Can Lady Hale's Spider Cure Your Brooch Anxiety?
It was Lady Hale who finally forced me to confront my fear. As she introduced the world to the term “prorogation,” the first female president of the British Supreme Court also asked us to meet her little friend: an oversized diamante spider brooch fastened firmly to the top right corner of her black dress. I looked at her as she presided over a turning point in history and thought: I'll never be that. I meant a brooch wearer.
Where does this brooch karfitsa, from the Greek "phobia," begin? In an attempt to locate the source of my jewelry anxiety, and perhaps wear a lapel pin to my next black tie, I sought the help of some highly skilled professionals. Why are so many people afraid of brooches?
Frank Everett of Sotheby’s, true brooch evangelist, quickly came to my aid. “Two reasons: first, they’re afraid of looking like they’re grandmothers,” says Everett who is rarely without a vintage David Webb gold crocodile or a Cartier rose on his jacket. “They envision a circle pin on the lapel of a tweed coat with three quarter sleeves. We LOVE that look on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but it’s hardly how modern women dress today."
"Second," he continued, "fabrics of contemporary clothing often won’t support the weight of brooch, which can be substantial. And pinning a brooch to outerwear seems risky, unless it’s a costume piece and low-value.”
I appreciated that he identified that there might be a practical element in my fear. Was I afraid of wearing a 19th century diamond Maltese cross brooch, or really just of losing one?
Everett, who is one of the people behind the hashtag #bringbackthebrooch, was adamant about pushing me through this. He would not let me give in to fear. “What I’ve been saying for years is GET CREATIVE! Try wearing a brooch anywhere except your lapel. For example: as a hair ornament or belt buckle, depending on the shape and size. Vintage floral sprays from the 19th century, or from the 1950s and ’60s are great as hair pieces, and geometric designs from the art deco period, or especially the 1970s make great belt buckles. Also, gem-set brooches look great in the center of a V or sweetheart neckline and can make the simplest dress look special.” I now had tools to work with.
As I often do when I have a jewelry question, I first turned to history. There are great brooch moments throughout it: Marjorie Merriweather Post in her emerald and diamond “pendeloque” style brooch by Cartier; Millicent Rogers’ collaboration with Paul Flato on her famous ruby heart brooch; Jackie Kennedy wearing her antique starburst brooch in the front of her “brioche” hairdo by Kenneth.
Then I turn to Rebecca Selva.
Selva has all but chased me around Fred Leighton with a stickpin to try and get me to wear a brooch, so I am clear on where she stands. “Anyone who has worked with me knows that I love brooches. I have been quoted as saying that every night I pray for the return of the dress clip—and I DO! I am eager to help you cross this brooch bridge!”
As she often does to seduce a client into wearing a piece now, Selva goes back to the beginning. Brooches, she explains, were “originally conceived thousands of years ago as a functional piece—to close and hold together a garment. The brooch developed into a decorative jewel that showed status and rank, showed the jeweler’s artistry and workmanship, and invited creative wear, making it more and more a jeweled statement of personal style.”
I appreciated the functional aspect of the jewel I feared most. It made it seem more accessible, brought it down to earth.
Selva saw something was happening as I began to eye a Belperron sapphire and diamond brooch in the vitrine. “'It’s all about placement' was said recently to me as more of a question (hint). Yes, placement or the positioning of a brooch can make all the difference to keep it looking interesting, exciting, and fresh, but there’s not one single way to wear a brooch. Does one have to wear a Deco bar brooch horizontally. No! It can look fabulous pinned diagonally on a lapel or the shoulder of a dress or jacket. A collection of brooches can create a gorgeous jeweled moment on a collar.”
Note: the thought of a collection of brooches, the pinning and the prodding through fabric and the placement, brought on another bout of jewelry anxiety. Selva adjusted her approach and brought in visual reinforcements.
“Recently we have seen many inspired dazzling and stylish brooch statements on the red carpet,” says Selva, who points out my own urging for Oklahoma! star Patrick Vaill to wear a ruby and diamond horseshoe pin with his Gucci suit to the Tonys. “However, brooches are not jewels reserved for that red carpet or major style moment in life. I think they can be and should be among one’s everyday specials, those pieces that give one great pleasure and add that style spark to one’s stride.”
Calmer, but still in the throes of my phobia, I asked Selva to keep talking. Rules. I needed some rules. Like Lady Hale, I love the law.
These are Rebecca Selva’s general brooch guidelines:
Aim High: When one wears a brooch on a lapel or shoulder it shouldn’t be placed too low as it can look as it’s like it’s falling off or dragging you and the fabric down
Take Care: Be mindful of placements on the back and waist as this can damage a brooch
Choose the right fabric: It needs to be able to hold the weight of the brooch
Don't take risks: Make sure the pin or clip is secure.
“There is no one way to wear a brooch,” Selva shouts as I head for the exit, slipping past her as she comes at me with a highly enameled cameo. “You have to find a brooch and style that speaks to you and then try it on different ways. The only rule is to have fun in the process. My recommendation is to start with one small brooch that speaks to you and get to know it.” I begin to wonder how Lady Hale became acquainted with the spider.
My final session is with Brooke Neidich of Sidney Garber jewelry. A woman who wears multiple rolling bracelets and mounds of pearls and dangling earrings and somehow makes it all look subtle and discreet and effortless. “I put them on the lapel of a Row blazer, or YSL tuxedo jacket or any of my vintage Chanel jacket or Alaïa jackets. All of those have material that can ‘hold’ a brooch.”
Smart and sound shopping advice calmed me. If I could just get the Chanel tweed jacket I've long dreamed about my brooch phobia might be cured!
But Neidich then delivered a sobering blow. “The rebirth of the brooch is like the rebirth of the hat, except for a few independent thinkers it just isn’t going to be mainstream—and yet...”
Over the next few days we email each other images of Lady Hale and reminisce about Madeleine Albright using her pins as secret messages and emblems of power. In a final testament to brooches and the women who wear them: I get texted multiple images of the Queen. Maybe the power was in the brooches all along. Watch this—meaning my Dries Van Noten jacket lapel's—space.
You Might Also Like
