Brooch The Subject

For a while it's been hard to find any nice brooches on the high street, so for me it's usually a case of wearing pins that have been passed down through the family or else scouring antique fairs and charity shops for new additions to my collection, as these places always seem to have a ready supply of good old fashioned cameos and the like.

On a mission to prove that brooches aren't just for grannies, or old fashioned for that matter, I've currently got a Wedgewood blue cameo proudly pinned to the lapel of my pink winter coat. Said brooch always manages to attract comment - but not always for the right reasons. For instance, take the time I ventured into my local supermarket...

I can only assume the checkout staff had been given strict instructions to try and make polite conversation with every customer because, let's face it, why else would a teenage boy remark on a brooch? His exact words were: 'That's a nice brooch. You don't often see girls wearing brooches. Maybe it's because they're so old fashioned.' Oh dear! Thankfully I wasn't buying much so I could smile and leave before the poor boy dug himself into an even deeper hole. Heaven forbid he had asked what I do for a living! I suspect he meant well and never intended on suggesting I was wholly unfashionable, but he did hit upon a salient point - why is it more girls don't wear brooches?

Well, maybe the new selection from Topshop will help give the brooch a better reputation. I particularly love these two designs (pictured above, £12.50) - the spiked one is very Mawi don't you think?