10 Ways to Wear a Brooch

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Today I’m teaming up with the Magnificent 8 to showcase different ways to style brooches across all ages. Over the past few years, I have amassed quite the collection of beautiful pins, from vintage pieces that belonged to my grandmas to a sparkly martini brooch I was gifted for my 21st birthday. I just think pins are such a pretty way to accessorize your favorite dresses, jackets, and even hats, especially since I don’t have my ears pierced; brooches are a cute alternative to bring some sparkle around my face. So without further ado, here are 10 different ways I’ve styled pins in past blog posts!

berry-lip-brown-thrifted-blazer-fall-outfit

1. On the Lapel of a Blazer

A recent “discovery” of mine is to wear brooches on a lapel, something that seems so obvious but that I hadn’t thought of before November of last year. This giant safety pin was the perfect way to add some sparkle to my preppy outfit.

Blog Post: Preppy Layers with The Thrifty Six

old-fashioned-style-green-leather-clutch-brooches shoe-brooch-g-initial-pin-old-fashioned-accessories

2. Stacked on Your Favorite Winter Dress

I can’t imagine wearing a brooch on a summer dress, but I love wearing them with my thicker winter dresses off to the side of the neckline. In this outfit, I decided to create a brooch “cluster” with a rose gold shoe pin and an initial pin.

Blog Post: Thrifty in Leather

red blouse, bee pins, floral headband, statement earrings

3. Paired with a Headband and Statement Earrings

I’m not usually a huge accessorizer, but every once and a while I like the dramatic look of layering on several different accessories—wearing a headband, statement (clip-on) earrings, and a brooch can be the perfect way to dress up an otherwise plain top. I love this bumble bee pin and always get so many compliments on it.

Blog Post: Quarantine Hair: Unwashed and Unapologetic

brooch-pins-rose-pin-collar-dress-purple-balayage

4. On Your Collar

With longer-shaped or smaller brooches, you can pin one on your collar for a little extra pizzazz close to your face. This rose metal pin was perfect for the job, and it reminds me of a boutonniere a man might wear on his lapel to a formal dance or wedding.

reindeer brooch, snowflake earrings, sparkly clutch, Francesca's, quilted skirt

5. A Collar Pin Anywhere But on the Collar

Have you seen this type of vintage collar pin before? There are two pins connected by a chain in the middle, and you traditionally put one pin on each side of a collared shirt like so (I can’t believe I don’t have any of my own pics to share). My particular pin is a reindeer on one side and a snowflake on the other, but my bumble bee brooch from idea #3 is also a collar pin. Here I am showcasing how to wear it just as a regular brooch on your favorite sweater or top. They look just as cute dangling on a sweater as they do on a collared shirt!

Blog Post: Alternatives to Heels This Holiday Season

denim jacket, curled hair, brooches, sparkly pins

6. On a Denim Jacket

Probably the most common way I wear my brooches is on the pocket flap of my denim jacket. I love to mix and match pins on either side of the button for a sparkly somethin’-somethin’. My initial pin and the bumble bee collar brooch are pictured here. I also love to add pins to the pockets of this utility jacket.

Blog Post: My Confidence Checklist

V-Day, Valentine's Day outfit, red blouse

7. Glam With Lipstick and a Statement Necklace

This was one of my Valentine’s Day outfits from a few years ago, and I went all-out with red lipstick, a sparkly headband, a statement necklace, and two pins stacked next to each other. Sometimes one brooch just isn’t enough!

Blog Post: Valentine’s Day Favorites

bold lipstick, clip-on earrings, heirloom jewelry, brooches

8. With Matching Earrings

This is one of my favorite brooches, as it belonged to my grandma and came with matching clip-on earrings. I love how old fashioned it looks, especially with my hairstyle and this pretty dress.

Blog Post: The Beauty of an Heirloom Piece

floral pins, brooches, trendy, denim jacket, floral shorts, spring outfit

9. Hair Clips as Brooches

Sometimes you can even get multi-use out of hair clips by clipping them onto different parts of your clothing, especially collars or the pockets of jackets. This pic is an example of how I repurposed old flower hair clips to match my floral shorts.

Blog Post: 3 Simple Accessories to Give Your Outfit that Extra ‘Umph’

10. On a Felt Hat

This is the newest way I have been styling my brooches and possibly my favorite! I love the sparkle and extra style that this dangly pin adds to my new felt beret. I also put a pin “cluster” on my green felted hat, seen in one of my OOTDs from this weekly recap.

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And now, be sure to check out the other bloggers to see how they are styling their brooches for today’s collaboration!

magnificent-eight-graceful-rags-fashion-blog

Let me introduce the other seven ladies of The Magnificent 8.

Mica of Away from the Blue   //   Roxanne of Glass of Glam   //   Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge   //   Rena of Fine Whatever   //   Eugenia of Age of Grace   //   Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style   //   Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

Which of these looks is your favorite? Do you ever wear pins? I feel like brooches have kind of gotten a bad rap for being an “old lady accessory”, but I think that’s BS—they’re beautiful and absolutely timeless!

Thanks for reading today’s post, and have a lovely day.

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

27 comments on “10 Ways to Wear a Brooch”

  1. You have such a great collection of pins and you really make the most of them! It’s great to see all the different ways you’ve worn them – I love the rose on your collar especially! 🙂

    Hope that your week is going well 🙂 We enjoyed the public holiday yesterday 🙂

  2. Grace, I love that you chose brooches for us this month and I really love all of these creative ways that you have styled them. Those collar pins are adorable! I am a big fan of adding brooches to my hats, too. Your giant safety pin is one of my favorites! And I love your Valentine’s outfit with the brooches on a bright red shirt!

    Shelbee

  3. Great inspiration! I inherited a lot of broochs from my greatgranny and never knew what to with them. Now, I have plenty of ideas.

  4. What a fun post, Grace. I am amazed to see that brooches are making a comeback and, most importantly, they are shedding their reputations as being reserved for women of a certain age. I think they look the coolest when styled unexpectedly. Thanks for sharing and have a good day. I hope you are having heaps of fun in Glasgow. Aiva xx

  5. Grace, you are speaking my language! I love brooches! I have a small collection from estate sales and bought a few over the years. I love how you demonstrated, the only way I havent worn one here is on a beret, i need to try that. And your haircut/color is darling on you!

    1. Thanks Carol! I love the brooches from my grandmas – they are so much more special than ones I just buy at the store.

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