller seems to have taken her pictures down already!

 

[Babydoll]

fftopic: Hiya Babydoll! Nice to see you stopping by. We haven't seen you for a while. I hope all is well with you and your hubby!

fftopic: Things are a bit stressful for us right now. PM me for more details, sugar.

 

[Babydoll]

Okay, I have more photos of some of my collection!

The blue ones:

There's an atomic-ish pin and screw on earring set, a blue forget-me-not, and another blue flower.

A green leaf and earring set:

The pastels:

The huge one in the center is (I think) either lucite or celluloid. The flower is as big as the palm of my hand!

Misc from Grandma:

Thrift store finds:

Multi-colored sparklies:

Clear sparklies (big pin on left is a set with the small earrings above - from Grandma; swirlie is also from her).

 

[Babydoll]

And more:

Some from thrift stores, Mom, and Grandma/Grannie:

The one on the upper right is cool. The "flowers" are silk wrapped beads with a rhinestone in the middle.

Brushed gold leaf I remember my Mom wearing when I was young:

Identical leaves - one from Grandma, one from a thrift store:

 

[Kim_B]

Aside from my wedding rings and the bracelet my hubby gave me as a valentine's day present, I only wear the jewelry I make. But I have a growing interest in brooches and pins (what is the difference - any one know?)...

This was my first purchase...and it's a lot larger than I anticipated!

 

[tinytot]

These are some of my brooches, but sadly i dont wear any of them.

 

[Lady Day]

...I have a growing interest in brooches and pins (what is the difference - any one know?)...

Brooches are generally larger, and have a hinge clasp and pins tend to have a 'thumb tack' back?

**Im totally guessing**

LD

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I am wearing a 40s navy dress tonight and have a few green bakelite/old plastic pieces I am planning to wear, including a brooch. I had it on the upper left part of the dress, but then moved it to the waist where there are some gathers. I like it better at the waist, but my boyfriend prefers the more traditional placement.

Any idea which is more period correct? Or are both ok?

 

[I'mSuzyParker]

I like the idea of it at the waist, especially with the gathering, etc.

Not sure if that is "period" correct, but I've seen the waist placement in many old movies.

 

[nico demouse]

This bird is amazing!

I LOVE pins. When I was teaching science I used to like to wear vintage or vintage look insect pins. I'll try to get a picture of my little collection and post it. I've been lusting after the Hattie Carnegie trmbler pins that show up on eBay but have never found one for the price I hoped to pay.