The Brooch Edit: Pin Ups

Darling All

Pssst did you know that Brooches are fashionable again?  Are you kicking yourself that in a fit of Marie Kondo exorcism you threw out Great Aunt Mildred’s toot together with the Yardley smelling jewel box, which no doubt was crammed with brooches???  Fear not, we can help you “Look Sharp”* and “Albright” again! 

Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State wrote a brilliant, brilliant book called “Read my Pins, stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box” where she describes how she used ‘pins’ (the American’s call brooches pins) to convey diplomatic messages.  The book is a treasure trove literally of fascinating insights.  She once wore a bejewelled bug brooch when she discovered that the Russians had planted listening devices in her offices!  Putin apparently told President Clinton “that he routinely checked to see what brooch…and tried to decipher its meaning.”**  Albright very much saw her pins as her diplomatic arsenal.

So, whether you fancy yourself as a budding MI6 Spook wanting to infer seemingly unintelligible messages to be or not to be deciphered or purely to pin an ample décolletage demurely, rest assured brooches are not only a hugely fashionable adornment but a great talking point!!!  What are you waiting for: Pin-it! 

With love from Emma and the Baroque Rocks Team 

* Look Sharp, Roxette’s 1988 album
** P110 of “Read my Pins Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box”