Elegant Adornment Is Back—These Are the Heirloom Pieces I'm Styling on Repeat

This fall, the most compelling styling details aren’t on the hemlines or handbags—they’re at the head and shoulders. Runways and accessory collections are embracing brooches, clips, combs, and pins as architectural elements that frame the face and sharpen proportions.

There’s a renewed interest in heirloom-like accessories, a growing pull toward pieces that feel ornamental, textural, and purposeful in their design. Brooches are back. Hair clips, combs, and pins are everywhere.

The through-line between them is clear: These intentionally placed accents are capable of anchoring and elevating an entire look. They catch the light, shift proportions, and act as subtle points of structure, more directional and unexpected than traditional jewelry. A brooch fastened at the lapel reframes a coat. A brushed-metal comb pulls the hair back and sharpens a silhouette. A satin bow clip worked into a French twist adds an elegant sculptural accent.

These are the pieces that hold everything together, whether they’re keeping your hair in place or securing a shawl at the shoulder. Fastened to a scarf or slipped into a bun, they act as punctuation marks: small shifts with big visual impact. They're the finishing details that make an outfit feel complete.

Hair Pins

A smattering of gelled-down bobby pins at Prada's Spring 2026 show felt as tightly held together as the model’s grip on her clutch down the runway. At Celine, a single hair pin secured a soft twist, its quiet simplicity set against the tension of a wrapped high-neck bow billowing from a perfectly cut leather jacket. And at The Row, Guido Palau’s hair-pin and comb sculptures turned the hair itself into a series of architectural forms.

Off the runway, jewelry designer Juju Vera’s highly anticipated hair pin recently debuted, hand carved in silver featuring a center onyx stone. Copenhagen’s LIÉ STUDIO released new hair pieces as well; their initial launch of silver hair pins and barrettes became a staple in my day to day routine. This latest launch introduces Mazzucchelli Acetate clips, combs and barrettes in black, burgundy, and tortoiseshell. Stylist Kate Young’s recent accented french twist had me browsing bows at Sophie Buhai. The timeless jewelry designer added breathtaking silver and acetate combs, begging to be layered in a holiday updo.

How I'm Styling Hair Pins

Here's how I wear them as a finishing touch: On the left, with a vintage Giorgio Armani dress and Fortuny shawl on my way to a wedding; on the right, with an Issey Miyake look for an evening at the Guggenheim.

The updo reads as part of the silhouette, elongating the neckline and guiding the eye toward the nape and shoulders, beautifully complementing garments with open or detailed backs.

Heirloom Brooches

Demna’s Gucci created clusters of pins and inspired me to layer up a couple of my grandmother’s heirloom brooches. I loved the way a brooch acted as fastener at The Row, holding a draped cardigan in place over the models shoulders. It opened up a new way for me to style my shawls and capes.

The key, I’ve found, is contrast: a black cashmere knit with a deco, sparkling brooch; or, as seen at Maria McManus, onyx accessories anchoring an ivory satin bomber. At Chanel, the brooches felt almost like organic materials, softening each look with feminine details: baroque pearl petal-like forms, feathers, silk flowers, cottony thistles.

Turning from the runway to the holiday season, here are the pieces—vintage and new—that have caught my eye and risen to the top of my shopping list. Cult-favorite brand Marlies Grace, named after the founder’s mother, and the ever graceful Pirrie Wright collaborated on a capsule collection featuring two heirloom inspired brooches, the Diamora and Vanta Brooch. Alongside Juju Vera’s new hair pin, the jewelry designer’s also introducing a multi-way wear tasseled brooch that can be worn fastened through a lapel or strung on a necklace.

LIÉ STUDIO has created new pins as well. At their Paris preview, I fell in love with one that's the kind of pin you can layer with others or on its own. I'm imagining it in a hat, pinned to a tie, or even tucked into the side of a cummerbund.

Speaking of which, Andrea Ricci’s line Atelier Jéa just launched a capsule of satin cummerbunds that are not to be missed. On a floral note, the new Alexa Chung x Madewell collection includes a few soft brooches that echo Chanel in spirit, and I’m equally drawn to the beaded anemone version from By Malene Birger. I am in the midst of creating an exciting heirloom capsule collaboration myself—more on that soon.

How I'm Styling Brooches

Here's how I styled a few of my grandmother’s brooches, shown here from left to right. Channeling The Row’s styling, I used one to secure a cashmere scarf on my shoulder in a Paris elevator on my way to dinner. It was an exceptionally chilly evening and I wanted to feel elegantly layered, yet polished. By fastening the scarf in place, I could drape it over my shoulders—or even over my hair. When it wasn't in use, I simply let it fall along the left side of my jacket. It became part of the silhouette rather than something I had to manage.

Next, I wanted to experiment with layering. My grandmother has two brooches that echo a similar monochrome deco design, almost as if they were cut from the same cloth. Worn together like partners on a single lapel, I gathered them in a small cluster on the chest of my Skall jacket against a crisp men’s collar. The contrast between sharp tailoring and their soft, whimsical sparkle felt unexpectedly playful. Finally, I used one to fasten a wool-and-cashmere cape over a silk dress. I find brooches most compelling when they serve a purpose beyond embellishment, when they hold, secure, or shape the way a garment sits on the body.