Statement-making jewelry is back with a vengeance and brooches are at the forefront of the revival. Karen Bonhoff, buyer for Marshall Field’s recent Paris Flea Market, sums up the trend by saying, “Brooches are the No. 1 accessory for 2004.”
Brooches were featured on high-profile fall runways from Perry Ellis to Versace, but you can find great pins everywhere. Check your mother or grandmother’s jewelry box, stores like Banana Republic or a favorite flea market to start or add to your collection. Bonhoff searches European flea markets to bring back treasures, some of which end up in Field’s jewelry department after the annual July market.
Chicago jewelry designer Molly Holtzer found her first brooch browsing at a Los Angeles-area flea market several years ago. She noticed a pin that reminded her of one of her grandma’s treasures, fashioned it into a choker, and a business was born. “Buy what you like because if it calls out to you, then you’ll make it work,” Holtzer says. “I don’t get too caught up with looking for a certain color. With vintage you never know what you’ll find.”
Brooches are widely varied, but this year fans of flora will find a multitude of buds represented, and if Animal Planet is a favorite channel, you’ll have plenty of critters to choose from. Valentino accessorized his fall 2004 collection with large-scale brooches in the shape of a tiger, a bird and other exotic animals. At area events, such as the Kane County and Lake County flea markets, dealers often display brooches by subject, which makes it easy if you’re looking for something specific like crowns or spiders.
Brooches are much like scarves in that very few people have an innate sense of how to incorporate them into an outfit. Bonhoff offers the following primer on pins:
“The easiest way to wear a brooch is to pin one on the lapel of a traditional blazer. Then move on to a jean jacket.”
Once you’re more comfortable wearing them, Bonhoff suggests pinning a brooch at the waist or on the shoulder of a dress. “They also [look] wonderful on cocktail handbags,” she says. Or you can “try clustering pins together. It really makes a statement.”
Holtzer’s necklaces make it simple to wear bold jewelry with anything. Her first piece “was a very large, very heavy bug, which just would not lay correctly on the L.A. staple lightweight T-shirt. I really wanted to wear my bug, so I turned it into a necklace.”
Accessories such as brooches are essential finishing touches that help pull together your personal style and give you a unique signature. Indulge your desire for a little decorative flourish. You might find yourself feeling less than dressed without a brooch pinned to your sweater or jacket.
When you tire of your brooches, just tuck them away in your jewelry case. Some day, your grand-daughter will be thrilled to have them.
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E-mail ctc-woman@tribune.com
