How to keep a brooch from falling off...

Fashion Hack Extraordinaire

All brooch lovers know that we risk losing our favourite pieces every time we pin them on and head to work or play. It is a chance we are willing to take in order to create our own unique style.

Most pins pre-1950s have a simple C-clasp that is only secure if the pin is pressed gently against the hook. 

Victorians wore thick wool clothes and the brooches were secure. Extra long pins that stretched past the end of the brooch ensured a belt and braces approach. A contemporary wearer of Victorian jewellery will often receive a painful reminder of this as the pin pushes through our delicate modern fabrics into our skin.

Below a rare 1930s Jakob Bengel leaf brooch has been secured to a modern, lightweight blazer using a sponge. The c-clasp combined with the sponge ensures it will not fall off. Additionally, if the brooch opens the sponge will prevent it from sliding out and becoming lost. Finally, the sponge also keeps the brooch close to the garment and prevents it from getting caught on purse straps or rucksack handles.

Even the safety clasp post 1950s is not 100% secure. Again, depending on the weight and thickness of the fabric, the pin will flop, dangle or worse...tear a hole in our clothing.

Heavy 1960s brooches were designed for thick acrylic suits and polyester dresses that were made of super resilient material that lasted for ever but often became a bit stinky. They are perfect for heavy winter coats. But put one of those brooches on a cashmere sweater and let the drooping, the ripping, the weeping begin.

So, what's a broochie to do?

Use a makeup sponge placed between the garment and the brooch to make a secure pad that holds C-claps brooches of any age securely and ensures modern weighty pins are supported and sit up properly wherever we put them. 

You can pop the sponge behind lapels, inside hats, waistbands, or any of your favourite brooch locations. Cut them in half if the are too big and use more than one to showcase a brooch bonanza.

Here I am wearing a summer dress with a large 1950s plastic brooch. Although lightweight the sponge supports the brooch and keeps it sitting flat and secure to the cotton fabric.

I provide all my customers with a complimentary sponge to support their brooches. You can also purchase them individually. Buy a brooch sponge here.

So, use your sponge to safely and securely fix your favourite, your newest, your best brooch to whatever you fancy and dance the night away. 

Check out all of my brooches without a worry about how to secure them to your clothes. 

Follow on Instagram @audrasbrooches to see and reserve my new finds before they hit the shop or market.

All mistakes or omissions are the author’s own.

Copyright Audra Daws-Knowles 2023.