Brooches Are Back in Fashion

For many years the brooch was considered one of the less fashionable pieces of jewellery, hidden in drawers or at the back of jewellery boxes. But brooches are experiencing a major revival, appearing everywhere from the red carpet to the runway which is something we have championed for many years. It's high time to bring back the brooch!

A Short Guide to Brooch Types

Throughout history, brooches have come in a variety of styles, designs and uses. Here are just a few of them -

Celtic brooches - among the earliest examples of brooches, these were originally developed to secure garments and cloaks in the Bronze Age. Worn by both men and women, they ranged from simple metalwork to more elaborate status symbols.

Mourning brooches - emerging strongly in the 18th and 19th centuries, mourning brooches were inscribed with names and dates, they could include hair, miniature paintings, or symbolic motifs such as urns, weeping willow and seed pearls for tears.

Grand Tour brooches - purchased as souvenirs of 19th-century European travel, these include cameo, pietra dura, and micro-mosaic examples. They typically depict classical figures, mythological scenes, ruins, landscapes, or flora.

Floral brooches - including flower spray and 'en tremblant', literally meaning ‘trembling.’ En tremblant brooches are mounted on springs, allowing them to quiver with movement.

Bar brooches - a simple bar style popular from the late 19th century onwards, usually set with diamonds, gemstones or a motif such as a flower or as seen in this example a butterfly on a diamond arrow..

Novelty brooches - playful and characterful, these depict animals, objects, sporting or whimsical motifs. Popular in the Victorian period, they evolved in the Edwardian era to include machinery, aeroplanes, hobby motifs, and good luck charms.

Sweetheart brooches - sentimental brooches given as tokens of affection. Read more about it in our previous blog post here.

Dress clips - dress clips were a 20th-century innovation. They were often convertible and could be worn as a single brooch that could separate into two clips. Popular in the 1920s and 30s, they were designed to be versatile and worn across garments and other accessories.

The Brooch Revival

Their revival today reflects a broader shift in how people approach fashion. As we increasingly reject trend shopping and fast fashion, brooches can be used to personalise or smarten any outfit.

They can be subtle or dramatic, worn alone or layered with others, and antique, vintage or contemporary. The brooch has the power to transform the ordinary, giving even the simplest outfit a new character with the addition of a single carefully chosen piece. It is one of the smallest details with the greatest impact.

Runway & Red Carpet

Brooches are well and truly having a moment in fashion. Designers are using them as accessories on the runway and actors are styling them at award ceremonies. At The Row, antique brooches are pinned on sharply tailored coats and blazers and used to disrupt an otherwise simple and modern outfit. Julia Roberts has been wearing multiple brooches on informal ways on formal suiting, something that can be easily replicated for modern outfits.

Meanwhile, Schiaparelli continues to embrace the brooch as a sculptural object that sits somewhere between jewellery and art to complement their looks, reinforcing the house’s long-standing fascination with surrealism. Don't think brooches are purely for women, on the red carpet this awards season, we've seen Leonardo DiCaprio in Boucheron and Pedro Pascal in a Chanel brooch.

Modern Styling

One of the reasons brooches have remained popular for so long is their versatility. Unlike most jewellery, which is worn in a fixed way, a brooch can be worn in many different ways and placed almost anywhere on an outfit. It has the power to transform an outfit instantly, adding a touch of style suitable for almost any occasion.

Traditionally, brooches were pinned to a jacket lapel, but modern styling has moved far beyond this conventional placement. Wearers can experiment with different positions on clothing, from high on the shoulder to lower on a jumper. Brooches can be pinned onto a handbag or attached to a hat, and can even be worn in the hair. They can also be used in practical ways, securing a silk scarf or fastening a cashmere wrap.

For a more contemporary look, brooches can be clustered or layered together. Clustering two or three brooches of different sizes on one side of a blazer or dress creates a more curated feel, allowing you to wear multiple pieces from a collection at once.

What makes wearing a brooch so interesting is its flexibility. In contrast to rings or necklaces, which are designed to be worn one way, the wearer can choose how to wear a brooch. They invite a more creative approach to dressing and speak of personal style over seasonal fashion.

Why We Love Antique Brooches

We have a range of beautiful antique brooches, each with so much character, and that character is precisely what makes them so special. Every antique brooch has lived a life before and tells a story. Whether it's a novelty piece that speaks to the passions of its original owner or a cameo brooch brought home from Rome or Florence, they carry so much history.

There is also the question of craft. Antique brooches were mostly made by hand, in an era before the mass production of jewellery making. Details like the trembling of an en tremblant flower or the fine engraving on a bar brooch speak to the exceptional quality of these pieces. Many modern jewellers do not make brooches, and when they do, they are often much simpler in design, which makes the intricacy of antique examples all the more remarkable.

We also love that antique brooches invite a certain creativity in how they are worn. Clustering pieces from different eras and styles together creates a personal collection that is uniquely your own.

Subtle or dramatic, worn alone or with others, a brooch can transform any outfit. And unlike most trends, a good brooch only gets better with time, collected, worn and passed down for future generations.

At Thomas Glover, we are delighted that brooches are well and truly back in fashion. They offer such a versatile way to give character to any outfit, and there is really something for everyone. Browse our collection and find the one that speaks to you.