The Elegant Accessory Trend That Makes My Winter Outfits More Exciting
While typically tiny, a brooch can have a major impact on your look.
As you may have noticed, brooches are quite literally everywhere. They’re clustered on blazers, scattered across T-shirts, and pinned to coats and knits, occupying virtually any available patch of fabric. While undeniably eye-catching, the lovely brooch has so many uses beyond sitting decoratively on a lapel—which, to me, is where things get interesting.
I’ve always preferred items that are both beautiful and useful. Whether relating to fashion, furniture, or household objects, the collision of function and beauty is what truly fascinates me. And because the brooch encapsulates just that, it may be one of fashion’s most underrated problem solvers.
As a petite gal myself, I often use brooches to shorten lengthy dresses. To do so, simply gather a bit of fabric at the hip and secure it with a brooch. Suddenly, you have an interesting drape, a little flash of jewelry, and most importantly, a hem that isn’t dragging through whatever happens to be on the floor. No tailor required.
I also love placing a brooch at the collar of a shirt or on the sleeves of a blouse. If you happen to own two matching brooches for your sleeves, the added symmetry works even better.
One of my favorite tricks is using a brooch to secure a sweater that’s crossed at the chest or draped around the shoulders. Rather than tying the sleeves around my neck, I prefer to pin them loosely together with a brooch, allowing the sweater to fall effortlessly. Plus, the contrast between a shimmering brooch and sumptuous fabric feels incredibly luxe.
Brooches are wonderful with necklaces, too. Fasten one onto a chain or a strand of beads, and you’ve essentially invented your own statement accessory.
And while we’re broadening the possibilities, I should mention that I also use barrettes as brooches. A beautiful hair clip doesn’t necessarily have to stay in your strands; clip it onto a shirt, sweater, or scarf—whatever the construction allows. You can get quite creative with your interpretation of what constitutes a brooch.
You can also ignore the upper half of the body entirely and place one at the waist of a dress or at the hip of a skirt—wherever an outfit needs a point of interest.
Brooches can solve a styling problem, transform a silhouette, or simply give the eye somewhere to land. An all-black outfit, for example, benefits enormously from one glint of gold or something slightly unexpected. For these reasons, brooches have quietly become my favorite accessory trend.
Shop My Favorite Brooches
