You need a “bro brooch,” I have been telling my husband. It’s way past time to jazz up his fashion game. I collect vintage brooches along with many other glittering baubles.
I once thought those pinned adornments were the domain of the ladies. In the last couple of years, brooches have been breaking out all over, on men. The Hollywood guys have been sporting brooches on their lapels as they stroll the red carpet at the Oscars and musical awards shows.
“The Bro-Brooch Sweeps Awards Season,” The New York Times pronounced following the 2024 Academy Awards galas. “The brooch has shed its granny’s jewel box connotations and is making a comeback as a must-have accessory for guys.”
They glowed from the lapels of an array of boldface names. Cillian Murphy, Teo Yoo, Ke Huy Quan, Robert Downey Jr., Tatanka Means, Mark Ruffalo and Jeffrey Wright.
This year, Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones icon, strutted the Oscars wearing a crystal-encrusted vintage number.
So, I eagerly embarked on the search for a brooch for my favorite “bro.”
The Hollywood versions, however, are too ostentatious and showy. All rhinestones and peacocks. That’s not the kind of accessory my vanilla-flavored husband is apt to wear. (I will give him this — he does wear an earring, so there’s hope for him yet.)
Speaking of hope, what’s a better time for a brooch? They glitter. They make the wearer bright. They bring light to our subjects, something we desperately need in these dark political times.
Here’s the opportunity. It happens that we are going to a dinner gala at The Arts Club of Chicago. The soiree is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of art deco.
Celebrants are highly encouraged to wear costumes and ornamentation that signal the era’s bold geometric shapes and colors and luxurious materials. Think zigzags, chevrons, sunbursts and sexy curves.
How about a nice art deco brooch to light up the party, I asked my husband. How about, he replied, a brooch depicting the Chrysler Building, New York City’s iconic art deco tower?
That should be a cinch, in this all-things-are-available internet age. Google, Amazon, Etsy and eBay. I jumped online and scoured the web.
The Empire State building was all over the brooches that were offered for sale. Paltry few Chryslers. Yes, the Empire State is a famous art deco monument, but it lacks the panache of the Chrysler Building. The flare atop the Chrysler is unmatched for its style and impact.
I even put a call out on Bring Back the Brooch, a prolific Facebook group I follow. Not much response.
So, I told the hubby, let’s set our sights closer to the ground. We stopped by Macy’s over the weekend. After all, the biggest department store in the city should have something.
He asked a sales clerk: “Do you have brooches for men?” She pointed to a few girly examples. Just more rhinestones and peacocks.
He’s not going for that. I thought, and bouncing from store to store is not going to get us there. Then, a brain flash: My go-to vintage spot in Wicker Park. Store B. They have the best vintage stuff, but fashion is fickle, so fingers crossed that deco is trending. We swung by the store. Bingo!
The display case was chock-full of brooches. Art deco, art nouveau, art everything. The salesperson brought out more and more trinkets for our perusal. Blingy deco was our goal. Finally, a piece by Chicago designer Patricia Locke crossed the finish line. Brass dangles of colored glass in stylized shapes and colors. Almost a match with a military ribbon bar. Not too hot, not too cold, just right, I told my husband. It’s the Goldilocks brooch.
The bro brooch may be the new “it” thing, but its road to redemption may be frayed. The next thing you know, MAGA will be slamming bros who wear brooches as “unmanly.” At a time when everything is politicized, brooches will no doubt face a similar fate.
That’s why my husband will proudly wear his brooch to the fete.
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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